CAIRO, Egypt — On Friday, a group of Coptic Christians were traveling to the monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor on a bus when they were attacked. A team of almost 10 gunmen in 3 SUVs ambushed the bus wearing military uniforms and masks. They opened fire on the bus killing 28, including children, and leaving 25 to 40 others wounded. According to Fox, “only three children survived the attack”.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypts population of over 92 million people. They are the Middle East’s largest Christian community. Although no group has claimed responsibility for this attack yet, many suspect ISIS is behind the attack due to their declaration of war on Egyptian Coptic Christians. ISIS has described Coptic Christians as their “favorite prey”. These attacks are becoming more and more common to the Christians in Egypt, that they almost expect it. In the aftermath of the attacks on two churches in Egypt this past Palm Sunday, a man who survived one of those bombings stated, “I was shocked. But I’m not angry because … we’re used to it ( this kind of violence) here in Egypt… Every church in Egypt just prepares for this…Everyone knows that some time you will get bombed, you will be killed.” These two attacks in Tanta and Alexandria left 49 people dead and 78 injured.
It may be hard to believe and see in America, but Christianity has been deemed the most persecuted group in the world for the second year in a row, according to the Center for Studies on New Religions. It is attacks like the one today in Egypt that gives a glimpse of reality into that statistic.
Even with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s three-month nationwide state of emergency, Coptic Christians still feel that Egyptian authorities are “not doing enough to protect them”, according to BBC news.
