Photo Courtesy: World Watch Monitor
Islamic extremists in Libya recently killed two Coptic Christians from Egypt simply because they were Christian.
Wasfi and Fahmi Michael were guest workers who had travelled to Libya to earn wages to support their family.
According to World Watch Monitor, the father of the brothers, 60-year-old Bakhit Michael of Sohag said his sons only earned about $7 per day in Upper Egypt, "hardly enough to buy a sack of flour." Libya is a wealthy oil-producing nation, and many foreigners come to the country to earn at least $35 per day or more.
Wasfi and Fahmi had reportedly worked in Libya for more than 10 years and were recently lured by a Libyan to "inspect a job."
Later, their bodies were discovered with "white gloves on their hands." This is usually a signature left behind on the bodies of victims of the militant Islamic group Ansar-ul Sharia.
Last February, 20 Egyptian Christians and a Ghanian were beheaded in Libya by ISIS. Two months later, I met with some of the families who were still grieving the loss of their loved ones.
However, they told me they were proud that their fathers, husbands, and sons did not deny Christ when ISIS offered to free them if they would say the shahada (Muslim prayer of conversion, faith).
If you missed that story, you may watch it here:
I traveled to Libya in 2011 and met with Egyptian Copts. Little did they know at that time that Islamic extremists would eventually seize control of much of the country following the murder of deposed strongman Muammar Gaddafi.
All was well when they invited CBN News to videotape one of their services:
This Christmas season, Let's not forget Egyptian Coptic and Libyan Christians (yes, there are some Libyans) who risk their lives in Libya simply for being Christian.
They need our prayers and help in what has now become one of the top countries where Christians face the greatest persecution.