The largest community of Christians in the Middle East is in the crosshairs of the Islamic State.
Earlier this week I reported on an Islamic State video calling for the targeting of the Coptic Christian community in Egypt, which included the testimony of a suicide bomber who struck a church in the cathedral compound in Cairo in December that killed 29 worshipers — mostly women and children.
New Islamic State Video Threatens Egyptian Christians, Shows December Church Suicide Bomber https://t.co/S1K2XdzQOd via @pjmedia_com
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) February 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/VPAFernandez/status/834450200714420225
25 Coptic Worshippers Killed by Terror Attack in Cairo Cathedral https://t.co/R6gtvvnOd7 #trending pic.twitter.com/hzBoE1N8zJ
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) December 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/ReutersParisPix/status/807977985668251649
Now a string of killings of Coptic Christians in the regional capital of Sinai, Arish, has hundreds fleeing to Ismailia on the western bank of the Suez Canal in the face of a terror campaign intended to religiously cleanse Sinai.
Egypt's Christians flee Sinai amid Islamic State killing spree https://t.co/a80c3B2oFu pic.twitter.com/36sS7srIYn
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 25, 2017
Egyptian Copts flee Sinai after suspected Islamic State attacks https://t.co/KsRR8h4VKx pic.twitter.com/EJ5aJxLlny
— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) February 24, 2017
Egypt's Coptic Christians flee Sinai after deadly attacks https://t.co/KHRJ0tkiFE
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 25, 2017
Since the beginning of 2017, 6 Christians have been killed in #Arish and another 6 throughout #Egypt #ArishKillings https://t.co/9LFRDhTrOg
— إشهد | Eshhad (@Eshhad_) February 23, 2017
Two Christian men, a father and son, were kidnapped and killed earlier this week in Arish, with the son reportedly burned alive.
2 more Coptic men killed in spate of attacks in N.Sinai in last couple of months that have killed 6 Christians https://t.co/93xkSuw6Om
— Mada Masr مدى مصر (@MadaMasr) February 23, 2017
Said Hakim found shot in the head in Arish days after he was kidnapped along with his son #ArishKillings #Egypt https://t.co/9LFRDhBQWI pic.twitter.com/Y0iQutR22X
— إشهد | Eshhad (@Eshhad_) February 23, 2017
Medhat Said found burned alive in Arish days after he was kidnapped along with his father #ArishKillings #Egypt https://t.co/9LFRDhBQWI pic.twitter.com/mKlmiIOCB5
— إشهد | Eshhad (@Eshhad_) February 23, 2017
Another Coptic man was gunned down in his home in front of his family on Thursday — the third murder targeting the Christian community in Arish this week — and then their house was burned down:
Kamel Abu Romani, the sixth Christian victim in Arish in less than two weeks #Egypt #ArishKillingshttps://t.co/9LFRDhTrOg pic.twitter.com/dep6OkEMt3
— إشهد | Eshhad (@Eshhad_) February 24, 2017
Egyptian Copt Christian killed on Arish was shot dead by gunmen who stormed his house, which they burned down, sources there say.
— Samer Al-Atrush (@SameralAtrush) February 23, 2017
مقتل سباك قبطي أمام اسرته https://t.co/YBrIq16Dj9 pic.twitter.com/7acfAGFC3d
— بوابة أخبار اليوم (@akhbarelyom) February 24, 2017
More than one-half of the Christians in Arish have fled the area:
According to church sources 1,000 out of 1,700 Copts in area have already fled https://t.co/YkyUJi7Oav
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) February 24, 2017
#PHOTOS: Families flee #Sinai as #ISIS targets #Christians https://t.co/JgOWpdbDF0 pic.twitter.com/g4yHCXymuO
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) February 24, 2017
The cleansing of the already-tiny Christian population of North Sinai (HT @Samueltadros) pic.twitter.com/oWJ8IPHyl1
— Oren Kessler (@OrenKessler) February 24, 2017
Two Coptic priests from the same church in Arish have been murdered in recent years, one in 2013 and one just last June:
Fr Mina Aboud Sharween, 39, Coptic priest murdered in a drive-by shooting in Arish,capital of North Sinai.
