The taxi’s tires screeched as it careened into Pastor Ezzat Habib, his son Ibram, and a friend as they were crossing the street in Cairo. The men were thrown across the street as the taxi raced away.
People hurried to the scene and Habib was rushed to the hospital, suffering from internal bleeding and a broken skull. He underwent surgery, but it didn’t help; he died the next day. The friend suffered a broken leg, and Ibram had severe bruising on his legs and persistent lower back pain.
While he was still stunned and in shock, the hospital had Ibram sign an incident report after Habib arrived, even though he was unable to read it clearly at the time. Later he saw the report contained a completely different set of facts than what had actually happened. The taxi driver went unpunished.
This was no accident. The Habib family was frequently threatened, and faced physical abuse from neighbors and from Egypt’s national security police. In June 2003, Habib was arrested for supposedly “dis- turbing the neighborhood.” He was put in an underground cell that was so narrow he couldn’t sit down. He was physically and sexually abused by the police officers, yet he never rejected his Lord Jesus Christ.
After being in prison for five days, an officer bandaged his eyes, chained his hands, and interrogated him. Two police officers, one on each side, hit him, kicked him, and insulted his wife. He was warned to stop his Christian meetings and to forbid non-Christians from attending. The source of the abuse was clear: Police knew that Habib had been sharing the Gospel with Muslims; he’d been encouraging them to leave Islam and follow Jesus Christ. This could not be tolerated.
In spite of repeated threats, Habib’s congregation continued meeting. Later, two trees smashed through the windows of the Habibs’ apartment building. There was a man in the front yard chopping the trees with an axe. The phone line was cut, and the front door was blocked from the outside. The man claimed a police officer told him to cut down the trees. “Didn’t I tell you to stop doing your meetings?” the officer told Habib. “Look what is happening to you.”
In spite of harassment and continued threats from police and neigh- bors, Ibram and the family resolved to continue the house fellowship after Habib’s death. They had seen him stand firm in his faith, even unto death; they were determined to do the same.
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