Below are the names of the twenty-one Christian men martyred for bearing the name of Christ. They were Coptic Christians originally from Egypt, but were murdered in Libya.
Thousands of Christians are being murdered across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, but these men garnered some attention because they were featured in an Islamic State video. In the video as their heads were being sawed off some could be heard to say, “Lord Jesus Christ.”
They were martyred for Christ. They were murdered for being Christian. May we remember them in prayer. May we remember their names, the same names that on earlier days were spoken: as they were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Milad Makeen Zaky
Abanub Ayad Atiya
Maged Solaiman Shehata
Yusuf Shukry Yunan
Kirollos Shokry Fawzy
Bishoy Astafanus Kamel
Somaily Astafanus Kamel
Malak Ibrahim Sinweet
Tawadros Yusuf Tawadros
Worker from Awr Village
(name unknown at this time)
Mina Fayez Aziz
Hany Abdelmesih Salib
Bishoy Adel Khalaf
Samuel Alham Wilson
Girgis Milad Sinweet
Ezat Bishri Naseef
Loqa Nagaty
Gaber Munir Adly
Esam Badir Samir
Malak Farag Abram
Sameh Salah Faruq
†
Jesus remembers their baptisms, and he remembers yours. He will not forget. (Mark 16:16).
The man crucified next to Jesus said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43, ESV).
Kyrie eleison!
Coptic Christians immerse their babies in baptism.
Additional Resources:
- What ISIS Really Wants — The Atlantic
- The Blood of the Martyrs — Matt Harrison
- The names listed above were taken from a video posted on YouTube by Dead Reckoning entitled “We Will Not Be Lost.”
Christian persecution has intensified in most Muslim countries, as well as in China and Vietnam, and in Indonesia, and many many other places. The mainstream media lacks interest in this issue, and I see no sense of outrage. Our past and present government administrations provide aid and trade with some of the worst persecuting countries today, and many professing Christians are indifferent to their brothers and sisters suffering. I cannot understand it. Global warming ( a fraud and speculative science), homosexual rights, politics, reality TV, celebrity antics, silly cultural nuances, all get a fair share of news exposure. Meanwhile, in little ancient towns in places like Syria, a Christian believer, poor, despised, and targeted for death, kneels and turns his heart to God for strength as ISIS thugs prepare to behead him. Meanwhile, Christian women and girls in the same village, perhaps the wife and daughters of the man being murdered, will be raped of enslaved as the world stands aloof.
What extraordinary courage these men had. Thank you for posting their names here. The media may not be watching, but the more “grassroots” attention this gets, the better.