Coptic Christians from Egypt kneel to await death

Islamic State gave a preview of the next graphic episode to come in the latest edition of Dabiq, a publication from their media wing. This time the 5 minute grisly video from Alhayat Media Centre showed a mass beheading on a Libyan beach. The sound of breaking waves in a deceptively tranquil setting becomes surreally transformed into the kind of bloody sea spectacle usually only seen on a Japanese whaling hunt.

The victims are Egyptian Coptic Christians allegedly captured in Libya. Men dressed in the usual orange jumpsuits contrast with the grey of the water as each is walked along “the coast of Wilyat Tarabulus by the Mediterranean Sea” accompanied by a masked jihadist in black. They are made to kneel, some man appear to be mouthing what may be good byes to a loved one, a final prayer. Then they are lowered face down on the sand and decapitated…. their life blood draining away with the waves.

The leader of the group dressed in desert fatigues (Islamic style) who narrates on the video is another “Jihadi John” figure delivering his message as follows,

A Message Signed With Blood To The Nation Of The Cross

The narrator of the video

The People of the Cross, the followers of the hostile Egyptian Church.

All praise is due to Allah. The strong and the mighty, may blessings and peace be upon the ones sent by the sword as a mercy to all the world. Oh people recently you have seen us on the hills of Sham and plains chopping of the heads that have been carrying the cross of delusion for a long time filled with spite against Islam and Muslims. Today we are in the south of Rome on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message.

All crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes, especially when you are fighting us all together. Therefore we will fight you all together….until the war lays down its burdens and Jesus PBUH will descend breaking the cross, killing the swine and abolishing jizya ( a tax taken from the non-Muslims). The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood.”

Life blood of the executed men drains into the sea

As the men are being beheaded the following words appear on the screen,

“they supplicate what they worship and die upon their paganism. This filthy blood is just some of what awaits you in revenge for Camelia and her sisters”

The main jihadists then points his knife into the air and states,

And we will conquer Rome with Allah’s permission the promise of our Prophet PBUH

End

An article in the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) highlighted the case of “Camelia” (mentioned in IS video) in March 2011. The reference to Camelia refers to Camelia Shehata who was a Christian woman “a priest’s wife, and ‘her sisters in faith’ whom they (Muslims) allege converted to Islam and are imprisoned by the Church and tortured to give up Islam (AINA 9-18-2010 ).” This led to demonstrations against the Egyptian Coptic Church and a case filed by a number of Muslim clerics “contesting the validity of the detention of Camelia Shehata and Wafaa Constantine in the churches of Pope Shenouda III.”

Camelia allegedly appeared on video saying she was a Christian, had not reverted and was staying in a place connected to the church of her own free will. Muslims protesters claim on the other hand that nearly 70 men, women and children “new Muslims” are being held captive and their goal is to set them free.

AINA also stated,

“the return of Camelia from the prisons of the Coptic Church was also the reason Al-Qaida gave for the massacre 58 Assyrians at “Our Lady of Deliverance” Church in Baghdad on October 31, 2010″

The full article can be read on the following link,

http://www.aina.org/news/20110329221230.htm

One man named Michael tweeted the list of names of 21 Egyptians known to be held by IS, see below, though as yet deaths have not been independently confirmed

There was widespread condemnation on hearing of the video content.  Yahoo reported,

“In a statement, Al-Azhar (a renowned centre of learning) said it had heard the news of the beheadings ‘of a group of innocent Egyptians with great sorrow and grief'”.

“Al-Azhar stresses that such barbaric action has nothing to do with any religion or human values.”

Copts in Egypt constitute the largest  Christian community in both Egypt and the Middle East.They are also the largest religious minority in the region. Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, told BBC World Service,

“It’s horrific to be dealt with in this way and the sanctity of life can be overcome and overstepped in this way. Our hearts go out to the families. These are underprivileged who have come from very poor villages just gone to work and support their families and within the rural nature that they come from, this is going to affect their homes, their families, their whole rural community and their villages, so you can imagine the depth and breadth of mourning that there is at the moment in Egypt so we pray for them.”

Full interview here,

https://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/egyptian-christians-beheaded

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.