ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL CONDEMNS THE KILLING OF 21 COPTIC CHRISTIANS BY THE ISLAMIC STATE SOLDIERS ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL CALLS UPON THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO JOIN HANDS WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO STOP THIS BARBARIC RELIGIOUS GROUP

ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL CONDEMNS THE KILLING OF 21 COPTIC CHRISTIANS BY THE ISLAMIC STATE SOLDIERS

ALL INDIA CHRISTIAN COUNCIL CALLS UPON THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO JOIN HANDS WITH THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY TO STOP THIS BARBARIC RELIGIOUS GROUP

Hyderabad, February, 2015

All India Christian Council strongly condemns the barbaric killings of 21 Coptic Christians by the Islamic State Soldiers. The Christian Council also calls upon the Indian Government to join hands with the global community to stop this barbaric religious group.

21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were captured in Libya by ISIS-affiliated militants in December 2014 and January 2015 and were beheaded on February 16. The minority Christians in the area are wracked with grief and panic after these killings. The ISIS-affiliated militants have been killing Christians, Muslims and Yazidi people in the region.

The All India Christian Council strongly condemns the ongoing barbaric killings and murders by the soldiers of ISIS. Bishop Dr. Joseph D'souza, the President of the All India Christian Council said, "This kind of violence by the Islamic State soldiers is a crime against humanity. The killing of Christian families and children, the Yazidi and even Muslims is a horror that the world had not expected, especially as it continues unabated and in a deliberate fashion."

The Christian Council joins the rest of the Christian community around the world in prayer for the families of the 21 Coptic Christians who were martyred. Bishop Dr. Joseph D'souza further said, "The All India Christian Council stands in solidarity with the Coptic Church in Egypt and also the ancient Church in Iraq, and affirms the truth that the blood of martyrs has been the seed of the Christian Church for the last 2,000 years."

The Christian Council calls Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government to work with the global community in bringing the violence in Iraq and neighboring places to a halt through all democratic means. Bishop Dr. D'souza said, "It would be tragic and devastating to global peace if a religious war broke out in these regions due to the unabated violence unleashed by ISIS in the name of religion."

The All India Christian Council is a nationwide alliance of Indian Churches, organisations and individuals. Over 2000 Christian denominations, organisations and major Christian alliances are members of the Christian Council. The Christian Council works for religious freedom, freedom of conscience and the fundamental rights of all marginalised groups regardless of caste and faith. It works for communal peace, development and for upholding the integrity and unity of India and its Constitution. The All India Christian Council is a major national and global voice in the causes and issues it espouses