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Pray for Christians Being Martyred in Egypt


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ISIS releases video claiming beheadings of Egyptian Coptic Christians - CNN.com

 

CAIRO (AP) — A video purporting to show the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages was released Sunday by militants in Libya affiliated with the Islamic State group.

 

 

The killings raise the possibility that the Islamic militant group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq in a self-declared caliphate — has established a direct affiliate less than 500 miles (800 kilometers) from the southern tip of Italy. One of the militants in the video makes direct reference to that possibility, saying the group now plans to "conquer Rome."

The militants had been holding 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians hostage for weeks, all laborers rounded up from the city of Sirte in December and January. It was not clear from the video whether all 21 hostages were killed. It was one of the first such beheading videos from an Islamic State group affiliate to come from outside the group's core territory in Syria and Iraq.

The Associated Press could not immediately independently verify the video. But the Egyptian government and the Coptic Church, which is based in Egypt, both declared it authentic.

 

 

The Egyptian government declared a seven-day mourning period and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi addressed the nation late Sunday night, pledging resilience in the fight against terrorism.

 

 

"These cowardly actions will not undermine our determination" said el-Sissi, who also banned all travel to Libya by Egyptian citizens and said his government reserves the right to seek retaliation. "Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals."

 

 

The Coptic Church in a statement called on its followers to have "confidence that their great nation won't rest without retribution for the evil criminals."

The video's makers identified themselves as the Tripoli Province of the Islamic State group. A still photo, apparently taken from the video, was published last week in the Islamic State group's Dabiq online magazine — indicating a direct connection between the Libyan militants and the main group.

 

 

The video, released Sunday night, depicts several men in orange jumpsuits being led along a beach, each accompanied by a masked militant. The men are made to kneel and one militant, dressed differently that the others, addresses the camera in North American-accented English.

 

 

"All crusaders: safety for you will be only wishes, especially if you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together," he said. "The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama Bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood."

 

 

The men are then laid face-down and simultaneously beheaded.

The militant speaker then pointed northward across the red-stained waves and said, "We will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission."

 

 

In el-Aour, a dusty and impoverished village some 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Cairo and home to 13 of the hostages, friends and family assumed the worst as soon as the photo was published on Thursday.

On Saturday, two days after the photo appeared, the community was wrapped in sorrow. Men covered their heads with dirt in a sign of both grief and shame. Women slapped their own faces or let out heart-wrenching shrieks of pain.

 

 

Villagers accused the Egyptian government of doing little to help the captives. The authorities, they say, were able to free Muslim Egyptians abducted in Libya in recent months but have done nothing to save the 21 because they are Christian — an accusation rooted in the deep sense of religious discrimination felt by most Egyptian Copts.

 

 

Samuel Walham's family immediately recognized him from the picture, showing him kneeling on the beach alongside four other hostages — each flanked by a knife-wielding militant.

 

 

"Look at my love. Look how beautiful he is," Walham's mother, Ibtassal Lami, said through tears as she cradled a photo of her son and women wailed in the family's ramshackle, two-story home. "He only went there to earn his living."

Libya, rich in oil and short on labor, has long been a magnet for Egyptians from all professions. Laborers have flocked there to escape poverty and unemployment at home, while professionals have gone in search of a better salary. Libya's 2011 civil war left much of the country in ruins, creating a boom for skilled foreign workers.

 

 

Egyptians have jumped at the opportunity: they are the largest single group of foreign workers in Libya. But over time, the risks have grown for those looking to Libya for a better paycheck. Egyptians, and Copts in particular, have become frequent targets for Islamic extremists who have flourished amid Libya's political turmoil. Islamic and tribal militias have overrun Libya's two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi — forcing the elected Western-based government and parliament to meet elsewhere.

 

 

Egyptian authorities have responded by suspending most flights to Libya and issuing travel warnings. Yet, Egyptian workers remain undeterred, and still line up outside the Libyan Embassy in Cairo in search of visas.

Walham secured his visa in late 2013. He arrived months before militias seized the capital Tripoli in August 2014. He found work as a plumber in the coastal city of Sirte, which was largely destroyed during the war and was the hometown of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi

It was there that Walham was kidnapped on Dec. 28. Six days later, gunmen seized another 13 Egyptian Christians from Sirte in a targeted raid on a housing compound for laborers.

 

 

Abanoub Ishaq, a 19-year-old worker from el-Aour, was there the night the militants burst in just before dawn, knocking on doors with a list of names. Those who answered were hauled away, Ishaq said. He managed to evade capture by remaining silent after receiving a phone call from a Muslim neighbor who warned him not to open the door because militants were searching for Christians.

 

 

"We heard nothing but my friends' screams, then they were silenced," he told The Associated Press.

