“I pray for those who killed him”: 21 Copts martyred in Libya remembered 10 years on

Ten years ago, the Islamic militant group so-called Islamic State (IS) uploaded a chilling video to YouTube, entitled ‘A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross’. It showed 20 Coptic Christians and a Ghanaian believer in orange jumpsuits being marched along a Libyan beach by their captors – and soon-to-be executors. The men were given one last chance to renounce their faith before they were beheaded.  

The haunting image of these believers kneeling, awaiting execution, remains etched in the memories of many. And the video certainly drew vivid and international attention to the kinds of persecution faced by Christians in Egypt. But the method of their execution is not how the families of these courageous Christians remember them. They are remembered as men who refused to deny their faith, who became ‘obedient to death’ (Philippians 2:8). 

Ten years on, they are remembered by their families – and many Christians around the world – as faithful followers of Christ. Local Open Doors partners recently visited some of the families of the men to pray for them.  


 

Girgis (the elder) – “He is with Jesus, and that is what matters” 

Inside the house of Girgis’s parents, the walls are covered with posters, and in one corner stands a cupboard filled with clothes and small boxes. The posters are of his son and the other martyrs. The cupboard is a sacred space for this family, housing Girgis’ belongings. 

Samir, Girgis’s father, shares why he – like many of the martyrs – left home. “He had gone to Libya to work, to support the family and to build his own one. Opportunities are almost absent here; jobs are extremely limited if available.” Samir recalled pleading with his son to return, to stay home, to not go back.  

“Girgis was just 24 when he was kidnapped and beheaded. He had been engaged and was planning to marry in August of 2015, when he finally envisioned to return home to Egypt for good.” The house that Samir built for Girgis and his future wife remained empty. Instead, Girgis’s memory lives on in a small chapel, built in his honour. 

Samir knows his son ultimately has victory in Christ. He says, “Girgis is with Jesus, and that is what matters now. I surely miss him every second. I have forgiven the militants who killed my son. They did not know what they were doing.” 

He pauses before continuing: “Why shouldn’t I forgive? The Lord forgives us every second, and He forgave His own persecutors. My son is a martyr for Jesus, and that is a blessing. I pray for those who killed him – that they may see the truth and follow the light.” 

Forgiveness is a shared conviction among all the families who lost loved ones to IS in Libya. Pain is another common thread, of course, yet their faith surpasses both pain and anger.  
 

Loka – “Jesus was with him all the way” 

Loka was 27 years old when he was killed. A husband and father, he had travelled to Libya to support his family. His posters and photographs adorn the walls of his parents’ house.

   Pride is evident on his father, Nagaty’s, face. He walks through the village with his head held high – not because his son had died, but because Loka had not wavered. He had not hidden his faith, he had not denied Christ, and he had not fled. He had stood firm, embracing his faith even in the face of torture and death. 

“Yes, I saw the video,” Nagaty, Loka’s father, admits. “I didn’t want to, but I needed to. I had to know if he stayed strong until the end. I prayed constantly, asking the Lord to give him strength. 

“I heard him,” Nagaty continues. “I heard his voice, calling on the name of Jesus just before the beheading. That was his voice. I recognised him. And I was relieved. He was faithful. Jesus was with him all the way. And now, he is with Jesus. What more could a father ask for?” 
 

Matthew – the faithful convert 

When IS beheaded the 21 men, they were denied a proper burial. Their bodies were discarded in a mass grave. Three years later, one of the captured militants revealed the location where the martyrs had been hidden, and their remains were finally returned to Egypt. A church was built in their hometown to honour their memory. Their bodies now rest inside, along with their portraits and testimonies.  

Among them lies Matthew, the Ghanaian martyr. His home country refused to receive his body, so Egypt embraced him as one of their own. Matthew had not been a Christian when he first met the 20 Copts. But after witnessing their unwavering faith in the face of death, he chose to follow Christ. He was baptised and given the name ‘Matthew’. He was beheaded alongside them, proclaiming the name of Jesus. 
 

Essam – “He used to say it is a blessing to die for the Lord” 

Essam was 24 years old when he left for Libya in July 2013, searching for work. In December 2014, he and six others were kidnapped by IS militants while attempting to return to Minya, Egypt. 

In Essam’s home, the same kind of posters cover the walls that were in other families’ homes. Baddar, Essam’s father, looks at his son’s poster with both love and pride. He remembers the extraordinary gaze his son lifted to the sky in the moments before his execution. Essam’s expression was calm, peaceful, not that of a man awaiting his beheading.  

“When Essam used to hear about persecution, he used to envy the Christians who embrace death for the name of Jesus! He didn’t search for death, but he used to say it is a blessing to die for the Lord! And he died for Him,” recalls Baddar. 
 

A testament to a faith that conquers fear 

A decade has passed, but the grief for these families remains fresh. Families still wonder what their sons might have become if they had lived. Yet, in their sorrow, they hold fast to one unshakable truth: gratitude that their loved ones are in heaven, crowned as martyrs. Even more remarkable is their decision to forgive the perpetrators, embodying the very faith for which their sons laid down their lives. 

The 10th anniversary of the Coptic martyrs in Libya is a solemn milestone, and a time to honour these men who bore witness to Christ even unto death. But it is also a reminder: not everyone is called to die for their faith, but all are called to live it courageously. Every believer is called to fulfil their God-given purpose, whether in life or in death. 

The story of the Coptic martyrs stands as a testament to a faith that conquers fear, a hope that endures suffering, and a love that forgives even the gravest wrongs. 
 

The Coptic martyrs 

Below are the names of our brothers who were martyred in Libya on 15 February 2015. Please pray for their families and all who grieve their loss. 

• Tawadros Youssef Tawadros  
• Magued Seliman Shehata 
• Hany Abd el Messiah 
• Ezzat Boushra Youssef 
• Malak (the elder) Farag Ibrahim 
• Samuel (the elder) Alham Wilson 
• Malak (the younger) Ibrahim Seniut 
• Loka Nagati Anis  
• Sameh Salah Farouk 
• Milad Makin Zaky 
• Essam Baddar Samir 
• Youssef Shoukry Younan 
• Bishoy Stefanos Kamel 
• Abanub Ayat Shahata 
• Girgis (the elder) Samir Megally 
• Mina Fayez Aziz 
• Kiryollos Boushra Fawzy 
• Gaber Mounir Adly 
• Samuel (the younger) Stefanos Kamel 
• Girgis (the younger) Milad Seniut  
• Matthew Ayariga, from Ghana