Islamic terrorists often appear indiscriminate in their violence, killing anybody and everybody in their path: in 2014, journalist James Foley was similarly beheaded, soon followed by fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. Most recently we have the horrific killing of innocent families celebrating on Bastille Day in Nice, France, by an Islamic radical driving a semi-truck. I would never claim that the death of Christians should be condemned more than the other cruel murders that the jihadists commit.
Their Families Mourn:
As the facts unraveled in the week after the release of the gruesome video, the Egyptian government identified twenty of the men as Egyptian citizens and Christians, thirteen from the small farming village of Al-Our, Egypt, one hundred and fifty miles west of Cairo. The tight-knit village was filled with loud weeping and grief the week the video surfaced, over the husbands, brothers, nephews, and friends who were killed.
Hani Abdel Messihah, thirty-two years old, was a husband and father who loved his four children more than anything and had traveled to Libya to provide for them. His wife, Magda, described him as a gentle man full of laughter who loved God and took great care of his family. “There was a prayer in anything [Hani] said,” Magda explained of her devout husband. Yousef Shoukry, twenty-four years old, was, according to his brother, a quiet young man who simply wanted to find a job and start a family. He had hoped that Libya could provide him with the finances he needed to launch his life. When his mother begged him not to go, Yousef answered with the courage of his faith, “I have one God; He’s the same here and there.” Although it was difficult, Yousef’s brother forced himself to watch the video of Yousef’s execution. “I saw that he had strength in his last moments,” his brother said quietly. Like the others, Yousef did not cry or scream as he approached death, but only murmured, “O Lord Jesus.”
Maged Suleiman Shahata, forty-five years old, was born into poverty and couldn’t find a way out for himself, his wife, and their three children, all living together in one room. Maged traveled to Libya, determined to make the money to give his family a future. It wasn’t long before he had earned enough to help his oldest daughter attend college. Maged’s brother mourned his death but said he wasn’t consumed with hatred for the executioners. He acknowledged that the men were now safe where no danger could reach them. “”We are proud that they went to the Father in the sky,’ he said with a warm smile.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Date: 2nd December 2023
Martyr: Coptic Christians
Location: Sirte, Libya
Source: God’s Generals: The Martyrs
Author: Roberts Liardon
Suffering Saturday 067
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