A Middle Eastern Christian was stabbed in the neck while speaking about the Christian Faith on social media. He had previously received threats from Muslims over his videos.
“When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks…” (Qur’an 47:4)
“Lyon: Wheelchair-bound Iraqi Christian Murdered Live,” translated from “Lyon : un chrétien Irakien en fauteuil roulant assassiné en plein live,” Aleteia, September 11, 2025:
Ashur Sarnaya, a 45-year-old wheelchair-bound Iraqi belonging to the Assyrian-Chaldean community of Lyon, was murdered on the evening of September 10th while broadcasting a live video on social media. Deeply committed to his Christian faith, this “very kind” and “deeply religious” man was stabbed in front of his home in the 9th arrondissement.
A “very kind” and “deeply religious” man: this is all we know for now about Ashur, a 45-year-old Iraqi man murdered on the evening of Wednesday, September 10th in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon. This wheelchair-bound man, a member of the Assyrian-Chaldean community and a regular at the Saint-Ephrem parish in Lyon, was stabbed in the neck while broadcasting live on social media. “He often made videos about faith; he liked to talk about the Christian religion,” Georges Shamoun Ishaq, president of the Assyrian-Chaldean Association of Lyon, told Aleteia. “He was a very kind, discreet person who had no problems with anyone, but we don’t know much more,” he confided.
In a video clip, viewed by AFP and still online Thursday morning, Ashur Sarnaya appears with a bloodied face. A man allegedly waited for him at the bottom of his building before stabbing him “in the carotid artery” with his weapon and fleeing, according to Le Progrès. A witness filmed a young man leaving the scene from behind, wearing dark clothing and a hood over his head, who was identified as a possible perpetrator. Contacted by neighbors, emergency services found the man in cardio-respiratory arrest and were unable to revive him. Ashur had lived in an apartment building in the 9th arrondissement of Lyon with his sister for about ten years. The latter spoke to RMC and BFM TV. She says she was alerted by friends who were watching her brother’s TikTok live while she was out shopping. “When I got home, I saw that all my friends had called me several times. They told me to go see what was going on. When I arrived, he was dead. He was on the ground, there were lots of people, the police, the firefighters…”, she recounts.
Reaction from the Œuvre d’Orient
In his videos, Ashur spoke in particular about the Christian religion and discussed his disagreements with Islam. One of them, published in March, reported intimidation and threats related to this content. Several comments left on TikTok criticized his content, some in an intimidating manner. An investigation for intentional homicide has been opened by the Lyon prosecutor’s office, which is not favoring any theory at this stage: “nothing points us towards a solid line of inquiry, whether criminal, political, religious, or drug-related,” said a police source.The Œuvre d’Orient responded by condemning “in the strongest terms the murder of an Iraqi Christian in a vulnerable situation.” “It is essential that Christians in the Middle East can bear witness to their faith in complete safety and live with dignity. It assures the family and the Iraqi community in France of its deepest sympathy.”
Carmen says
No surprise here.
rick says
This is France, so I seriously ask, “Is there going to be a real investigation into this public murder?” Somehow I doubt it.
Mell says
Too much musslim and dumbs in the police.
Bob's Your Uncle says
I keep waiting to read articles online detailing how Christians (or Jews for that matter) are randomly murdering defenseless mudslimes throughout Europe, the USA, Canada or anywhere. I keep waiting to see features on MSNBC or CNN about and endless stream of unprovoked burnings of mosques and their desecration with sacks of feces and buckets of urine. This just never seems to happen (or maybe the mainstream media is purposefully failing to report kind of like the daily slaughter of Christians throughout Africa, India, Pakistan and the Middle East?). Is it possible that the vile quotidian acts of the “religion of peace” have become so “normalized” that the populace writ large just accepts this sub-human behavior as inevitable? Asking for a friend.
OLD GUY says
The time will come, and the media will have feeding frenzied on the brutality against islam.
Rick Gordon says
A sad commentary on Europe and freedom of religion. I don’t care that whether he was Iraqi or Christian. I care that he was a human who should have had the right to practice whatever faith he chooses – assuming it does not support or condone violence against the ‘others’.
I wish the Atlantic Ocean was much wider.
somehistory says
The poor man. On the same day as Mr. Kirk and for the same reason. Speech.
And by someone unconcerned with the rights of others to speak….one likely a muzziescum and the other someone with the lamebrain idea that he has more rights to murder than another has a right to life.
abu taleb says
If he and other Islam victims were covered like Charlie Kirk’s murder, the world would have seen a lot less murders.
The shame not only falls to the lef media, but also to the right media.
jerry glenn says
It was such a peaceful stabbing.
WPM says
The French police said” we do not have the motive figure out”?? They said it could be religion ,or drugs?? or I guess someone angry having a case of stab fever?? I am sure they the police have the motive written out in the report when if they catch the cultural enricher ,it was mental illness lone wolf ect .Nothing to do with main stream Islam ,or jihad ,or hate of Christians especial Christians who point out the jihad ethic cleansing of them in the Moslem majority countries.
John Andela says
-How sad this is , yes they can damage the body however the sole and spirit will always remain .
Its unfortunate that as Christians we may at some point be forced to wear neck protection , similar to what hockey players wear during a game to protect them from being cut by skate blades .
When will Islam ever believe that they are folioing a false cult leading to no where ..
Lets stand up for the true faith in Jesus Christ
Alkflaeda says
Given that God has not left any man without a conscience, I suspect that it is precisely because they know that there is something not right about Islam, that they so hate Jews and Christians.
FedUp says
This isn’t very loving, i know, but part if me, the dark part, wants to live to see the days the lefties realize they were simply pawns and their own heads fly off from their now muzzy comrades, when queers for palestine fly off buildings without wings, and when the bombs pierce through the bunkers of the elites after running for cover and realizing their plan was not well thought out from their master…of lies!