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May 3, 2022

On April 7, 2022, in Egypt, a Muslim man lunged at and viciously stabbed a Christian priest thrice in the neck with a knife; Fr. Arsenius Wadid died soon thereafter.  Although the murderer was instantly apprehended by passersby — the crime was committed on a crowded street — Egyptian authorities initially tried to do what their Western counterparts often do: portray the murderer as “insane,” an aberration of society.

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Due to a combination of public outcry (primarily from the Copts themselves), the testimonials of seventeen eyewitnesses, and even the murderer’s own coherent responses — to say nothing of the fact that of all the people he could have “randomly” murdered he targeted the one openly professing his Christian faith by wearing a large crucifix around his neck — prosecution finally confirmed that he would be tried as sane and cognizant of his actions.

Why both Westerners and non-Westerners constantly seek to portray Muslim murderers of non-Muslims as “insane” should be clear by now: the alternative — that Islam somehow promotes such behavior — would open a massive can of worms that no one wants to deal with.

But can one really say that Islam promotes even the unprovoked slaying of a Christian clergyman, Fr. Arsenius, who was peacefully engaged in a public charitable activity with the youth of his church when he was slaughtered?

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Three Koran passages would seem to answer this question in the affirmative: 1. “Kill the polytheists wherever you find them (9:5); 2. “Fight the leaders of disbelief [kufr] (9:12); 3. “When you meet the disbelievers, strike [with your blades at their] necks (47:4).

Consider how these three verses apply to the current case: A Muslim man comes across a “leader of disbelief” — that is, a clergyman, a visible representative of Christianity, as demarcated by the cross around Fr. Arsenius’s neck.  It did not matter that he came across him on an open and crowded street, since Allah also commands the believers to “kill the polytheists” — and Islam categorizes Christians as polytheists due to the Trinity — “wherever you find them.”  Finally, the murderer took his deity’s advice by striking directly at the neck, the jugular, which he repeatedly stabbed with a knife.

Should this rather straightforward interpretation still seem farfetched or not “nuanced” enough, keep in mind that Muslims recite the aforementioned three and many more hate-filled and violent Koran verses every single day; these scriptures are highlighted, praised, and expounded in countless books, on countless televised programs, and all throughout the mosques of the world, especially Egypt’s.  In other words, these verses are ingrained in the minds of pious, observant Muslims. 

Even so, one may object that, if such verses are so influential, why aren’t there more such attacks?  Such an observation can only be made by someone whose information is exclusively derived from “mainstream media” sources: random attacks on “infidels” are actually quite common — not a few of them featuring knife stabs to the neck. 

In Egypt alone — where a Coptic clergyman once complained that attacks on Christians happen “every two or three days” — a murder nearly identical to that of Fr. Arsenius took place in 2017: then, a Muslim man wielding a butcher’s knife was seen and videotaped chasing a Coptic bishop in broad daylight; when he finally cornered him, the Muslim repeatedly stabbed the Christian in his neck and head, murdering him.  Finally, to underscore that his handiwork was religiously (Islamicly) motivated, the murderer used the bishop’s own blood to draw a cross on his forehead.

Further confirming that this killer was motivated by Koran verses such as those cited above, neighbors said that he had recently “begun praying in the street, shouting loudly and calling Christians infidels.”  As for motive, one report explained that “he had decided to kill any Coptic priest, purchased a dagger, and lay in wait for one to pass by, in a street leading to the local church.”