The Voice of the Martyrs helps bring peace to Egypt

Egypt (MNN) — The media is a double-edged sword. It can educate the public on important issues, or drive it apart.

It informed America on the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians by radical Islamic Jihadists in Libya earlier this year. Though that information was vital for people to know, the media’s attention toward it is creating conflict.

In the Middle East, specifically Egypt, already-tense relationship between Muslims and Christians are becoming increasingly hostile.

But one Christian organization is working to reconcile the two groups. Partners with The Voice of the Martyrs USA traveled to Libya earlier this year to see how they could assist the families of the murdered Christians. The group recently returned to begin the first of three projects: installing clean water filters in five villages where the Christians’ relatives live.

When the VOM partners arrived, a large group of Muslims was protesting a government plan to build a “Church of the Martyrs” in their village. After the beheadings, Egypt was heavy with media attention directed toward Christian persecution. This has caused Muslims to become increasingly skeptical of Christians.

Many of the martyrs’ families live in poverty and lost their source of income when their relatives were murdered by ISIS. The main goal of the VOM partners was to serve the grieving families of the deceased, but when they arrived at the first village, they noticed both Christians and Muslims were living without clean water. Due to this fact and the increasing hostility between the two groups, they decided to extend Christ’s love by providing clean water for both groups.

“Love is our greatest weapon,” one partner said, according to an article by VOM. “In a background like ours, in which violence and weapons are the way to impose submissiveness, love is the greatest weapon a Christian possesses.”

The group has served two of the five villages and will continue to bring clean water to the remaining villages.

You can assist the families of martyrs and help bring peace. Pray that the VOM partners’ efforts would help reconcile Christians and Muslims. Pray also for hope for the grieving families, as well as for the hearts of Islamic extremists. You can financially assist relatives of those killed for their faith by donating to VOM’s Families of Martyrs fund.