Posted on 01/18/2005 8:53:27 PM PST by Selkie
U.S. Copts Association Decries Slaying By Muslim Extremists of Coptic-American Family
Tue Jan 18,10:55 AM ET
To: National Desk
Contact: U.S. Copts Association Communications Office, 202-737-3660
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The U.S. Copts Association express its outrage, shock, and disbelief at the atrocious murder of a Coptic-American couple and their two children in their New Jersey home after father Hossam Armanious expressed "strong Coptic beliefs" to Muslim extremists on an internet discussion forum.
Armanious, a resident of heavily Coptic-populated Jersey City, was a frequent contributor to religious debates in chat rooms accessed through paltalk.com. The 47-year old Egyptian immigrant was known as an opinionated online defender of both his Christian faith and Egypt's persecuted Coptic minority. Authorities suspect the Armanious family's brutal slaying is linked to Armanious' vehement web postings defending Copts against militant Islam and rousing the ire of the internet forum's Muslim fundamentalist participants. A Muslim poster threatened Armanious with retaliation, warning, "We will hunt you down...and kill you."
Armanious, his wife Amal, and their fifteen- and eight-year old daughters Sylvia and Monica were found bound, gagged, and stabbed to death in their Jersey City home on Friday, Jan. 14. All four victim's throats had been slashed. Teenager Sylvia Armanious, an outspoken defender of Copts' religious freedom, sustained the most severe wounds, with slash marks on her throat, chest, and cross- tattooed wrist. Investigators point to the slashing of the teen's cross and the vicious nature of the slayings as indicators of a hate crime.
"Muslim extremists' gruesome slaying of an innocent Coptic family is not only appalling, but disturbing in its implications for the Coptic-American community," said Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association. "Since Egypt's exponential increase in anti-Coptic hate crimes, Copts have fled to the U.S. seeking religious liberty and freedom from persecution. That such deadly prejudice has followed Coptic immigrants out of Egypt is deeply alarming, and must serve as a warning to U.S. officials in their campaign against terrorism. The Armanious family members are modern-day martyrs in Islamic fundamentalists' war on Christianity and the freedom it advocates. Al-Qaeda is not only in the Middle East but in New Jersey and we call on the FBI (news - web sites) to hunt down the killers and bring them to justice."
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The U.S. Copts Association, founded in 1996 and based in Washington D.C., advocates for democracy, religious freedom, and human rights in Egypt. The Association represents over 700,000 Egyptian Christians in the United States.
Greta replay on on Fox..
Throats and heads stabbed repeatedly..No forced entry. Indicate more than one killer. Victims found in separate rooms,bound and gagged, some jewelry missing, some still there.
Family backing off and letting case proceed...Officials concerned about "religeous war" aspect.
Robbery could be a coverup. Seems like it was personal..an execution. Could it be someone they knew?
At this point the cause continues to be speculation with all leads being followed.
Believe very little of what you read in the media until and IF arrests are made.
Someone close to the family assures that the local muslim community has made a concerted outreach to the remaining familly members.
We ought not allow ourselves to be whipped to a frenzy without facts.
There are really several different motivations for a crime. Usually they fall into personal grudges or material greed though. Someone robbing a place and then killing the victim usually looks totally different than a person going into a house with the intent of settling a score.
I think Furhman's using "personal" in that way" and not in the "he knew his attacker" way.
Just another celebration of diversity.
Sure it seems like their handiwork but I want some more evidence, some arrests and some suspects. That's how justice works in the USA. Not that I'm betting against Islamics being the perps!
It started before Bush was in office.
bump!
k png
The religon of peace strikes again.
A family brutally murdered in their home for practicing Christianity in America? What make you think that will be swept under the rug? /sarcasm
Maybe you are not aware, but "these people" started imigrating long before GWB was elected.
Maybe its just because I've been a lawyer too long, but I really think we should try to reserve judgment until the police and/or the FBI do their thing. Sectarian violence is a terrible thing and plagues much of the world, usually involving Mohammedans and I suspect it does here too. But don't jump to conclusions. I've just seen too many cases in the last 28 years when nearly everyone thought a crime had been committed one way by a definite person or persons only to find out in the end it was otherwise.
Muslim scumbags doing what they do best!
I agree. If, however, it is found to be a religious hate crime, I think a lot of people are enough on edge that it wouldn't take much to start seeing widespread retaliation against those deemed responsible for this act.
I was a cop for lots of years and I agree. However, just the fact that Islam is at the top of the motive list is rather telling. If the victim had been arguing theology with a Buddhist, Dominican, or Rabbi, then I doubt religion would even be considered as a motive. Either way, makes me glad to live on a very rural ranch.
This is obviously a robbery. Nothing to see here. Move along.
She is completely unwatchable as far as our family is concerned. Nevertheless, I tuned in last night just to see if she would be working this spectacular murder story...
... nothing. She is on to the murder of some obscure couple in Florida. Oh, the wife is pretty, just like Lacy.
Greta is such a loser. But maybe she's just watching out for her own health plus FOX doesn't want to p!$$ off CAIR anymore.
She did have it on..I saw it in the middle of the night..She had a reporter on saying what I reported...I saw the Fla couple segment,too.
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