Metro Detroit Coptic Christians mourn victims of ISIS

posted on: Feb 17, 2015

When Mark Michail of Birmingham heard that 21 Egyptian Christians had been beheaded on a Libyan shore, “the first thing I felt was utter sadness,” he said Monday. “They were basically butchered for their religious beliefs.”

It’s a feeling felt by many in metro Detroit’s Coptic community, who were devastated to find out over the weekend that ISIS had murdered 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, where the Christians had migrated for jobs. Copts are native Egyptian Christians, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

“These are young guys from small villages just wanting to work to provide for their families,” Michail said of the victims. “They weren’t there to cause any problems. To have them butchered like that is very sad.”

At St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Troy, religious leader the Rev. Mina Essak said that while the deaths were sad, the 21 men will “reach the highest levels of martyrs in heaven. … It’s a mixed feeling between tears and rejoicing because they are going up to heaven.”

Source: www.freep.com