A Decade after ISIS’ Mass Execution, ‘The 21’ Film Brings Their Story to Millions
“In 2015, ISIS murdered 21 Christian migrant workers on a beach in Libya. This is the story of the men who died, as told by those who loved them and those who hated them.” That is the opening line of a new, short animated film The 21. This past weekend marked the tenth anniversary of the mass-martyrdom, made public by a video released by ISIS that showed the brutal beheading of men lined up and dressed in orange jumpsuits.
The history of the Coptic Orthodox Church goes back to Mark, the apostle and author of the Gospel who first brought the Christian faith to Egypt. According to tradition, Mark was arrested in Alexandria on Easter Day of AD 68 and dragged to his death. Thus, he is considered both the father of the Coptic Church and the first of the Coptic martyrs, a group of millions that The 21 joined a decade ago.
In fact, just twenty of The 21 were Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians. The twenty-first man was a Christian man from Ghana, who was also captured by Isis during a separate raid. When given the opportunity to be released, he refused, saying that the God of “the twenty” was his God. In fact, the entire group of 21 were given numerous opportunities for release. Like millions of martyrs before them, they needed only to deny Christ and be spared. Over weeks, they were beaten, sleep deprived, and worked until exhaustion.
In the end, they were martyred one at a time. ISIS hoped that at least some of The 21 would deny their faith after seeing what was done to the others. None did. As the film says, “all died with the name of Jesus on their lips.”
The 21 is a film project of More Productions, founded by Mark Rogers and led by filmmaker and attorney (and Colson Fellow) Mandi Hart. This 13-minute animated short was created in the style of Coptic iconography. The imagery is striking, beautiful, and captivating. Over 70 artists from 24 countries worked to create this beautiful tribute to Christ and those who died rather than deny Him.
In an article entitled “What is Worth Dying For?,” Rogers described what inspired the project for him:
The idea for the use of animation came to me from a photo of one of the martyrs, Kirollos Shokry Fawzy, and a well-known icon from an Egyptian monastery which I have in my office. The icon is called Christ the Pantocrator.
The Coptic (Egyptian) communion considers itself the “church of the martyrs” and has experienced persecution since its founding in the First Century. Coptic men and women tattoo crosses on their wrists to identify themselves in case they are killed. They are often vulnerable to attacks by extremists, especially in rural areas. Copts have a rich and ancient culture, including a unique form of Iconography, which has a cartoon-like aesthetic. Rather than produce a traditional documentary, or (even more challenging) a scripted film, we decided to allow what is otherwise unseen by human eyes be seen through the use of icon-inspired animation.
In 2019, the Colson Center recognized Mama Maggie with the William Wilberforce award. This wonderful servant of Christ has dedicated her life to feeding, educating, and caring for street children in Egypt. Many of The 21 martyred on that Libyan beach had been educated in the schools founded by Mama Maggie. Their testimony of faithfulness, even until death, not only was brought before the entire world, thanks to the evil intent of their persecutors filming their execution, but now again because of this animated short film. In fact, their story was brought before the Academy of Motion Pictures, and the film has been short-listed for an Oscar.
This weekend, in honor of the tenth anniversary of their execution on the beach, The 21 can be viewed for free on YouTube. Learn more about the film and this remarkable story at The21Film.com. And please, spread the word about this film.
What ISIS intended for evil, God is still using to proclaim to millions the name of His Son.
Photo Courtesy: ©Instagram/21martrysfilm
Published Date: February 14, 2025
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
