2015 kidnapping and beheading of Copts in Libya information
Coptic Christians murdered by ISIL
21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
Martyrs
Born
One from Ghana, others from Egypt
Died
15 February 2015[1] Southern Mediterranean Sea Coast, Sirte, Libya (murdered by the Islamic State)[2]
Cause of death
Decapitation
Resting place
Village of Al-Our, Samalut, Minya, Egypt
Venerated in
Oriental Orthodoxy Catholic Church
Canonized
21 February 2015 by Pope Tawadros II
Major shrine
Church of the Martyrs of the Faith and Homeland, Samalut, Egypt
Feast
15 February (Gregorian calendar) 8 Amshir (Coptic calendar)
Attributes
Crown of martyrdom
Orange jumpsuits
Martyr's palm
Crucifix
Patronage
Egypt
Migrant workers
Persecuted Christians
Part of a series of articles on the
Modern persecution of Coptic Christians
Overview
Christianity in Egypt
Human rights in Egypt
Secularism in Egypt
Judiciary of Egypt
Crime in Egypt
Terrorism in Egypt
Terrorist attacks
Kosheh, 2000
Alexandria, 2005
Saint Fana, 2008
Nag Hammadi, 2010
Alexandria, 2011
Imbaba, 2011
Maspero, 2011
Libya, 2015
Abbasia, 2016
Alexandria and Tanta, 2017
Minya, 2017
Helwan, 2017
Minya, 2018
Figures
Sidhom Bishay
Master Malati
Mohammed Hegazy
Bahaa el-Akkad
Mark Gabriel
Zakaria Botros
v
t
e
v
t
e
Libyan civil war (2014–2020)
2014s coups
Islamist conflict with Libyan National Army
1st Benghazi
Benina Airport
2nd Benghazi
2nd Derna
4th Derna
ISIL and anti-ISIL operations
Kikla
1st Derna
Nofaliya
Egyptian airstrikes
1st Sirte
Bin Jawad
Misrata
2nd Sirte
Factional fighting
Tripoli Airport
Ubari
Traghan
West Libya
1st Tripoli
LNA vs GNA
Gulf of Sidra
Brak al-Shati
2nd Gulf of Sidra
Saddada Castle
Southern Libya
Sabha
Murzuq
Western Libya
Gharyan
Volcano of Rage
Tajoura
Misrata
Zuwarah
Tripoli military school
3rd Sirte
Central Libya
al-Watiya
al-Watiya airstrike
Terror attacks
Kidnapping of Copts
Corinthia Hotel
Al Qubbah
Zliten truck bombing
Flight 209
3rd Derna
Benghazi car bombing
Benghazi bombing
Tripoli attack
NOC attack
Foreign involvement
American intervention
Turkish intervention
Egyptian intervention
Peace Process
Palermo Conference
Libyan peace process
Libyan peace process
On 9th February 2015, the Islamic State (IS) released a report in their online magazine Dabiq showing photos of 21 Egyptian Christian construction workers that they had kidnapped in the city of Sirte, Libya, and whom they threatened to kill.[3] The men, who came from different villages in Egypt, 13 of them from Al-Our, Minya Governorate,[4] were kidnapped in Sirte in two separate attacks on 27 December 2014, and in January 2015.[5] A video was subsequently released showing their murder.
This was not the first time that Coptic Egyptians in Libya had been the subject of abuse for political reasons, a pattern that goes back to the 1950s.[6]
In 2014, a militia group in eastern Libya declared its affiliation with IS and then took over parts of Derna in late 2014. People allied to the group claimed responsibility for attacks across the country, including the Corinthia Hotel attack in January 2015.[7][8]
On 19 April 2015, IS released another video in which they murdered about 30 Ethiopian Christians.[9][10][11][12][13]
The victims, all but one being members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared saints and martyrs in February of 2015 by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 Coptic men murdered by IS would also be commemorated by the Catholic Church and listed within the Roman Martyrology in what was described as a major ecumenical decision.[14] The martyrs are commemorated on 15 February (civil calendar) in both churches.
^"لماذا-اعتمد-المجمع-المقدس-15-فبراير-عيد-ا-لشهداء-الكنيسة-". Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
^"Libya: Confessions of a witness to the slaughter of Copts". Al Arabiya. 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
^El-Gundy, Zeinab (12 February 2015). "Islamic State publishes report on Coptic Egyptian workers kidnapped in Libya". Al-Ahram. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^"Thousands mourn Egyptian victims of Islamic State in disbelief". Reuters. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
^"ISIL video shows Christian Egyptians beheaded in Libya". Al Jazeera. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^Tsourapas, Gerasimos (17 March 2015). "The Politics of Egyptian Migration to Libya". Middle East Research and Information Project. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
^"Islamic State takes Libyan city; 100K under terror group's control as chaos spreads". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^Jared Malsin (15 February 2015). "Beheading of Coptic Christians in Libya Shows ISIS Branching Out". Time. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^"ISIS releases video purportedly showing killing of Ethiopian Christians in Libya". Fox News. 20 April 2015. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
^Westall, Sylvia (19 April 2015). "Islamic State shoots and beheads 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya:..." Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^Kirkpatrick, David D. (19 April 2015). "ISIS Video Appears to Show Executions of Ethiopian Christians in Libya". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^"ISIL claims massacre of Ethiopian Christians in Libya". Aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^McLaughlin, Eliott C. "ISIS executes more Christians in Libya, video shows". CNN. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^"Vatican formally recognizes 21 Coptic Orthodox killed in Libya as martyrs, gives them feast day". AP NEWS. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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