Post by iris89 on Dec 18, 2009 11:18:43 GMT -5
REALITY – HONOR KILLINGS SHOW ISLAM IS NOT LIKE OTHER FALSE RELIGIONS:
INTRODUCTION:
An honor killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, where the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community. This perceived dishonor is normally the result of (a) utilizing dress codes unacceptable to the family (b) wanting out of an arranged marriage or choosing to marry by own choice or (c) engaging in certain sexual acts. These killings result from the perception that defense of honor justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonors their clan or family. This is the reality among many members of Islam, and also among a very few members of group 2 false so called Christian religions (Coptic).
REALITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA FROM CREDIBLE SOURCES:
SOURCE 1
Honor Killing in Texas, by Robert Spencer, 01/08/2008 [source - Human Events.com, retrieved from www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24329 on 12/18/2009]
Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, smile happily in one widely circulating photo, and Amina is wearing what looks like a sweatshirt bearing the name “AMERICAN.” But their fate may have been the herald of a new, disquieting feature of the American landscape: honor killing. Amina and Sarah were shot dead in Irving, Texas, on New Year’s Day. Police are searching for their father, Yaser Abdel Said, on a warrant for capital murder.
The girls’ great aunt, Gail Gartrell, told reporters, “This was an honor killing.” She explained that Yaser Said had long abused the girls, and after discovering that they had boyfriends, had threatened to kill them -- whereupon their mother fled with them. “She ran with them,” said Gartrell, “because she knew he would carry out the threat.” But Said found them, and apparently did carry it out.
Honor killing, the practice of murdering a female family member who is believed to have sullied the family honor, enjoys widespread acceptance in some areas of the Islamic world. However, Islam Said, the brother of Amina and Sarah, has denied that the murders had anything to do with Islam at all. “It’s not religion,” he insisted. “It’s something else. Religion has nothing to do with it.”
And to be sure, the Qur’an or Islamic tradition does not sanction honor killing. Muslim spokesmen have hastened, after the recent killing in Canada of another teenage Muslim girl, Aqsa Parvez, by her father to tell the public that honor killing has nothing to do with Islam, but is merely a feature of Islamic culture in some areas. Aqsa Parvez was sixteen years old; her father, Muhammad Parvez, has been charged with strangling her to death because she refused to wear the hijab. Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association, declared: “The strangulation death of Ms. Parvez was the result of domestic violence, a problem that cuts across Canadian society and is blind to colour or creed.” Sheikh Alaa El-Sayyed, imam of the Islamic Society of North America in Mississauga, Ontario, agreed: “The bottom line is, it’s a domestic violence issue.”
But these dismissals are too easy, principally because they fail to take into account important evidence. In some areas, honor killing is assumed to be an Islamic practice. There is evidence that Islamic culture inculcates attitudes that could lead directly to the murders of these two girls in Texas. In 2003, the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. In a sadly typical consequence of this early last year, a Jordanian man who murdered his sister because he thought she had a lover was given a three-month sentence, which was suspended for time served, allowing him to walk free. The Yemen Times just last week published an article insisting that violence against women is necessary for the stability of the family and the society, and invoking Islam to support this view.
The killings of Amina and Sarah Said raises uncomfortable questions for the Islamic community in the United States, questions about the culture and mindset that people like Yaser Said bring to this country. Now that honor killing has come to Texas, Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. have an all the more urgent responsibility to end their denial and confront these cultural attitudes. If they don’t, and instead continue to glibly insist that religion has nothing to do with what happened to these poor girls, the murders of the Said sisters will only be the beginning of a new American phenomenon.
Here are a few of the comments submitted by our readers. Click to view all
Please remember the opinions expressed by our readers are in no way those of Human Events, nor are they condoned by us, and we reserve the right to remove abusive posts. Report Abusive Post
We've had two killings of young muslim women here in the capital of Islamic USA - Dearborn, Michigan, over the past 3-4 years. Both cases were very quickly and quietly hushed but most citizens here suspect it was honor killings.
Bottom line: You import people from a far different culture through immigration, they also bring their culture with them and you change our society.
It's the immigration, stupid!
SOURCE 2
Murder in the Family: Honor Killings in America, Fox News, [retrieved from www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391531,00.html on 12/18/2009]
Saturday, July 26, 2008
July 7: Chaudhry Rashid waits with other inmates to make his first appearance in Magistrate Court at the Clayton County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Ga.
July 7: Chaudhry Rashid waits with other inmates to make his first appearance in Magistrate Court at the Clayton County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Ga.
When she was just 19, Sandeela Kanwal traveled from America to Pakistan for an arranged marriage to a cousin twice her age.
Less than six years later, she was dead — strangled — and her father, Chaudhry Rashid, was arrested by police as the suspect for what some have called an "honor killing."
After their marriage, Kanwal had lived in the United States apart from her husband, who remained in Pakistan. She was reunited with him in April at her family home in Atlanta, but he moved to Chicago days later, leaving her alone once again.
