A 45 -year -old Iraqi Christian fled from his native country to escape the Islamist persecution was Killed in Lyonto the south of France, the night of September 10.
As reported, I was broadcasting a video on Tiktok in which he talked about his faith. The attack has shocked local Christian communities and has raised called to clarify the reasons behind the murder.
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According to the local newspaper Progressthe victim, identified as Ashur scanaya – who was disabled and used a wheelchair – returned to his building when a man, who apparently expected him, attacked him in his neck with a knife. Emergency services, alerted shortly before 10:30 pm, found it in cardiac arrest and could not revive it.
Born in 1979, Scanaya had lived in the building with her sister for more than a decade, after fleeing the advance of the Islamic State in Iraq in 2014. The neighbors described him as “a vulnerable person who did not walk and never caused problems.”
An anticristian murder?
Family members They told local media That Carnaya, Cristiano Assyrian, frequently transmitted live sessions on Tiktok on the nights in which he talked about Christianity. In a video that still It circulated online The next morning, he appeared with his face covered with blood that sprouted from his nose and mouth.
“He was a normal person. He made live videos on Tiktok to spread the word of God. He had no enemies, he had no problems with anyone,” his sister told RMC-BFM Lyonremembering that it was friends who saw the transmission who alerted it to the time of the attack. “When I arrived, I was already dead. I was on the floor, there were many people, the police, the firefighters.”
In his social networks, Carnaya often shared testimonies of faith in Arabic. In a publication cited by Aleteia FranciaHe complained that their contents were blocked or suspended frequently due to complaints of Muslim users. In March, he said he was physically assaulted by Muslims.
The president of the Assyrian-Caldea Association of Lyon, Georges Shamoun Ishaq, told Catholic media that Scanaya was “a very friendly, discreet person, deeply believer, who liked to talk about the Christian faith.”
The Lyon Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation by homicide, entrusted to the organized and specialized crime division. At this stage, researchers do not prioritize any hypotheses: criminal, political, religious or drug -related. According to AFPa video of a man dressed in black and hooded that fled from the scene circulates, identified as the alleged aggressor.
Catholic organizations response
Several Catholic organizations in France expressed strong concern. ŒUvre d’Orrat Condenó “With the greatest firmness the murder of a vulnerable Iraqi Christian,” stressing that “it is essential that the Christians of the Middle East can testify to their faith safely and live with dignity.”
SOS Christians of the East recalled that scanaya had fled from the persecution of ISIS in Iraq. “It is unimaginable that a Christian who fled the persecution is killed in France,” the organization said, asking for prayers for the rest of his soul and for his family.
Family members also paid tribute to scanaya on social networks. A cousin lo described As a martyr on Facebook: “He preached live when his life was tragically taken away,” he wrote, adding that his faith will always be an inspiration.
The reactions of political leaders have been limited. Marine Le Pen, leader of the right -wing National gathering, affirmed in x that Carnaya “was wildly stabbed in Lyon by an Islamist. Granting asylum to the persecuted is legitimate, but our uncontrolled immigration policy now leads us to welcome their executioners.”
The influencer Lionés Verlaine too He paid tribute To the victim in X, highlighting his marked presence in social networks, “where he shared especially his Catholic faith…”, suggesting that this was the reason for his murder. “Rest in peace, sir,” he wrote.
Unstoppable increase in anti -Christian acts in France
The murder of scanaya occurs in a context of growing concern for anti -Christian incidents in France. Several associations have repeatedly warned about the increase in attacks against churches, cemeteries and believers in recent years.
On August 7, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau asked prefects to strengthen the protection of Christian places of worship, especially around the assumption party. According to Official figuresbetween January and June 401 anti -Christian acts were recorded, an increase of 13% compared to the same period of 2024. The majority correspond to vandalism and desecrations of churches.
On September 8, just two days before the murder, a statue of the Virgin with the child It was burned intentionally during the Mass in the Bon-Secours notre-Dame Basilica in Guingamp (Brittany). The same statue had already been incendiary attacks in 2015 and 2021.
On July 25, the Church of Notre-Dame Des Champs, in the sixth district of Paris, was also subject to a incendiary attack. A year ago, the fire that devastated a historical church in northern France had already caused a National shock wave.
The relative lack of media coverage of anti -Christian acts – which are counted by hundreds every year – has generated concern among Catholic observers that this phenomenon worsens if it is not addressed more seriously.
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.
Solène Tadié
Correspondent in Europe of the National Catholic Register. He is Franco-Suziza and worked at the L’Osservatore Romano in 2015. He has a degree in Philosophy of the Pontifical University of Santo Tomás de Aquino.