Have you read about that Egyptian Christian family of four murdered in Jersey City Heights two days ago?

The New York Post reports today that the father was an outspoken critic of Islamists:

Hossam Armanious, 47, who along with his wife and two daughters was found stabbed to death in his Jersey City home early Friday, would regularly debate religion in a Middle Eastern chat room, one source said.

Armanious, an Egyptian Christian, was well known for expressing his Coptic beliefs and engaging in fiery back-and-forth with Muslims on the Web site paltalk.com.

He “had the reputation for being one of the most outspoken Egyptian Christians,” said the source, who had close ties to the family.

The source, who had knowledge of the investigation, refused to specify the anti-Muslim statement. But he said cops told him they were looking into the exchanges as a possible motive.

The married father of two had recently been threatened by Muslim members of the Web site, said a fellow Copt and store clerk who uses the chat room.

“You’d better stop this bull—- or we are going to track you down like a chicken and kill you,” was the threat, said the clerk, who was online at the time and saw the exchange…

Armanious’ fervor apparently rubbed off on his daughter, Sylvia — who would have turned 16 yesterday. “She was very religious and very opinionated,” said Jessica Cimino, 15, a fellow sophomore at Dickenson HS.

A family member who viewed photos of the bloodbath said Sylvia seemed to have taken the most savage punishment. “When we saw the pictures, you could tell that they were hurt really, really bad in the face; especially Sylvia,” said Milad Garas, the high-school sophomore’s great-uncle.

The heartless killer not only slit Sylvia’s throat, but also sliced a huge gash in her chest and stabbed her in the wrist, where she had a tattoo of a Coptic cross.

The Newark Star Ledger has more on the Egyptian Copt community’s outrage:

“This was a terrorist attack,” said Amgad Zakhari, 32, a real estate investor who has known the Armanious family since their arrival in the
United States. “It was to make an example of Egyptian Christians, to
silence them. It has to be a religious motivation.”

Friends also provided more details on Armanious’ online debates:

Relations between Muslims and Coptic Christians have historically been tense. Copts are a minority in Muslim-dominated Egypt, and Coptic Web sites contain numerous accounts of persecution at the hands of the government and the nation’s residents.

In Jersey City, the heart of New Jersey’s Coptic community, Copts and Muslims share an uneasy peace, residents say.

Armanious, a banquet waiter known as a very devout man, did not intentionally slight Muslims when he visited Internet chat rooms, friends said.

“He was trying to tell people about Christianity,” Zakhari said. “He was a good Christian. He was trying to use the Internet to help the community. He was trying to give the Christian word.”

Armanious was so involved in the Internet talks that he became an administrator in one of the chat rooms, reached through an instant-messaging portal (www.paltalk.com).

The friend, who recounted the threat against Armanious and who requested anonymity, said the slain man had been engaged in the hobby for about five years. The altercation that unfolded two months ago started when another user of the site took offense to Armanious’ comments about Islam, telling him to “shut up.”

“I can say whatever I want,” the friend said Armanious responded. “I live in America…”

Will the patriotic leaders of CAIR–always quick to jump on the hate-crimes bandwagon when it fits their agenda–join the Egyptian Christian community in condemning the vicious Armanious slayings? If this is any indication, not likely.

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