ISIS executes 21 Christians in Libya. Yahoo/AP

A still image from the execution video. Yahoo/AP.

ISIS has released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya. Yahoo/AP. The hostages were all laborers from the city of Sitre. In the video the militants claimed that they would conquer Rome. Indeed, their new enclave in Libya is less then 500 miles from the southern part of Italy. Many Egyptians have traveled to Libya for work in wake of the fall of the old government. Egypt has banned travel to Libya but many workers feel the risks are worth it. Coptic Christians have especially been at risk from attacks by militants, including ISIS. Egypt condemned the attacks and has reserved the right to retaliate. 

My Comment:

It is very disturbing that ISIS has managed to get a toehold in Libya. As I have said before this seems to be the inevitable consequence of overthrowing a dictator in the Middle East. Something always fills the void when a hugely powerful man is taken down, and in this case it was radical Islam. ISIS isn't even the only Islamist group active in Libya, but they are by far the most brutal. With ISIS spreading outside the countries of Syria and Iraq, it is worrying to wonder where they will turn up next. Any country that doesn't have a strong government or complete control of their country in the Middle East is vulnerable. 

The even more worrying part of this attack is that all the victims were Coptic Christians. The persecution of Christians in the 21st century is quite possibly the most unreported story of the decade. ISIS has been killing Christians back when they were still called Al-Qaeda in Iraq. All across the Muslim world Christians are getting killed in large numbers. And, for the most part, it isn't part of the public consciousness. Even in Iraq, nobody cared that ISIS was killing people until those people included the more mysterious Yazidi religion.

So why is the persecution of Christians so ignored in western media? It doesn't fit the narrative. According to the press, Christians are always the persecutors and can never be the victim of prejudice or persecution. Even if, somehow, Christians do get attacked it is never because of who they are. Plus, in order condemn these attacks you actually have to criticize the radical Islamists who are doing these attacks. That rarely happens in western media. Even though Christians are the majority in Europe and the United States that is not the case in the Middle East, but to act as if they aren't just isn't possible for the media.