Today, on the sixth anniversary of the martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians at the hands of the Islamic State in Libya, news appeared that an Arabic-language film depicting their story is set to appear later this year in Egypt.
The film commemorates what happened six years ago today, on Feb. 15, 2015. Then, the Islamic State released a video depicting 21 Egyptian Christians being decapitated in Libya. While sitting atop and holding their victims’ bodies down, Islamic State members shoved their fingers in the Christians’ eye sockets, craned their heads back, and sliced away at their throats with knives.
In their last moments, some of the Egyptian Copts were seen in the video praying to Christ. To quote Bishop Anba Antonios Aziz Mina, who closely analyzed footage of the video:
[I]n that diabolic product of bloodthirsty play-acting and horror, some martyrs can clearly be seen to say at the moment of their barbarous execution ‘Lord, Jesus Christ!’ The name of Jesus was their last word. Like the passion of the early martyrs, they entrusted themselves to He, who moments later, would welcome them into his embrace. This was how they celebrated their victory, a victory of which no executioner could ever rob them. With that name, whispered at the very last, their martyrdom was sealed.
The news of the movie is being received with mixed emotions in Egypt: some Christians look forward to seeing the extolling of their coreligionists and their sacrifice, while others are not eager to be reminded of it; some Muslims also don’t wish to be reminded of it—seeing it as a stain on their religion—while other Muslims are only too happy and proud to be reminded of it, seeing it as a victory for their religion over “infidels.”
A few of the relatives of the martyrs were interviewed after watching the film’s trailer; they expressed approval of the movie, which apparently both extolls the heroism of their slain relatives and the Egyptian government’s response: on the day after the Islamic State video was released (Feb. 16, 2015), the Egyptian air force bombed and killed approximately 40-50 IS members in Libya.
It’s worth recalling that, at the time of their abduction and subsequent butchery, Western media were largely absent. Indeed, before the video appeared, the BBC had falsely reported that the majority of those now slaughtered Copts were “released.” (Such downplaying of Muslim persecution of Christians is not uncommon for the BBC.)
Two months later, when the Islamic State released another video in April, 2015, of 30 more Christians in Libya being massacred, a masked IS spokesman addressed “Christians everywhere”:
We say to Christians everywhere, the Islamic State will expand, with Allah’s permission. And it will reach you even if you are in fortified strongholds. So whoever enters Islam will have security…. But whoever refuses will see nothing from us but the edge of a spear. The men will be killed and the children will be enslaved, and their wealth will be taken as booty. This is the judgment of Allah and His Messenger.
The next scene portrays captive Ethiopian Christians being shot in the back of the head or having their heads carved off.
The new movie is set to complement a memorial (pictured above) for the 21 Coptic Christian martyrs that was inaugurated last February 15, 2020, on the five year anniversary of the tragedy. It consists of 21 kneeling statues, each fashioned after the appearance of one of the martyrs, with a large statue of Christ behind them, his arms open in an embrace of salvation. This memorial stands in the Egyptian village of Al Our, where many of the slain Coptic Christians came from.
Don’t mind the monument, but curious about the place. How long will it stand in Egypt? How many more retaliatory deaths of the most brutal kind follow, just for the placement of the statue?
Who will defend the Copts from the next attack? Are they allowed weapons, have security who are also Copts?
Are Copts allowed in Police of Military?
Certainly the movie is good and hope it goes far and wide. Forgive the rest of my negativity.
Thanks Raymond, as always, how else would we know?
It was in Zeitoun that the Blessed Virgin appeared above the church of the nativity- she allowed herself to be photographed and televised, and Abdul Gamel Nasser a known Marxist saw her.
The internet shows this clearly
Catholics Coptics and various others can take comfort Mother Mary has the interests of Coptics at heart.
Revelation 20:4 (AMP)
And then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom judgment [that is, the authority to act as judges] was given. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had refused to worship the beast or his image, and had not accepted his mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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Revelation 6:4 (AMP)
10 They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe; and they were told to rest and wait quietly for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed.
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Obadiah 15 – “As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.”
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Habakkuk 2:8 – “Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,”
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James 2:13 – “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.”
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Matthew 7:2 – “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
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2 Chronicles 6:23 – “… bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head…”
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Joel 3:4 – “Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head;”
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Ezekiel 35:6 – “therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.”
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Romans 12:19 – Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
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“At the time of their abduction and subsequent butchery, Western media were largely absent” and they still are! Nothing has changed. It seems no country gives a fig about the suffering and persecution of Christian anywhere. The cowardly Marxist media most likely think that the jihadis will overlook them because they don’t criticise them, but they are delusional. There is nothing that will appease these “crocodiles” (with apologies to Churchill).
God will avenge all martyrs and that will be a terrible day for Islam and their supporters.
God bless you Mr. Ibrahim, for your tireless efforts in keeping us informed
Death to islam.
Tragic
God bless them …
*** and watch over the rest of us …
Darkness to light. I’m a believer in JESUS at 69 years and have been for most of my life. I prayed to GOD that He make us look at ALL the evil because He has to. He put it on my heart that we could not handle it as we are not made to endure such evil. It is happening on our watch and my prayer is that the LORD JESUS allow us to fight back….like David did. A man after GOD’s own heart. Mercy Jesus. Bind this evil and even so LORD JESUS come. We are in a weary land and everyone is suffering. Be Blessed.