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21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
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21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
On 12 February 2015, the Islamic State (ISIL) released a video online showing photos of 21 Christian construction workers—twenty from Egypt and one from Ghana—that they had kidnapped in the city of Sirte, Libya, and who they reported had been killed. The men, who came from different villages in Egypt, 13 of them from Al-Our, Minya Governorate, were kidnapped in Sirte on 27 December 2014, and in January 2015. On February 15, 2015, the Islamic State's media wing published a video online titled "A message signed with blood to the nation of the cross," in which the 21 captives were paraded on a beach before being beheaded. ISIL claimed that the executions were in retaliation for the alleged abduction of Kamilia Shehata. 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. 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. On 19 April 2015, IS released another video, which showed the murder of about 30 Ethiopian Christians.
The victims, all but one members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared martyrs and saints in February 2015 by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 Christian 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. The martyrs are commemorated on 15 February (civil calendar) in both Christian denominations. A film titled The 21 was released in 2024 to commemorate them.
On 15 February 2015, a five-minute video was published by Al-Hayat, an IS multi-language media wing, showing the beheading of the captives on a beach along the southern Mediterranean coast. A caption in the video called the captives the "People of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church". In the video, the leader was dressed in camouflage, while the other terrorists were dressed in black. The victims were all dressed in orange jumpsuits, as in many previous IS videos. The group of killers identified itself in the video as the Tripoli Province of IS. The leader declared in English:
All praises due to Allah, the strong and mighty, and may blessings and peace be upon the one sent by the sword, as a mercy to all the worlds [Muhammad]. Oh people, recently you've seen us on the hills of Al-Sham [Greater Syria] and on Dabiq's Plain, chopping off the heads that had been carrying the cross delusion for a long time, filled with spite against Islam and Muslims, and today we're on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message: Oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes. Especially when you're fighting us all together, therefore, we will fight you all together, until the war lays down its burdens and Jesus, peace be upon him, will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine, and abolishing Jizya, and the sea you've hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood.
In the moments before the beheadings (3'25" to 3'32" of the video) an edited audio clip records a number of them crying out "Ya Rabb Yesua!" and the caption reads: (Arabic: يذكرون معبودهم ويموتون على شركهم, lit. 'They supplicate what they worship and die upon their paganism'), suggesting that they had been given a chance to convert to Islam but refused it: For this reason, the Coptic Church proclaimed them martyrs. During the beheading of the captives (3'32" to 3'40" of the video), a part of an IS a cappella chant, "Qariba..Qariba" was playing in the background of the video, with an edited audio clip of the captives yelling in agony. After beheading the captives (3'40" to 4'15" of the video), the a cappella chant continued to play and a message appears on the screen: (Arabic: هذه الدماء النجسة بعض ما ينتظركم، ثأرا ل (كاميليا) وأخواتها, lit. 'This filthy blood is just some of what awaits you, in revenge for Camelia and her sisters.') This was referencing Camelia Shehata, a Coptic Egyptian woman and wife of a Coptic priest, who Islamists believe had converted to Islam and was detained by the Coptic Church because of it; she later denied the claim. In the final part of the video (4'15" to 5'01" of the video), the speaker declares; "and we will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission, the promise of our Prophet, peace be upon him," pointing his knife toward the sea, while the captives' blood pooled into the Mediterranean coast.
The Coptic Church, the Egyptian government, and the Libyan parliament confirmed the deaths.
Following the release of the video, several experts argued that it had been digitally manipulated and that the actual murders were likely filmed in front of a green screen and then superimposed onto the footage of the beach. The videos were manipulated to show the militants as being seven feet tall in order to propagate fear. Although there were manipulations done to the video, experts confirm that the 21 Christians were killed.
Later, when one of the perpetrators of the operation was arrested, he admitted in the investigation that the slaughter had taken place at the beach opposite Al Mahary Hotel in Sirte.
