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COPTIC KILLINGS
Family of slain Christians
speaks out
Egyptian immigrants' kin confirm murder method comes from Quran

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Posted: February 16, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern


By Sherrie Gossett
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com



Support pin for slain Coptic family quotes Matthew 10:28 (photo © Carrie
Devorah)

WASHINGTON – Relatives of a brutally slain New Jersey Christian family spoke
out yesterday for the first time, saying the killings were consistent with
Quranic methods of slaying infidels.

The bodies of the Coptic-American family, including father Hossam Armanious,
47, his wife Amal Garas, 37, and daughters Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were
found bound and gagged with their throats slashed in their New Jersey home on
Jan. 14. Hudson County prosecutors are said to be exploring several possible
motives for the slayings, including retaliation by terrorists against Hossam
Armanious, described as an outspoken advocate for Coptic Christian religious
freedom in Egypt and a well-known leader of an online ministry to the Muslim-
American community.


Held at the National Press Club, yesterday's press conference included a
statement by U.S. Copts Association President Michael Meunier.

"We feel it is extremely important that the public hear the Armanious family
members' side of the story and we are pleased to help them express their
point of view on this disturbing crime," Meunier said.

Cautious in their speech, and unwilling to ascribe outright motive for the
slaying, the family, when questioned by the press did say the manner of
slaying was consistent with passages in the Quran that describe how to kill
an infidel. The family stressed it is waiting for the investigation to play
out. Regarding the possibility the slaying was a jihadist act, family uncle
Emile Garas told WND afterward, "We're not ruling anything out."

The Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, Washington representative of Christian
Solidarity International and secretary general of the Coalition for the
Defense of Human Rights, offered a statement relating to concerns over the
manner in which the crime is being investigated.

"The investigation is not complete; no suspects have been identified," said
Roderick, "and the district attorney's office of Hudson County is pursuing a
number of theories related to the motive and nature of the crime. Public
statements by that office indicate that theories related to robbery have been
given precedence over a possible hate crime as a motive. By stressing that
there are no facts substantiating a religious motivation to this crime, the
confidence of the family has been eroded that the local investigation will
lead to a resolution."

Roderick said that a "great deal in the media" has been made of the potential
conflict within the Christian and Muslim communities if the investigation
leads to a religious motive. Indeed, an Associated Press story, "Slaying
spurs new wave of anti-Muslim bias" detailed community tensions and quoted
Ahmed Shedeed, director of the Islamic Center of Jersey City as saying, "We
Muslims living in America are getting sick of this crap. Why should we have
to apologize for or make a defense of something we had nothing to do with?
There is no proof at all that Muslims had anything to do with this, yet we
are taking the blame again. Is Islam on trial, or is a killer on trial?"

"The central issue here," Roderick said in his statement, "should not be
about communal disputes, but the fact that the perpetrators of this vicious
crime are still at large. To avoid pursuit of what may be the most obvious
motive of the murder for fear of maligning one part of the Jersey City
community or creating a backlash against that community is irresponsible."
The reverend indicated he hopes the investigation will confront the
case "honestly without the fear of sectarian concerns." Leaders of the
communities and social workers are the people most qualified to address those
concerns, not law enforcement, he said.

Roderick joined with his colleagues in urging the Justice Department to take
a greater lead in the investigation and give special attention to the civil-
rights dimension of the case.

"From the perspective of ethnic and religious minorities who have fled
religious persecution in their native countries, this case is unnerving," he
said. "Many non-Muslim immigrants have told me that they believed that when
they fled to the United States from these pressures, they would be safe. This
case had made them feel vulnerable."

The American Jewish Committee is also offering their support to the family,
with New Jersey Area Director Allyson M. Gall sending a letter to Edward J.
De Fabio, Hudson County prosecutor.

That letter read, in part, "While we are well aware that charges have not yet
been brought, and that the full circumstances of this horrific murder are not
yet known, we also know that there are valid reasons to consider that this
may have been a hate crime, or even an act of terror. We cannot stress enough
that the current heightened sense of fear in the Coptic community must be
squarely addressed."

Gall said that should the slaying turn out to be a hate crime or act of
terror, her organization stands willing to give any appropriate assistance to
the Coptic and Muslim community, including but not limited to helping
organize other ethnic and religious groups to stand together and speak out
against the intimidation inherent in such a crime.

Copies of Gall's letter were also sent to Rep. Robert Menendez, Gov. Richard
Codey, Jersey City Chief of Police Ronald Buonocore, Mayor of Jersey City
Jerramiah T. Healey, Dr. Monir A. Dawoud and Attorney General Peter C.
Harvey.

When asked by reporters whether any Muslim organizations had offered support,
the family indicated they had received support only from Christian and Jewish
organizations.

Family members addressed media rumors that robbery was a motive: "The
Armaniouses were not rich. Hossam and his wife, Amal, lived modestly with
their two young girls in Jersey City. Despite speculation regarding a
possibly robbery, the facts before us today appear to contradict such a
supposition. The jewelry in the home, including Amal's ring, worth
approximately $3,500, was left intact. As far as knowledge of our own family,
the family did not keep large amounts of cash in their home so as to invite
such a crime."

They added, "If the primary motive was robbery, why would they have killed
each person in such a cruel and vindictive manner? Robbery is certainly not a
motive in this case."

The family also dismissed another theory that has been circulated, that of
an "old country vendetta" – an attempt to link an old Egyptian practice with
the killings of the family. The family offered two reasons such a theory
lacks credibility: "First, such vendettas, while common practice decades ago
in Egypt, are no longer tolerated or practiced in modern society. Just as
rivals in the West no longer engage in duels, so too has the notion of an old
country vendetta or "tar" been eradicated from modern-day Egyptian society.
Secondly, if such a theory were to be considered, the logical victims of such
an attack would be family members in Egypt, and not here in the United
States."

The family said other misinformation published in recent reports includes a
reference to Hossam Armanious' alleged visit to Egypt last year as a factor
in the slayings: "Hossam's last visit to Egypt occurred in the summer of 2002
and played no role in the brutal murder of his family this year."

Family member Garas told WND that the New York Post