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New details on the New Jersey murders 2
... The FBI is investigating a radical Islamic Web site that posted photos and information about people who use an Internet chat room frequented by a Jersey City man whose family was murdered Jan. 14. The Web site, barsomyat.com, contained detailed information about some users of the PalTalk.com chat service whom the site's members accuse of being outspoken critics of Islam, according to published reports. An FBI spokesman confirmed Monday that federal investigators are probing whether the site -which is run by a Jordanian -played any role in the murders of Hossam Armanious, 47, his wife, Amal Garas, 37, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8. The family was discovered bound and stabbed to death in their Jersey City Heights home. Hossam Armanious was an active participant in PalTalk.com discussions, using the nickname "I Love Jesus," according to friends. Armanious, a Coptic Orthodox Christian from Egypt, would often engage in heated debates with Muslims in the site's religious chat rooms, and family members have speculated that the murders stemmed from these discussions and his attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity. "We are aware of that site, and we are looking at it," FBI spokesman John Conway said. "It's an interesting site to say the least. ... It's unknown to anybody right now what credence to put into this." It also is not known whether any photos of Hossam Armanious or other personal information were posted on the site prior to the murders. Users of the PalTalk service communicate via instant messaging, voice and, often, Web cams. Members of the barsomyat.com site apparently scanned the chat rooms to identify opponents. The information was then posted with photos of the person. In one case, according to The New York Sun, a barsomyat.com post about a Christian man included his PalTalk nickname, photograph, real name and the city in which he lives, all hacked from his home computer. Before the site was taken down Monday by its Minnesota hosting company, it contained photos of Hossam Armanious and Amal Garas. It called Armanious a "filthy dog" and Garas "his filthy wife," according to the paper. A screenshot of barsomyat.com was posted on another Web site, Jihadwatch.com. "They were slaughtered along with their children as a punishment from the heavens to those who curse the most divine of all who were created," one member of barsomyat.com is quoted as writing. Several Muslim community leaders said on Monday that they were unaware of the existence of the Web site and denounced it when told about the content. "It is very sick," said Mohamed El Filali, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Passaic County. "Nobody should be harmed because of a person's opinion." ... Posted by: Anonymous5089 2005-02-01 |
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