Remembering the Christian Martyrs

21 Coptic Christian Martyrs 

Attempting to defend Islam at all costs and/or argue that it is entirely comparable with Christianity is erroneous and problematic.   There are testimonies—both past and present—that give witness of the differences and struggles when encountering Islam.  Robert Hoyland has surveyed Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian sources from the 7th century through the 11th century showing there are “real and substantial” differences.  Father Henri Boulad, an Egyptian Greek Melkite Jesuit, has argued that, “by defending at all costs Islam and seeking to exonerate it from the horrors committed every day in its name, one ends up betraying the truth.”  I myself remember the 21 Christian Coptic martyrs who were killed on February 15, 2015 by masked ISIS terrorists.  I also recall Father Jacques Hamel, the French Catholic priest, who was martyred on July 26, 2016 by two Muslim men who were aligned with ISIS.