Written by Christiana (Year 12)
“So here we are, dying before the eyes of the world” - (Archbishop Mar Nicodemus Sharaf Mosul)
On April 22, 2020, Ranya Abd Al-masih (meaning “servant of Christ''), a Coptic Christian woman in Egypt, disappeared. The English teacher, wife and mother of 3, appeared in a video, dressed in an all black niqab (veil worn covering all of the face apart from the eyes), claimed in tears that she had willingly converted to Islam and no longer wants anyone—her husband, children or family—to bother about her anymore. The abduction of Coptic Christian women and girls who later appear on video as converting to Islam ‘by their own will’ has been a constant occurrence in Egypt. Furthermore, the persecution of the Coptic Christian minority in Egypt is a historical and ongoing issue, and is also a prominent example of the poor treatment of Christians in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
The silence of the world has been deafening, and the organisations who claim to enforce justice remain stagnant. The ongoing cries for help from the women, men and children who live in these volatile environments are ignored. This is a reality for the 260 million Christians who live in places where they are subjected to high levels of persecution. The lack of aid which victims are refused, forces many to flee from their homelands before they are killed, kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned, raped or forced to renounce their religion. The dwindling Christian populations are observed in numerous countries, for example, the Christian population in Iraq, which has fallen from 1.5 million in 2003 to less than 120,000 in 2019.
The inconvenient truth is that 80% of victims in cases of international religious persecution are Christian. Further shocking reports show that only a century ago, Christians comprised 20% of the population in the Middle East and North Africa, since then this has fallen to less than 4%. These statistics communicate the same message. Christians are persecuted at an increasing rate every year, and their existence in their homelands are approaching an intended extinction. In a 2019 article, the BBC stated that “Christian persecution (is) 'at near genocide levels'”, further proving the intentions of power and authority figures worldwide, to completley wipe out their Christian populations.
Through organisations such as ‘Hungary Helps’ and ‘For The Martyrs’, the persecuted are provided with aid and more efforts are made to raise awareness of the issue. However, more must be done. This begins within the Christian community who must adhere by its beliefs and aid its brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith. Recognition and understanding of the issue must also be spread throughout the rest of the world, to normalise the discussion of persecuted Christians.
“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it;”— 1 Corinthians 12:26
“And you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.” — Mt. 10:22
For more about Ranya Abd Al-masih: https://www.raymondibrahim.com/2020/05/05/egypt-missing-christian-woman-reappears-as-pious-muslim-in-video/
“The Last Prayer? Christians in the Middle East (Global Documentary) | Real Stories”:
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