The
following excerpts are from AsiaNews.it:
Cairo
(AsiaNews) - The heart of Egypt has been both moved and devastated by
the horrific beheading of 21 Egyptian citizens in Libya at the hands
of jihadist allies of the Islamic State group (Daesh).
Yesterday
and today, every newspaper in the country dedicated its front-page to
the massacre, with titles in black and the pictures of all 21
victims, kneeling on the beach just before they were beheaded. Inside
pages were full of commentaries and feature articles on the tragedy.
Although
Daesh boasted of killing of Christians, in Egypt, the victims are
seen primarily as Egyptians. To commemorate them, the government has
decreed seven days of national mourning.
Yesterday,
President Sisi personally met with Coptic Patriarch Tawadros, head of
the Coptic Orthodox Church and patriarch of Alexandria, to offer
official condolences. Egypt's National Defence Council, chaired by
the president, has been meeting for days to determine how to deal
with the situation.
President
Sisi announced that the 21 Egyptians killed in Libya are true
"martyrs", like their fellow citizens recently killed in
the Sinai. He also said that each family would receive 100,000
Egyptian pounds (about US$ 13,000), plus a regular pension and
medical care for every member.
The
victims came mostly all from villages in Upper Egypt and had
emigrated to Libya to earn some money to get married or support their
families back home.
Tawadros
was joined by Al-Azhar University in denouncing "the awful
crime." Shaykh Ahmad al-Tayeb, head of Al-Azhar, the highest
Sunni authority, as well as the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawqi 'Allam
stressed that Islam and the heavenly religions do not justify such
crimes. The Coptic patriarch noted that the nation would not rest
until the criminals were punished.
Meanwhile,
the families of the victims, from different villages in Minya (Middle
Egypt), have been demanding that the bodies of their loved ones be
returned for burial.
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EGYPT - LIBYA - ISLAM The heart of Egypt moved and devastated - Asia News
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