ICC Note: The issue of religious persecution around the world has gained attention as an important human rights issue, what many in the West may not realize is that Christians make up the most persecuted groups. Places like Egypt where there is a significant Christian minority, but inter-communal tensions and a radicalized element make for a volatile situation for Christians who fear persecution both legally and from society around them.Â
12/13/2015 Egypt (Crux) If there were a Nobel Prize for enduring misery, Nabil Soliman would be an awfully compelling candidate.
Two years ago, the 54-year-old Egyptian Christian was a security guard in his small Upper Egyptian village of Nazlet El Badraman, where his family had lived for generations. Though hardly rich, he and his wife Sabah, along with their six children and five grandchildren, were comfortable and proud of Nabil for being the lone Christian in town to hold such a position of trust.
Then, the sky fell in.
In November 2013, Islamic radicals in his village went on a violent rampage, angry over the removal of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi as the country’s president. Christians, who represent roughly 10 percent of Egypt’s population, made convenient targets.
Soliman’s was among the first homes to be torched. Rather than restraining the mob, town police instead arrested Soliman, and, as they hauled him away to the station house, invited bystanders to beat him.
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