CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's Coptic Christians have long felt like second-class citizens in their own country.

Now many fear that the power vacuum left after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak is giving Muslim extremists free rein to torch churches and attack Coptic homes.

Once a majority in Egypt, Copts now make up about 10 percent of
the country's 85 million people. They are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Their history dates back 19 centuries
and the language used in their liturgy can be traced to the speech
of Egypt's pharaohs. Proud of their history and faith, many Copts
are identifiable by tattoos of crosses or Jesus Christ on their
right wrists, and Coptic women do not wear the veil as the vast
majority of Muslim women do in Egypt.

Copts shared in the euphoria of the revolution that ousted Mubarak and like other Egyptians their hopes for change were high.
Mainly, they wanted to be on equal footing with Muslims.

But shortly after Mubarak's ouster, a series of assaults on Christians brought home a stark reality: The fading of authoritarian rule empowered Islamist fundamentalists who reject the treatment of non-Muslims as citizens with equal rights and accuse the Copts of trying to spread Christianity in a Muslim nation.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)