Coptic priest murdered in Cairo

A Coptic priest has been hacked to death in Cairo. Father Samaan Shehata, a 45-year-old Coptic Orthodox priest, from the Beni Suef district south of Cairo, was visiting the capital for a conference when a man reportedly stopped his vehicle and then attacked him with a cleaver. His death is the latest in a wave of violence which has hit the Coptic churche, including bombings and kidnappings. It provoked a strong response both in Egypt and abroad.

A Coptic priest has been hacked to death in Cairo. Father Samaan Shehata, a 45-year-old Coptic Orthodox priest, from the Beni Suef district south of Cairo, was visiting the capital for a conference when a man reportedly stopped his vehicle and then attacked him with a cleaver.

The attacker, who has not been named, fled the scene, but was later arrested. A local journalist told Egypt Independent it was believed to have been a ‘hate crime executed by an extremist affiliated to IS [the Islamic State group] or Salafism’.

It may well be he was targeted only for the clothes he was wearing – in Egypt a clear indication of his religious profession.

A statement from the Coptic Church in Egypt said another priest, Benjamin Moftah, was also injured during the attack in the El-Marg suburb of northern Cairo.

Why should a priest not be safe on the streets?

The murder provoked a strong reaction from representatives of the Coptic church, both in Egypt and further afield.

In a powerful statement, Coptic Bishop Angaelos of the United Kingdom talked of ‘Another day in Egypt with another Coptic Christian murdered’ and demanded to know ‘Why should a priest not be able to walk safely down a street?’

He went on to talk of the many other injustices and attacks to which Coptic Christians have been subjected recently:

“The immense pain of this incident and all that have preceded it, including: child kidnapping, forced conversion, individual targeting, bus attacks and church bombings against the Coptic Orthodox community in Egypt, leads us to hold more strongly onto the words of our Lord God in Exodus 3:7: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry…for I know their sorrows.’ Coptic Christians who have endured injustice, persecution, and loss of life for centuries without retaliation, repeatedly forgiving unconditionally, deserve to live with respect and dignity in their indigenous homeland.”

Samuel Tadros, a Coptic-American analyst, took to Twitter to highlight the social reality. “This may be a horrific crime but it does not happen in a vacuum,” he wrote. “Coptic priests are insulted and harassed daily as they walk in Egypt[ian] streets.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, wrote on Twitter: "Deeply saddened by brutal murder of Father Samaan, Coptic Orthodox priest in Cairo. We pray for the church, for him and those who mourn him."

wave of violence

The attack is only the latest incident in a deadly wave of violence which has hit Egypt’s Copts this year.

In February, representatives of IS vowed to ‘wipe them out’. In the same month, hundreds of Copts fled Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after eight Copts were murdered and Islamists posted videos and leaflets telling Copts to leave the area or be killed.

In April, twin bombings of Coptic churches killed 49 during packed Palm Sunday worship services, then in May 28 Copts were slaughtered on a bus in Minya.

In July, after three more Copts were murdered in eight days, a priest in Cairo said, “Copts are facing the most aggressive campaign against them in the history of modern Egypt. The government must be held accountable for its failure to protect them. It also needs to fight relentlessly against sectarianism and discrimination, which produce an inexhaustible supply of these awful crimes”.

This feeling of righteous anger is only too evident in the statement from Bishop Angaelos, which concludes with a powerful call for justice:

"In the midst of this anger and this sadness however I continue to pray. I pray repose for Father Samaan, I pray for his family, I pray for his community. I pray for the wider Egyptian Christian community that feels more and more vulnerable and targeted daily against a backdrop of negligence and injustice. I pray for the wider Egyptian society, that becomes more and more discredited and compromised as these incidents continue to happen."

"This anger is not void of forgiveness, but cries out for accountability and justice."