The 21
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15
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Average rating5
Behind a gruesome ISIS beheading video lies the untold story of the men in orange and the faith community that formed these unlikely modern-day saints and heroes.
In a carefully choreographed propaganda video released in February 2015, ISIS militants behead twenty-one orange-clad Christian men on a Libyan beach.
In the West, daily reports of new atrocities may have displaced the memory of this particularly vile event. But not in the world from which the murdered came. All but one were young Coptic Christian migrant workers from Egypt. Acclaimed literary writer Martin Mosebach traveled to the Egyptian village of El-Aour to meet their families and better understand the faith and culture that shaped such conviction.
He finds himself welcomed into simple concrete homes through which swallows dart. Portraits of Jesus and Mary hang on the walls along with roughhewn shrines to now-famous loved ones. Mosebach is amazed time and again as, surrounded by children and goats, the bereaved replay the cruel propaganda video on an iPad. There is never any talk of revenge, but only the pride of having a martyr in the family, a saint in heaven. “The 21” appear on icons crowned like kings, celebrated even as their community grieves. A skeptical Westerner, Mosebach finds himself a stranger in this world in which everything is the reflection or fulfillment of biblical events, and facing persecution with courage is part of daily life.
In twenty-one symbolic chapters, each preceded by a picture, Mosebach offers a travelogue of his encounter with a foreign culture and a church that has preserved the faith and liturgy of early Christianity – the “Church of the Martyrs.” As a religious minority in Muslim Egypt, the Copts find themselves caught in a clash of civilizations. This book, then, is also an account of the spiritual life of an Arab country stretched between extremism and pluralism, between a rich biblical past and the shopping centers of New Cairo.
Reviews with the most likes.
“Be Strong and Courageous For The Lord Is With You....” Joshua 1:9
“The 21” by Martin Mosebach is a heartbreaking story about the Coptic Martyrs who were beheaded by Isis, back in February 0f 2015. But this book goes beyond just the story that you can see. He gives these men their names, their history, and expands on their faith.
Coptic Christians are constantly under threat for their faith. There are dangers on a daily basis but these brave souls have put their faith in God, and trust him through everything. For the 21 brave men who were executed, simply for being Christian, their faith supported them through the end of their lives. They took a stand, and they were killed for their faith. Martin Mosebach is helping their story and courage to live on - and to be shared with many others.
Martin Mosebach does a fabulous job of bringing this story, and the story of the Coptic Christians to light. While reading this book, I went through the gambit of emotions. The stories are heartbreaking, and the photos allow you to see these men as who they were before the video was released.
If you are interested in history, then this book is a MUST read. The struggles, the triumphs, and more are lined out. I gained a better understanding of the Coptic Christians through this book.
