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The Vice President of the Jihad Watch Board of Directors, Hugh Fitzgerald, observes that the reaction of the Coptic community in America to the murders of the Armanious family is extremely telling in itself:
Surely what is of note in this case is that the Copts in Jersey City seem to have little doubt as to who carried out, or was behind, the murder. Consider the fury expressed against Muslims and against Islam at the funeral, a fury heightened by what the Copts in attendance took to be a transparent attempt by one Muslim cleric to make an appearance not out of any real sympathy, but only, the Copts believed, to shore up the Muslim position with the American media.That suspicion, that fury, tells us a good deal about what the Copts must have suffered at the hands of Muslims, in Egypt and even here. And that remains true, no matter who committed the murder, though we are entitled to speculate reasonably. If the Louvre were bombed tomorrow, it would -- given what we know about the Islamic attitude toward almost all art, reasonably believe that Muslims were behind it, even if in the end it turned out to be someone else.
Furthermore, the statements quoted in the press by Muslims in Jersey City are entirely full of self-pity ("Why does everyone blame us?" "We are 'sick of this crap' about Islam") and noticeably devoid of any expressed pity for the murdered family of Copts.
Finally, one can find expressions of satisfaction about the murder at Muslim websites about the murder. Those remarks should not be forgotten.
All of these -- the suspicions of the Copts, based on their felt history of persecution, and their belief that Muslims are quite capable of such actions (now, where would they get such ideas, if not from their entire life experience?), and the behavior of Muslim neighbors devoid of sympathy, and of other Muslims crowing at the event -- remain true no matter who committed the murders.
But the point remains: the father and the older daughter were too proud, too unapologetic, too enthusiastic, about their Christian beliefs, and this infuriated Muslims who believe that once a dhimmi, always a dhimmi (one wonders about the Chaldean Christians out in Dearborn, as they worry over their relatives subject to Muslim attack in Iraq). It is hardly unreasonable to conclude, at this point, that it was for that they were killed. And if it should prove otherwise, there is still this matter of how the Copts have reacted, and how the Muslims have also. Both reactions tell us a good deal.
If The New York Times and the rest of the media would give greater attention to this story, and at least try to make people understand why the Copts in Jersey City have no doubts about who committed the crime, by finding out what it is in the experience of those Copts that makes them come to that conclusion, instead of vague allusions to "communal strife" and so on -- if, in other words, the persecution of the Copts in the land of which they are the descendants of the original inhabitants, and not those who call themselves Muslim Arabs (most of whom, no doubt, are themselves the descendants of Copts as well, if they only realized it, their ancestors over the centuries having concluded that it was easier to convert ("revert") to Islam.
More seriousness please, less frivolity by the media. Less about the Armani fashion empire, more about the Armanious family murder, is called for.
Any attempt to "insabbiare" (sand over) the results of the investigation will not work for this case. Nor would it something to be forgotten or overlooked. It would be likely, in fact, to get more and more attention, and to become a "teaching moment" on the inculcated murderous hostility that can be found in many passages in Qur'an and Hadith. If the police in Jersey City are unaware of those passages, they -- and the police everywhere in the West, as well as the other security services -- need to learn about what Islam teaches. Repetition of pious phrases, pretense that it is only a "handful of crazies," (akin to those Muslims who think that by constantly repeating that no Muslims cheered on the afternoon of September 11, we will simply forget the reports from Cairo, from Baghdad, from Riyadh and Jeddah, from Ramallah and Nablus and Gaza, from Amman, even from Hamza Street in Beirut -- not to mention the reports from Pakistan, Indonesia, indeed everywhere except, of course, Tehran, where many are now heartily sick of the mullahs, and the Islamic Republic for which they stand), is accompanied by continued seeming unawareness of why it would be perfectly plausible that, for the sins of having promoted Christianity, the Armanious family would be killed.
Still more disturbing is the reliance, in the American armed services as well as in some of its police forces, on Muslims to come in and teach about "what Islam teaches." The naivete here is the stuff of schoolgirls, and beyond belief.
Posted by Robert at January 26, 2005 5:14 AM
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Here's a story about how modern Islamists try extracting the Jizya from Coptic Christians:
http://pw2.netcom.com/~us_copts/protection.html
Islamic fundamentalists demand Mafia-style protection money from Copts In Egypt.
Samir is planning to escape with his family from a small village near Abu Qurqas to Cairo. He fears for his life and has been told that if he refuses to pay gizia ("requital") money that Muslim villagers demand for the 'protection' of his family, he will be killed. "They take whenever they need," says Samir who was afraid to give his full name. "When they need weapons they take from the Christians. I'm scared I will be killed. Even if I was killed, no one would say anything. Even a witness to my murder wouldn't say anything." Samir complains that gizia is increasing in a number of small villages in Upper Egypt, making it impossible to remain in the region. "Everyone pays, but what can we do? There are so many people who deny it. They are lying! Everyone pays! I have no outlet!" says Samir, apologizing for his excitement.
