“I’m the Mother of Martyrs”,Mom of Brothers killed by ISIS in Egypt says at Anniversary

This would be followed, in February 2015, with a video that the Islamic State released showing the beheading of the Christians. The abductors reportedly confirmed what religion was written on their ID cards before taking the Christians hostage and letting Muslims go free.

It has also been reported that in the days leading to their deaths, ISIS captors tortured the men and attempted to coerce them to deny Jesus in return for their lives. They all refused. The men, during the execution, allegedly repeated the words, “Lord Jesus Christ.”

They have been declared martyrs by the Coptic Orthodox Church and a shrine built for them.

On Saturday, February 15, an exhibition in honor of the men is expected to be held at the shrine, marking five years since their beheading.

The exhibition documents the men’s story, from the time of their abduction to the return of their bodies to the village of Al Our, in Egypt’s Minya province, where the shrine is located.

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Visitors will be shown the orange jumpsuits the men were wearing when they were beheaded, tools with which they were caught, some sand on which their blood was spilled, and the specially made coffins that hold their remains.

Father Abu Fanus Unan, who serves at the shrine, which is housed in the newly built Church of Faith and the Homeland, hinted to ACN about the history of martyrdom in the Coptic Church.

“The Coptic Church has a long history of martyrdom and has gone through many ages of persecution throughout its history,” said Fr. Abu Fanus and added, “We are proud of the blood of these martyrs who refused to recant their Christian faith.”

The Coptic Church honors many martyrs who died in centuries past, but the priest testified to the powerful impact of the witness of “contemporary martyrs who refused to recant the name of Jesus Christ. Their example strengthens our faith.”

Plans are underway to have a book documenting miracles that are attributed to the martyrs’ intercession published.

“There are many miracles in the village attributed to them. A woman with cancer was cured after her prayer at their shrine,” reported Father Abu Fanus, who added that many people were baptized and became Christians because of the example of the 21 martyrs.

“The Coptic Church survives thanks to the blood of her children,” the priest said.

According to Basheer, the brother of Samuel and Beshoy, who also spoke to ACN, the family of the abducted men had spent days praying for the men when they learnt of the abduction.

“Before the release of the ISIS video that showed the killing of my brothers and their colleagues, our family and the church in our village of Al Our had spent 45 days praying for them, as we knew of their kidnapping,” said Basheer, adding, “God talked through their cries of ‘oh Jesus,’ as recorded in the video.”

The victims’ brother added, “Our martyrs were praying before they died; it was obvious that they were calling on Jesus. That gave us comfort and made us proud. Those 21 were fortunate to be martyrs for Christ and our community is honored to have custody of their bodies.”

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The bodies of the 21 were discovered in 2017. The remains of Matthew Ayariga from Ghana are still in Libya. The Libyan ambassador to Egypt has promised the body will be transferred to Egypt once the political situation in Libya stabilizes.

Basheer says the brave death of his brothers has given his family courage in the face of persecution.

“My father and mother felt relief when they became sure that their sons had kept their faith in Jesus Christ, who gave us much relief and comfort. My brothers have given us courage in the face of persecution; we are never afraid and never worry anymore.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.