A 62-year-old Egyptian Christian has been executed by a group related to the Islamic State (IS). A video released by the group on Sunday, April 18, 2021, shows the jihadists threatening Christians in Egypt and warning that their fate will be similar to that of the elderly man. This is according to the media outlet Egypt Today.
The victim, Nabil Habashy Salama, said in the video that he had been in captivity for over three months. He added that he had planted a church in Beir el-Abd city in northern Sinai and that the Orthodox Church in Egypt cooperates with the Egyptian military and intelligence services to fight Islamic terrorist groups. He was killed with a single bullet to the back of the head while kneeling with Islamists standing behind him.
The head of the Coptic Church of England, Archbishop Angaelos, has condemned the killing on Twitter and called for prayers for Nabil's relatives. On his Twitter account, the Archbishop also shared a statement from Nabil's son, Peter Habashy, which includes the following: "Islamic State contacted me when my father was kidnapped, and even though I knew my father was under pressure, he would say: "Everything is fine, thank God". My father told me that the fighters wanted to impose a jizya tax on Christians and that he had been kidnapped because he was planting a church (...) In their attempt to make my father renounce his faith, they humiliated my father, broke his teeth and tortured him. Yet, through it all, he persevered and we rejoice in him."
Samuel from the Danish European Mission says: The Sinai Peninsula has been ravaged by Islamic terrorist groups for several years, so Nabil embarked on a harmless mission to plant a church in Beir al-Abd in northern Sinai. His martyrdom shows that Christians are vulnerable in Egypt, despite the fact that every official church building in Egypt is guarded by police and President al-Sisi expresses support for the country's Christians. For example, President al-Sisi has given freedom for more churches to be built and ensured that a huge cathedral has been built in the new district of Cairo, "New Cairo". However, to remain president, there are limits to how far al-Sisi can go in supporting Christians and he has to balance the country's Islamic forces. Islamic forces in the country. Among ordinary Egyptians, prejudice against Christians is rampant and the authorities are not always able to protect Christians from physical attacks."
