Both Christians and Muslims have strongly condemned the New Year's day attack in Alexandria that killed 21 people and injured 70 others outside the Church of the Two Saints, Saint Mark and Pope Peter.

Father Mattá of the Great Martyr Mār Girgis Church in Manshiyyat al-Sadr, Cairo stressed the importance of  national unity, saying that both Muslims and Copts must defend and protect the country.

A shoe shop owner also asserted that the attack is an attempt to drive Christians out of their country. The general opinion found in the article is that Muslims and Copts must unite against those who wish to destabilize Egypt.