Coptic Christian Martyred in Egypt
Coptic Christians in Egypt have long suffered for their faith. In recent years the Copts have been targeted and killed for their faith in terrorist attacks. Sadly a 62-year-old Christian man named Nabil El-Habashy was killed by ISIS militants on the Sinai Peninsula.
By ACN Staff
Funeral for Coptic Christians killed in a terrorist attack in 2016. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
The Coptic Christians of Egypt are one of the most persecuted peoples in human history. In 2015, 20 Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS militants on a beach on Libya. A man believed to be from Ghana was killed alongside the Copts. Attacks on churches in Egypt have become more common in recent years. For example, in December 2017 Islamist gunmen attacked Copts who were leaving a church in Cairo after Holy Mass. Nine Copts were martyred in this attack, which ISIS claimed responsibility for. Even more tragically, two churches were attacked by suicide bombers on Palm Sunday 2017. It is believed a total of 43 people were killed in the two attacks.
An icon of the 21 martyrs with Our Blessed Lord. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
It is with a heavy heart that we have to report news of another Copt dying for the Faith. This time the tragedy occurred in the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai Peninsula in Egypt has been the battleground between the Egyptian armed forces and Islamist militants for the last decade. The remote and sparsely populate deserts make the perfect terrorist hideouts. The terrorists use the Sinai as a staging point to launch attacks in the rest of Egypt.
The Sinai Peninsula is home to one of Christianity’s oldest monasteries, St. Catherine’s Monastery. This Greek Orthodox monastery, according to local tradition, is located on the spot where Moses encountered the Burning Bush. As a result of the Islamist insurgency the approaches to St. Catherine’s are defended by Egyptian soldiers and police. In 2017, tragedy struck when militants attacked a police checkpoint near the monastery. A policeman lost his life in this attack.
Yet more blood has been spilt in Sinai. One of ISIS’s Egyptian proxies in Sinai recently released a video on the social media and messaging app Telegram. In the video the Islamist militants murder three men. Two of the men, who the Islamists accuse of aiding the Egyptian military, are believed to local Muslim Bedouin tribesmen. The third man has been identified as a 62-year-old Coptic Christian man named Nabil El-Habashy. The man who killed Nabil said that Egypt’s Christians would pay for the support they give to the Egyptian government.
This should have been a month of celebration for Egypt’s Christians. In an extremely positive move, the Egyptian government had given full legal recognition to nearly 100 previously unlicensed church buildings. Since 2017, the Egyptian government has licensed nearly 1,900 previously unlicensed church buildings after a commitment made by the prime minister. Instead of celebrating, the Coptic Church is now mourning the murder of one of its sons.
An ACN delegation meeting with the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria Tawadros II in 2018. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
Nabil said on the video released that he had helped found a Coptic Orthodox church in Sinai. Many believe this is the real reason he was killed. The church Nabil belonged to and helped establish released a statement saying that Nabil was a man of great faith and the church would continue to support the Egyptian government in opposition to terrorism. Militants had abducted Nabil from his home in Sinai and he was badly beaten before the execution. Nabil’s son has told his own children, Nabil’s grandchildren, that their grandfather is now a saint in heaven.
The Egyptian Armed Forces have said they have identified, located, and killed three Islamist militants who were in the execution video. The fact that these three men decided to waste their own lives by pursuing evil is a tragedy in itself.
Let us join in prayer with the Egyptian martyrs for peace in Egypt. Members of the Coptic Orthodox Church make up between 10-15% of Egypt’s population and represent 90% of Egyptian Christians. The faith shown by the Copts in the face of hatred and loathing is a true inspiration to all Christians. Through the intercession of Our Lady may to the Copts of Egypt continue to be steadfast in the Apostolic Faith.