American Professor Reportedly 'Stabbed in the Neck' in Egypt

Foreign tourists visit the historical site of the Giza Pyramids, near Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 11, 2013. (Photo: AP)

An American professor is recuperating after being stabbed in the neck in Cairo, diplomatic officials in Egypt say.

Christopher Stone is a scholar-in-residence at the American Research Center (ARCE) in Egypt, on sabbatical from his position as an associate professor of Arabic and head of the Arabic Program at the City University in New York, according to the school's website.

On Thursday, he was waiting near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo with a fellow ARCE staff member to extend his wife’s visa when an Egyptian approached him, an ARCE message says.

"...the Egyptian attacker approached him and asked, in Arabic, if he was Egyptian or American.  Professor Stone answered in Arabic, 'American,' whereupon his attacker stabbed him in the neck with a knife.  The attack was not provoked," the notice continues.

The suspect was immediately apprehended by Egyptian security guards and Stone was taken to the hospital.  Stone is expected to make a full recovery, and the suspect is in police custody.

The embassy said in a statement Friday that the man stabbed Stone "to seek revenge over U.S. policies in the Middle East" and "carried out the attack after establishing his victim to be a U.S. citizen."  The statement cited police sources.

There has been an outpouring of support for Stone on social media and at ARCE.

Lebanese political science professor Asaad Abu Khalil described him on Facebook as a “model academic and a man who has dealt with Arabs and their causes with extreme respect, sensitivity, and support,” according to Ahram Online.

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