RIP pic.twitter.com/KIIEJFZnYL— Ethelyn David (@MsEthy14) July 9, 2013
Abouna Rofael Moses was shot today, making him the second martyr priest from St George Aresh. God repose his soul 😔 pic.twitter.com/I86jB6e3yP
— Ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ⳯Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ (@copticulture) June 30, 2016
Al-Masry Al-Youm reports that at least 50 families have taken refuge in Ismailiya across the Suez Canal, with one evangelical church caring for 250 people:
كنائس الإسماعيلية تستقبل 50 أسرة مسيحية هربًا من استهداف الإرهابيين بالعريش https://t.co/6VmOFNy3fa
— المصري اليوم (@AlMasryAlYoum) February 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/SameralAtrush/status/835117380565106688
Following the church bombing in December, attacks on individual Christians began immediately after the New Year, beginning with a shopkeeper in Alexandria who was murdered by an Islamist for selling alcohol:
Egypt: Islamist Murders Christian for Selling Alcohol in Alexandria https://t.co/7B2DorNQAf via @pjmedia_com
— Patrick Poole (@pspoole) January 3, 2017
The killing has spread into Upper Egypt, where many of the 10-12 million Coptic Christians in Egypt live:
Another Copt murdered in his house, this time in Asyut. There have been half a dozen such incidents in past 2 months https://t.co/OWqMMoTjes
— Samuel Tadros (@Samueltadros) February 24, 2017
One persistent problem for the Coptic community has been the abduction, forced conversion to Islam, and marriage of Coptic women, which continues to occur in the midst of the current terror campaign:
Egyptian police accused of ‘complicity and apathy’ in case of kidnapped Christian woman – https://t.co/XMaWHEYXM7
— Coptic Solidarity (@CoptSolidarity) February 23, 2017
In June 2014, I arranged meetings between Father Anthony Hanna, priest of a Coptic church in Concord, California (and my guide for my April 2014 fact-finding trip into Upper Egypt), and a number of members of Congress.
As a result of those meetings, a dossier of more than 800 Coptic women who had been abducted in this manner was prepared by the office of Pope Tawadros II and transmitted to the staff of Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ).
The kidnapping, ransom, and murder of Christians is also a longstanding problem:
Killer of Minya Copt sentenced to seven years in prison – https://t.co/JLaqegeZdK #Copts #Christians #Muslims #Islam #Sisi #Egypt
— A Copt/ ⲣⲉⲙ`ⲛXⲏⲙⲓ ن ✡️ (@An_Egyptian) February 19, 2017
In August I reported here at PJ Media on my 2014 trip to review the churches torched in a terror campaign by the Muslim Brotherhood in August 2013, with more than 70 churches, monasteries, and Christian businesses subject to arson.
Revisiting the Muslim Brotherhood's August 2013 'Reign of Terror' Targeting Egypt's Christians https://t.co/Rf31VJzz4z #homelandsecurity
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) August 14, 2016
This Associated Press video shows two of the locations I visited in Egypt that were targeted in those 2013 attacks: first, the ancient Coptic monastery in Delga, whose three churches (4th, 7th and 19th century) were torched and ransacked; and second, churches, businesses, and homes in Minya, one of the largest cities in Upper Egypt:
Earlier this month, the Coptic church commemorated the second anniversary of the ritual murder of 21 Coptic Christians working in Libya by the Islamic State.
https://twitter.com/VPAFernandez/status/831849409646301184
As I reported here at PJ Media, shortly after the killings of the 21 Copts in Libya, attacks on martyrs’ families still living in Upper Egypt commenced — not by the Islamic State, but by mobs organized by the Muslim Brotherhood:
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Mob Attacks Family of Coptic Christian Martyr Beheaded by ISIS in Libya http://t.co/GRIbRvEI1f #tcot
— PJ Media (@PJMedia_com) March 29, 2015
This RT documentary includes interviews with the families and friends of those 21 martyrs:
The plight of Egypt’s Christians will be a topic I will continue to cover here.
For readers to better familiarize themselves with the Coptic Church — the largest Christian community in the Middle East representing more than one-half of all Christians in the region, and also one of the most ancient Christian traditions — I would recommend this short 60 Minutes segment by the late Bob Simon:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member