Posted on 03/30/2005 9:16:32 AM PST by Valin
TRENTON - Muslims and Christians both say they will skip a meeting with state officials aimed at calming tensions between the two sides.
The state Division of Criminal Justice's Office of Bias Crimes and Community Relations had scheduled a meeting for Monday. A rift between Coptic Christians and Muslims arose following the murder of the Armanious family, Coptic Christians who were tied up and stabbed in their Jersey City home.
Although two non-Muslims -one an acquaintance of the victims - were later charged, authorities at first investigated the possibility that religious tensions might lie behind the crimes.
"We want to get the Coptic Christians and Muslims to sit down together and identify real areas of common interest and try to dispel rumors," said Peter Harvey, state attorney general, who announced the meeting on Tuesday. "It's important to set up contacts and linkages so that if an incident does occur in the future they can talk to each other," Harvey said.
But Sohail Mohammed, the lawyer for the Totowa-based American Muslim Union, said the Muslim community wants to meet directly with Harvey.
"We want to meet with the attorney general; what is so hard about that?" he said. "If he's not giving it the priority it deserves, then he's making a mistake. If he is not going to be there, this is not something that's going to be useful for us."
Likewise, Maged Riad, the United States spokesman for the Coptic Church and its leader, Pope Shenouda, said Coptic leaders won't be there, either. Riad said the meeting was called on too short notice for him and other Coptic leaders to attend.
Authorities said Hossam Armanious, 47, his wife and two daughters were slain three days before being found on Jan. 14.
Immediately after the bodies were discovered, friends of the family speculated that they might have been killed by Muslims.
Even after the arrests of the non-Muslims last month, some Christians said they still believe religious hatred was the true motive behind the murders. Authorities said robbery was the motive.
Leaders of the Muslim community in northern New Jersey want Harvey to determine whether anti-Islam comments made by some Coptic Christians implicating Muslims should be prosecuted as bias crimes.
Harvey said the director of the bias committee reports directly to him, and is capable of bringing both sides closer together.
"It's not as if I bring any particular magic to the meeting," he said.
Harvey said he will try to attend the meeting, but said his participation in a massive counter-terrorism drill beginning Monday might makes that impossible.
"If I can stop by, I will," he said.
I read somewhere that what the AP describes as being "stabbed" was instead a slitting of throats in a manner prescribed by Islam for executing those guilty of abandoning Islam in favor of Christianity, a method of killing that insures the victim will bleed to death slowly.
Does anyone have information that will either substantiate this, or not?
If the cops say the motive was criminal why turn this whole deal into some rump summitt between Coptics and Muslims? A crime has been committed. Allow the cops to investigate it, then charge someone and prosecute. The AG doesn't need to be involved in this. It's a local police matter.
Obviously there is more to the case than New Jersey's official "party line."
If the cops say the motive was criminal why turn this whole deal into some rump summitt between Coptics and Muslims?
Because there are many who STILL seem think Muslims did it. One side racts to what the other says and the next thing you know BOOM, people start dying. Better to sit down and talk.
I read somewhere (will look up) that the perps that were arrested were acquaintances of Muslims in prison. Must have gotten their marching orders there...
"I read somewhere (will look up) that the perps that were arrested were acquaintances of Muslims in prison."
I recall reading the same thing.
"Must have gotten their marching orders there..."
That's a stretch
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