CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's decision to build a church bearing the names of the 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who were beheaded in a video that surfaced on social media on Feb. 15 by the Islamic State in Libya, is not being well received by members of the local community.

The absence of a law regulating the construction of houses of worship generally, specifically churches, has placed the matter in the hands of hard-line religious groups. Reconciliation sessions, which have become commonplace and in many cases have replaced the law in Upper Egypt, are held to make peace between conflicting families or groups. The sessions are also held to prevent sectarian strife, further infringing on the rule of law.

The presidential decision issued Feb. 16 to build a church dubbed "Martyrs' Church" for the slain Copts in el-Our village — the hometown of 13 of the victims — in Egypt’s Minya province was rejected by some hard-line Muslims inhabiting the village. The hard-line Muslims demonstrated in protest of the decision during a customary reconciliation session held between them and Copts, according to eyewitnesses and Coptic activists who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Egyptian news websites reported on March 28 that clashes erupted between some Muslims and Christians in a dispute over building the church, resulting in 12 wounded and seven arrested.