 

 

The video at the end makes reference to the case of Camelia Shehata — a longstanding rallying point for Muslim fundamentalists. Shehata is an Egyptian Coptic woman who went missing and was rumored to have converted to Islam to escape an unhappy marriage to a Coptic priest. The Coptic Church bans divorce.

 

 

Shehata was eventually found by Egyptian police and returned to the Church and promptly disappeared from public view. Her case became a rallying point for fundamentalist Muslims, who regard her as a Muslim being held prisoner by the church. Salafist Muslims in Alexandria held weekly rallies on her behalf throughout 2010, and Shehata's case is believed to be one of the motivations for a deadly bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve 2010.

 

 

As the men are being beheaded, a subtitle on the video declares: "This filthy blood is just some of what awaits you, in revenge for Camelia and her sisters."

---

Michael reported from el-Aour, Egypt.

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My prayers are without ceasing concerning this matter... it is deep in my heart.

 

Not sure why but there are two comments that I took a special note to. The comment about OBL and Rome. Again, these actions are not human.

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TFW, in order to bump this thread I'd like to add a couple more to the prayer list. I thought of starting a prayer thread for this covering the entire ME/world, but would rather keep it all together if that's ok with you.

 

Asia Bibi:

 

 

Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi on death row for blasphemy makes final appeal | Daily Mail Online

 

 

The Iraqi Christians are meeting the same fate...

 

...and of course Pastor Saeed Abedini

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Thanks PIH!

 

Another set of issues to pray for concerning ISIS:

 

Islamic State in Syria abducts at least 150 Christians

 

Just stopped in LS to post this here, got a text from a friend about this... Dear Lord Jesus.

 

Thank you TFW and I pray that every intercessor rises up. I just can't believe this stuff is happening...

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Just stopped in LS to post this here, got a text from a friend about this... Dear Lord Jesus.

 

Thank you TFW and I pray that every intercessor rises up. I just can't believe this stuff is happening...

 

Pretty interesting statement from Pastor Youssef...what do you think?

 

"I fear Islamic jihadis less than I fear the Christian church departing from Biblical orthodoxy. The reason I say this is because historically, Islamic expansions have taken place every time the church of Jesus Christ departed from living under the authority of the Scriptures."

 

Interesting video

 

Edited by TheFinalWord
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Pretty interesting statement from Pastor Youssef...what do you think?

 

"I fear Islamic jihadis less than I fear the Christian church departing from Biblical orthodoxy. The reason I say this is because historically, Islamic expansions have taken place every time the church of Jesus Christ departed from living under the authority of the Scriptures."

 

Interesting video

 

 

I think it's right on the money and really like Pastor Youssef. It's my understanding also that the king of Jordan is a direct descendant from the Prophet Mohammad...

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  • 2 weeks later...
pureinheart

Bump... and a few words TFW- I'm hearing more and more the church speaking up concerning ISIS and what is happening to the Christians and non Christians. I need to leave it at that as I feel anger right now and not sure if it's righteous indignation or a critical spirit, or more words would cause a critical spirit.

 

I heard BH and ISIS are joining forces ... this is snowballing fast.

Edited by pureinheart
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  • 1 month later...
autumnnight
ISIS people are already justified and righteous in the sight of God and bound for heaven. Remember Christ died for their sins and unbelief too. God already forgave the world at the cross including ISIS people.

 

When Jesus hung on the cross He prayed Father forgive them for they know not what they do. The worst crime was murdering the Son of God and Jesus prayed that the Father would forgive His haters and persecutors. Jesus would not pray anything not in accordance with the will of God. God answered that prayer. So even these Islam extremists are going to heaven.

 

Not if they do not repent and believe on Him. A contextual understanding of ALL Jesus said is important.

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Got a report on this hydra whom Robert appeared to have banned yesterday so I'll close this up while doing a minor clean.

 

OK, apparently there were two hydras posting here so I cleaned up the inflammatory stuff I noted and will leave the thread open to topical content.

Edited by William
Cleaned and re-opened thread.
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How does God give them the strength to withstand such torment??!! God, please protect and strengthen all who are at the mercies of such evil. :(:(:(

 

There seems to be so much more happening that we don't necessarily have access to in our news. For example, some missionaries at my church who work in Ethiopia aren't being given visas to the country right now due to the chaos in the region. But I don't know how extensive that chaos is, or anything much about what else is going on there.

 

On one hand, it's pretty overwhelming to follow every political upset around the world. But on the other, Christians are being persecuted and, if nothing else, the knowledge allows us to pray for them.

 

Some even take it a step further than prayer. See this amazing "Soldier for Christ".

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  • 2 weeks later...
pureinheart

Please remember to keep Pastor Saeed in your prayers along with others who are being held captive in the ME...

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