On Palm Sunday of this year, a total of 55 Coptic Christians were murdered while worshipping in their churches, one just outside Cairo, and another in Alexandria. ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings. While persecution of all Christians has been a tactic of terrorism for ISIS, the Coptics (or Copts as they are usually referred to), have been terrorized and attacked even more frequently than many other groups. The militants have previously claimed that attacks against Coptics are revenge for Muslim women persecuted by Coptic crusaders in Egypt. It is also believed that this particular Cathedral was attacked for the second time because it is the seat of the Coptic Pope, and the persona of Mark himself, author of the oldest of the four gospels. Copts are among the oldest of all the continuous Christian faiths, if not the very oldest. Furthermore, experts who have studied ISIS and other similar groups confirm that these groups “absolutely detest cultural symbolism.”