From
NY Newsday
Slain Jersey City family buried
Associated Press
January 17, 2005, 1:41 PM EST
JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- A funeral for a couple and their two daughters slain last week devolved into a melee following the emotional services Monday, with about 35 of the 2,000 mourners shoving and punching each other.
Tensions had been running high during the funeral procession and services for 47-year-old Hossam Armanious, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8. Some mourners blamed their deaths on religious tensions in the Coptic Christian family's native Egypt.
A brief melee between several dozen mourners spilled onto the street and into a nearby parking garage as the services ended. Police pushed mourners against cars and rolled down the metal gates of the garage, attempting to separate the fighters before telling everyone to leave.
During the service, one man was taken into police custody after repeatedly shouting anti-Muslim slogans. It was not immediately clear whether charges were filed against him or any of the people in the fight.
Published reports over the weekend said investigators were examining religious messages Armanious had posted in an Internet chat room, and mourners said the killings may have been religiously motivated.
The regional head of the Coptic church cautioned against a rush to judgment, but Monir Dowoud, president of the American Coptic Association, said Sunday that "Muslim terrorists" were responsible.
Prosecutors downplayed the possibility of a religious motive, and local Muslims vehemently disputed the suggestion. About two dozen Muslim mourners attended the funeral Monday, piling their shoes in a corner before entering, as is Islamic custom.
But anti-Muslim sentiments ran high during the procession and ceremony at St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church, where the Armanious family was active since immigrating to the United States in 1997.
One man in the church shouted, "Muslim is the killer. Muslim is the killer," and was taken into custody by city police.
The procession also was marked by pushing and shoving and people shouting anti-Muslim slogans. One man ran alongside the procession screaming, "Islam is not a religion. Islam is not a religion."
More than 2,000 people filled the church and an additional 300 waited outside during the services, which featured a Sunday school teacher's reading of a poem written by Sylvia.
"No more sadness to darken my day," said teacher Miriam Fam, reading the poem. "No more rain to fog my daydreams. No more pain in my life. No more fear of getting killed with life's knife."
Not everyone was searching for someone to blame for the deaths. Maged Badawi, who attended the funeral, counseled caution.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions yet. We need to let the police do their investigation. But there is lots of tension right now between Christians and Muslims over this," he said.
During the procession earlier Monday, Iman Garas, sister of the slain mother, ran up and pounded on the caskets, screaming, "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. They've left me all alone!"
Authorities had not announced any arrests in the slayings as of Monday morning. The four bodies were found bound and gagged early Friday, and police said there was no sign of forced entry into the home.
In Egypt, Copts generally live in peace with Muslims, but it is a sometimes uneasy relationship. In 2000, 23 people died in Christian-Muslim clashes, the worst in years. Copts comprise roughly 10 percent of Egypt's 70 million population.
Authorities said robbery remained a possible motive because no cash or jewelry were found in the home. Guy Gregory, first assistant Hudson County prosecutor, said the father's wallet was found empty.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest communities in Christendom. According to tradition it was founded in the first century A.D. by Saint Mark, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.
Last month, thousands of angry Copts protested for days at a Cairo cathedral when rumors circulated that a Coptic Christian woman had been forced to convert to Islam. Days of protests and stone-throwing at the cathedral in Abbasiya, Cairo, left two dozen police injured and 34 Copts detained.
Copts generally live in peace with Muslims, but it is a sometimes uneasy relationship in which sectarian tensions can erupt. In 2000, the deadliest Christian-Muslim clashes in years killed 23 people, all but two of them Copts, touched off by an argument between a Coptic merchant and a Muslim shopper, also in southern Egypt.
In 2002, brawls broke out in a southern Egyptian village after an argument over whether a Coptic church's bells tolled too loudly. During an Islamic insurrection in Egypt in the early 1990s, Copts were occasionally attacked by Muslim militants.
Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.