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21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya
On 12 February 2015, the Islamic State (ISIL) released a video online showing photos of 21 Christian construction workers—twenty from Egypt and one from Ghana—that they had kidnapped in the city of Sirte, Libya, and who they reported had been killed. The men, who came from different villages in Egypt, 13 of them from Al-Our, Minya Governorate, were kidnapped in Sirte on 27 December 2014, and in January 2015. On February 15, 2015, the Islamic State's media wing published a video online titled "A message signed with blood to the nation of the cross," in which the 21 captives were paraded on a beach before being beheaded. ISIL claimed that the executions were in retaliation for the alleged abduction of Kamilia Shehata. 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. 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. On 19 April 2015, IS released another video, which showed the murder of about 30 Ethiopian Christians.
The victims, all but one members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, were formally declared martyrs and saints in February 2015 by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the 21 Christian 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. The martyrs are commemorated on 15 February (civil calendar) in both Christian denominations. A film titled The 21 was released in 2024 to commemorate them.
On 15 February 2015, a five-minute video was published by Al-Hayat, an IS multi-language media wing, showing the beheading of the captives on a beach along the southern Mediterranean coast. A caption in the video called the captives the "People of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian Church". In the video, the leader was dressed in camouflage, while the other terrorists were dressed in black. The victims were all dressed in orange jumpsuits, as in many previous IS videos. The group of killers identified itself in the video as the Tripoli Province of IS. The leader declared in English:
All praises due to Allah, the strong and mighty, and may blessings and peace be upon the one sent by the sword, as a mercy to all the worlds [Muhammad]. Oh people, recently you've seen us on the hills of Al-Sham [Greater Syria] and on Dabiq's Plain, chopping off the heads that had been carrying the cross delusion for a long time, filled with spite against Islam and Muslims, and today we're on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message: Oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes. Especially when you're fighting us all together, therefore, we will fight you all together, until the war lays down its burdens and Jesus, peace be upon him, will descend, breaking the cross, killing the swine, and abolishing Jizya, and the sea you've hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood.
In the moments before the beheadings (3'25" to 3'32" of the video) an edited audio clip records a number of them crying out "Ya Rabb Yesua!" and the caption reads: (Arabic: يذكرون معبودهم ويموتون على شركهم, lit. 'They supplicate what they worship and die upon their paganism'), suggesting that they had been given a chance to convert to Islam but refused it: For this reason, the Coptic Church proclaimed them martyrs. During the beheading of the captives (3'32" to 3'40" of the video), a part of an IS a cappella chant, "Qariba..Qariba" was playing in the background of the video, with an edited audio clip of the captives yelling in agony. After beheading the captives (3'40" to 4'15" of the video), the a cappella chant continued to play and a message appears on the screen: (Arabic: هذه الدماء النجسة بعض ما ينتظركم، ثأرا ل (كاميليا) وأخواتها, lit. 'This filthy blood is just some of what awaits you, in revenge for Camelia and her sisters.') This was referencing Camelia Shehata, a Coptic Egyptian woman and wife of a Coptic priest, who Islamists believe had converted to Islam and was detained by the Coptic Church because of it; she later denied the claim. In the final part of the video (4'15" to 5'01" of the video), the speaker declares; "and we will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission, the promise of our Prophet, peace be upon him," pointing his knife toward the sea, while the captives' blood pooled into the Mediterranean coast.
The Coptic Church, the Egyptian government, and the Libyan parliament confirmed the deaths.
Following the release of the video, several experts argued that it had been digitally manipulated and that the actual murders were likely filmed in front of a green screen and then superimposed onto the footage of the beach. The videos were manipulated to show the militants as being seven feet tall in order to propagate fear. Although there were manipulations done to the video, experts confirm that the 21 Christians were killed.
Later, when one of the perpetrators of the operation was arrested, he admitted in the investigation that the slaughter had taken place at the beach opposite Al Mahary Hotel in Sirte.
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