Family of slain Christians speaks out

Another report on the Armanious family press conference, from WND:

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....

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.