Some Christians - who make up 15 per cent of the Egyptian population - have long complained of discrimination and it is not just their security at stake but what role they would have, if any, in shaping the nation's political future.

Just how those designing the country's way forward deal with the grievances of this community will signal whether Egypt is indeed on the path to establishing a genuine democracy or not.

"Recent clashes between Egypt’s Christians and  Muslims  are temporary and are a natural in a transitional phase like this," Jacques Aziz, a Coptic Christian, says. But not everyone shares that sentiment.

Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from Cairo.