Amgad, also from a village near Abu Qurqas, has been living in hiding in a poor district of Cairo for over a year. In 1996 he received three letters demanding gizia from the Gamma Islamiya, Egypt's largest Muslim militant group. The third letter, obtained by the Middle East Times, said, "We demand EŁ10,000 from you tomorrow. We will not accept one piaster less and if you bring the money one day late it will be EŁ15,000. If you can't bring it in these days we will not accept even millions of pounds from you and you know the punishment for that. This is a final decision." The handwritten letter was signed "Gamma Islamiya".
Bishop Thomas, responsible for about 100,000 Copts in the bishopric of Quiseyya, explained that gizia has become "status quo" in some villages. The bishop, who has kept track of over a hundred villagers forced to pay protection money, explained that Christians in his bishopric are forced to give gizia from
terrorists groups as well as from local Muslim bosses. "Most of the itawwa [contributions] come from a well-known person. He sends a message [saying] to send an amount of money. They don't need secret letters. He will pass by [a Christian's store or home] and say, 'you send me EŁ1,000.'"
The bishop explained that this type of extortion is "very common," and that nearly all Christians pay gizia to Muslims in five villages in Quiseyya. "Of course in the other bishoprics they have [gizia]. Of course, it is the same situation. In Minya and Abu Qurqas they have this. They are mafia bosses. It's very well known that only the Christians are paying," he added.
A pastor in Cairo, who asked not to be named, explained that the Islamists use the Quran to justify taking money from Christians. He pointed to Chapter 9, verse 29 of the Quran which states, "Fight against those from among the people who do not believe in Allah nor the last day... until they pay the
tribute out of hand, utterly subdued." The pastor, who frequently visits the Minya governorate, said gizia was not common until recently. "Gizia arose since the draining of the militant's income, since the security forces began cracking down on them. First they looted jewelry stores, now they make some people pay."
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at January 26, 2005 5:47 AM
Thanks for the post Hugh,
Having never lived in dihmitude this upsets me as well.I beleive the U.S. has been the scene of Sharia Law being carried out.
We can not stand for this and the Authorities had better get on top of this before drastic measures are conceived.
Main stream media disappoints me as well by not aggresively chasing this story. No sense naming any high profile stories because you have heard them over and over.
Pay close attention to this as this could be the straw that broke the camels back.
Posted by: Chuck at January 26, 2005 6:20 AM
"Why the copts are so upset?"
Why shouldn't they be? Experience is the greatest teacher. They've seen islamoevil in action, firsthand. Try telling Auschwitz survivors that the leftist/muzzie delusion that the jews somehow were aty least partly to blame for the holocaust and you'll see what I mean.
Posted by: voletti at January 26, 2005 7:39 AM
It is with a heavy heart that the only place I can find information about these murders is on this web site.
We need to stop bowing to organizations such as CAIR. Our political correctiveness will soon come back to bite us.
And now we hear that this could be a 10 year old vendetta. Give me a break. Even if this were true it would NOT hide the fact that Coptic Christians are being treated as third class citizens in THEIR own counrty.
at January 26, 2005 8:06 AM
Naively law enforcement has gone through "sensitivity training" to give them pause at the thought that these and other related matters could be ethnically or religiously motivated. In p.c. thinking, all cultures and religions are "of equal value" and all have committed sins against the other.
America takes in all with the expectation that they will renounce allegiance to other powers and principalities, and the renunciation of blood grudges. In recent decades we have imported ancient and on-going grudges involving Islam. The Armenian genocide, the Intifada, and now Copts.
Blood grudge-retaliation will continue until American law enforcement drops political correctness and takes a hard look and uses a heavy hand to check this trend.
Hugh - thank you for putting this event into context, making it relevant for our lives today.
Posted by: epg at January 26, 2005 8:34 AM
In the uk today it is the holocaust remembrance day.It has been boycoted by the muslim council of great britian,they cite the palastinian conflict for the reason.It is now becoming clear that this is just a deception,hatred of the jewish people is the real reason for this.I hope this is well noeted by Tony blair as he ushers muslim clerics back into goverment offices.
The stark reality is that we have a fledgling nazi type organisation in the form of islam.It hates all apponnents and will use many means to achieve its ends.
at January 27, 2005 6:19 AM
" If the Louvre were bombed tomorrow, it would -- given what we know about the Islamic attitude toward almost all art, reasonably believe that Muslims were behind it, even if in the end it turned out to be someone else."
Woah.
Hugh, either *slow down* or get yourself *an editor*.
Mangled sentences like the one above seem to be frustratingly standard fare from you. For someone in your position, that is just unacceptable.
You have many good ideas, whose very nature makes it difficult for some people to hear them. Don't add to the problem with clear grammatical errors.
Posted by: spect8or at January 28, 2005 6:49 AM
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