Slaying of Coptic Christian Family a 'Wake-Up Call

The murder of a Coptic Christian family in New Jersey is a 'wake-up call' for the American church, a persecution watchdog group said Friday.

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 Posted: 2:46:53PM EST
Kenneth Chan

Mourners carry the coffin of a slain girl, one of four members of a family that were slain, in Jersey City, N.J., Monday, Jan 17, 2005. Hossam Armanious, 47 his wife, Amal Garas, 37 and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were found bound and gagged with their throats slashed early Friday. (Photo: AP / Jim Lord)

The murder of a Coptic Christian family in New Jersey is a 'wake-up call' for the American church, a persecution watchdog group said Friday.

'We know that radical Islam exists in the Middle East. We're not surprised when Christians in Indonesia or in Egypt are attacked, and yet, it seems, that we're all rather shocked that it could happen on American soil,� Voice of the Martyrs' Todd Nettleton told Mission Network News (MNN). �We need to understand though, that the faith that the Bible presents, especially in the New Testament, is a faith that expects to be persecuted.'

While prosecutors have downplayed the possibility of a religious motive in last Friday’s slaying of Hossam Armanious, 47, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, there are those in the Coptic Christian community who believe it was a militant Muslim who committed the hate crime. According to some family members, Armanious—a Coptic Christian—had engaged in a heated debate about Islam on a religious Web site.

However, Nettleton told MNN that even if it turns out the murders were not a jihad; the issue has brought up one important point. "This was a family who was talking about their Christian faith, who was encouraging Muslims to leave Islam and follow Christ, and that is where you run into persecution," Nettleton said.

According to AP, enormous tensions between Muslims and Christians in New Jersey surfaced earlier this week during the funeral for the family of four—whose bodies were found bound and gagged, and their throats and heads stabbed repeatedly. As mourners took the streets of Jersey City to St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church on Monday, grief and rage erupted as many blamed Muslims for the killings. The Armanious family was said to have been active in the church since immigrating to the United States in 1997 from Egypt.

The FBI said on Tuesday it was cooperating with local police and has been helping with crime scene analysis and forensics. If authorities believe the crime was sectarian in nature, the FBI might launch its own investigation, the FBI spokesman said.

Meanwhile, authorities investigating the slayings say robbery remained a possible motive because no cash or jewelry was found in the home.


Christian News - The Christian Post | Slaying of Coptic Christian Family a 'Wake-Up Call,' says VOM Spokesman