image source, FACEBOOK
- Author, Sherine Sharif
- Role, BBC – fact-checking
Police in South Africa confirmed that the suspect in the killing of 3 Egyptian Christian monks holds Egyptian citizenship and belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The attack occurred on Tuesday, March 12, in the monastery of St. Mark the Apostle and St. Bishop Samuel the Confessor, Johannesburg, in the city of Cullinan, South Africa, a small city located 30 kilometers east of the capital, Pretoria.
The killing of the three monks sparked great controversy in Egypt, as some shared on social media the possibility that extremist groups, or what is known as the Islamic State, were behind the incident.
image source, Social Media
Monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Bishop Samuel the Confessor, Johannesburg
The attack on the monastery resulted in the killing of the three monks, while a fourth monk survived the attack, but was injured in the hand and was able to escape and hide in one of the monastery’s rooms.
South African police said the dead were found with stab wounds and that the attackers left the scene without taking anything.
The police confirmed the arrest of the Egyptian suspect, adding that he is 35 years old and belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church and was in a training phase before becoming a monk.
A statement published on a Facebook page, attributed to the monastery where the attack occurred, said that the incident was not related to any sectarian suspicion, whether directly or indirectly.
The police are still trying to determine the motive behind the killing, especially since the place did not show any signs of a forceful break-in. According to a police statement, the suspect is expected to appear before a court in Cullinan today, March 14, 2024.
Location of attack
The Monastery of Saint Mark the Apostle and Saint Bishop Samuel the Confessor in South Africa is a Coptic Orthodox monastery that was established in 2007 and has been run since its founding by the monk, Father Takla Samuel – one of the victims. The monastery was officially recognized by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church on November 14, 2013.
It is noteworthy that levels of violent crime are rising in South Africa, and the country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
Father Takla Samueli had stated in a television interview that the monastery had been attacked for the purpose of robbery more than once.
The Coptic Orthodox community in South Africa consists of about 4,500 families, according to the church’s website, in a country with a population of 62 million people.
Victims of the attack
The hegumen monk, Takla Musa Samueli, is the representative of the Diocese of South Africa
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The hegomen monk Takla Musa Samueli
He had the name Ayoub and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a monk. He was a servant in the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of St. George in Awlad Elias. He was a resident of the village of Kardos – Sadafa in Assiut Governorate.
He became a monk in the 1980s at the Monastery of Bishop Samuel the Confessor in Mount Qalamoun in Minya Governorate, and after a long period of service in the monastery, he was sent to serve in South Africa.
Monk Mina Ava Marcos
image source, Facebook
The monk Mina Ava Marcus was born in the center of Dar es Salaam, the village of Deir al-Nagamish, Sohag Governorate.
His name was Shawkat Nasri, a disciple, and he entered the monastery at the site of the incident on December 19, 2019.
Monk Justus Ava Marcos
image source, Facebook
Justus Ava Marcos also became a monk on the same day with Monk Mina Ava Marcos. Before becoming a monk, his name was Alaa Mufid Tawfiq. He was born in the village of “Al-Hawatka” in the Manfalut center in Assiut Governorate.
He obtained a Bachelor of Science and worked as a teacher. He worked for a period in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, then traveled to Johannesburg in South Africa to work for 12 years. He frequented the monastery of Saint Mark and Bishop Samuel the Confessor before joining the monastic order. His family did not know about his monasticism for a long time.
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