Here is a description of the funeral.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/nyregion/18jersey.html
Some Muslim leaders came and were welcomed by the Coptic priest, but some of the Christians were very angry and a fight started.
Please note that the Coptic priest kissed the Muslim Imam; they seem to be friends.
I know that CAIR has issues; at the same time, some people in these organizations are sincere and not trying to manipulate the organization for terrorism.
At Free Republic, people often ask, "Why don't the Muslims denounce terrorism?" The Muslims who came to this funeral did, but some Christians didn't accept it.
In a telephone interview yesterday afternoon, Sheik Saleh said he never intended to cause trouble and regretted attending the funeral. "I didn't come to hurt anyone, I came to support them," said Sheikh Saleh, 42, the imam of the Oulel Albab Mosque on Bay Ridge Avenue, sounding shaken. "I am sorry."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/nyregion/18jersey.html
This Muslim tried to show his respects and show that Islam is against terrorism; instead he got terrorised. I am sure Al Qaeda will be happy that this happened. They will use it to show there is persecution of Islam by Christians in America. Many Muslims are persecuted by the "Muslim" fanatics. Not all Muslims support terrorism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/nyregion/18jersey.html
"Those are killers!" yelled one man as Sheik Tarek Yousof Saleh, a Muslim cleric from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, left the funeral site, escorted by police officers. "We don't want them in the church!"
In a telephone interview yesterday afternoon, Sheik Saleh said he never intended to cause trouble and regretted attending the funeral. "I didn't come to hurt anyone, I came to support them," said Sheikh Saleh, 42, the imam of the Oulel Albab Mosque on Bay Ridge Avenue, sounding shaken. "I am sorry."
I agree with you that the Muslims who came did not mean to be disrespectful. I wish that it would be found out that the crime had nothing to do with religion or politics, although I am afraid it does.
To some extent, perhaps it is good that the Muslim community - which apparently has put pressure on the Coptic community in that area for some time - is made aware that Copts are not going to accept this harrassment passively anymore. The only thing the majority of Muslims seem to respect is superior force. That said, I still feel that the Muslims who turned up at the funeral were doing so with a conciliatory spirit, and the gesture should have been accepted.