Massacre of NJ Coptic Family Shatters Religious Harmony: Speculation about the motive divides Egyptian Christians and Muslims in N.J.

Story dated 23 January 2005

"The victims -- Hossam Armanious, 47; Amal Garas, 37; and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, found bound and gagged, stabbed repeatedly in the neck and head -- were Copts, or members of the Coptic Orthodox Church." Sylvia was more mutilated than the others; she had a Coptic cross tattooed on her arm and that had been stabbed. Armanious had engaged in vociferous debates with Muslims over religion on a web forum. Some of the Muslims who posted at the site had threatened to hunt him down and kill him. There are conflicting reports that the house was looted, and the murders were connected to a robbery, and that nothing of value was taken -- all the jewelry was still in the house.

There are some other bits of information about this case that the media, and law enforcement officials, are ignoring. An Armanious "family friend has said that an imam in Jersey City declared this Christian family's blood "halal," (i.e., licit to shed), because of their proselytizing activities among Muslims. He has named -- by name -- a suspect in this crime, whose motive was religious and who has fled the country." "The Armanious family was outspoken in trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. Hossam Armanious vigorously spread his faith at PalTalk, and his 15-year-old daughter Sylvia displayed similar zeal at Dickinson High School. . . Islamic law, the Sharia, has traditionally made it a capital offense both for a Muslim to leave Islam, and for a non-Muslim to attempt to convert a Muslim. Many Muslims take such laws very seriously. The Theo van Gogh murder in the Netherlands indicates that at least some will not hesitate to enforce Sharia penalties even in the lands of the infidels." And not for the first time, I believe that, if this was an act of jihad, this incident is America's version of the Van Gogh murder. I hope it was just a robber, but it really looks like it wasn't; and if it wasn't, it points to a huge problem that could stretch across the United States if we don't start paying attention.
---------Copts & Robbers: More evidence that the massacre was religiously motivated

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 4:00 PM

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