On July 1, Kanwal filed for divorce, a prospect her father, a 52-year-old immigrant from Pakistan, would not entertain. Investigators say that after an argument on the night of July 5, he strangled Kanwal with a bungee cord. He could not accept the "disgrace" a divorce or affair would bring on his family, according to police.
The United Nations estimates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in such honor killings each year for offenses like immodesty or refusing an arranged marriage. They may be on the rise in the U.S., as seen anecdotally in Kanwal's death and a handful of other prominent attacks:
• Fifty-year-old Yaser Abdel Said became the focus of a massive manhunt after he allegedly killed his teenage daughters Sarah and Amina — for dating boys against his will. Relatives say he tried to marry off Amina in his native Egypt when she was 16, and he hasn't been seen since the girls were shot to death on New Year's Day.
• Zein Isa, a Palestinian terrorist who lived in St. Louis, was convicted of killing his daughter Palestina in 1989. Investigators say he was furious she had a black boyfriend, went to a school dance and got a job at Wendy's. Palestina's mother held her down as Isa plunged a 9-inch knife into his daughter's chest, actions the FBI picked up on a microphone as they investigated Isa for his terrorist ties.
• Waheed Mohammad, a 22-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan, was shamed by his sister, who he thought was a "bad Muslim girl." At his mother's behest, investigators say, he tried to "stop" his sister, stabbing her multiple times, though she survived and spoke to FOX News.
SOURCE 3
Honor killings: When the ancient and the modern collide, January 23, 2008|By Cinnamon Still [source - SFGate.com, retrieved from articles.sfgate.com/2008-01-23/opinion/ga20080123cstillwell_1_honor-killings-so-called-honor-muslim on 12/18/2008]
wellThroughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, young Muslim women are being targeted for violence. Lest it be thought hate crimes are to blame, it is, in fact, their own relatives who are the perpetrators. So-called honor killings, whereby a Muslim male family member, typically the father, murders his daughter in order to defend the family's honor, is a growing problem.
SOURCE 4
HONOR KILLINGS IN AMERICA & ABROAD [SOURCE - sOUND vISION.COM, retrieved from www.soundvision.com/info/misc/honor.asp on 12/18/2009]
The images were horrific.
A young Muslim Pakistani woman's disfigured hands, raised in supplication after Salat were displayed for the world to see in a BBC documentary. Her horrific punishment was meted out for "dishonoring" her family.
A young man in Jordan described how he recited the Quran as he strangled his sister to death for "dishonoring" the family in a similar documentary broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
A program on honor killing was also aired on ABC in the United States the same week as these two documentaries.
"Honor killings" occur after a woman "disgraces" her family. In the BBC and CBC documentaries, the dishonoring took different forms.
These images are straight from the Muslim world: Pakistan and Jordan. Another example of how sick, cruel and barbaric Muslims are towards their women. Or not?
SOURCE 5
'Honor killings' in USA raise concerns, By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY, Updated 11/30/2009 1:42 PM, [Retrieved from www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-honor-killings-in-the-US_N.htm on 12/18/2009]
Muslim immigrant men have been accused of six "honor killings" in the United States in the past two years, prompting concerns that the Muslim community and police need to do more to stop such crimes. "There is broad support and acceptance of this idea in Islam, and we're going to see it more and more in the United States," says Robert Spencer, who has trained FBI and military authorities on Islam and founded Jihad Watch, which monitors radical Islam.
…
Some clerics and even lawmakers in these countries have said families have the right to commit honor killings as a way of maintaining values, according to an analysis by Yotam Feldner in the journal Middle East Quarterly.
In the USA, police allege the latest "honor killing" was that of Noor Almaleki, 20, who died Nov. 2 after she and her boyfriend's mother were run over in a Peoria, Ariz., parking lot. Prosecutors charged Almaleki's father, Faleh Almaleki, with murder, saying the Iraqi immigrant was upset that his daughter rejected a husband she married in Iraq and moved in with an American.
"By his own admission, this was an intentional act, and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family," says Maricopa County prosecutor Stephanie Low, according to The Arizona Republic.
Many Muslim leaders in the USA say that Islam does not promote honor killings and that the practice stems from sexism and tribal behavior that predates the religion.
[[REALITY CHECK; But NOT one of the perpetrators has been excommunicated, disfellowshiped, or otherwise thrown out of Islam.]]
"You're always going to get problems with chauvinism and suppressing vulnerable populations and gender discrimination," says Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Not all agree. Zuhdi Jasser says some Muslim communities have failed to spell out how Islam deals with issues that can lead to violence.
"How should young adult women be treated who want to assimilate more than their parents want them to assimilate?" asks Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which advocates a separation of mosque and state. "How does an imam treat a woman who comes in and says she wants a divorce ... or how to deal with your daughter that got pregnant, and she's in high school?"
Phyllis Chesler, who wrote about honor killings in her book Woman's Inhumanity to Woman, says police need to focus on the crimes' co-conspirators if they wish to reverse the trend. Before 2008, there were six honor killings in the USA in the previous 18 years, according to her research.
"It's usually the father, brother or first male cousin who is charged with the actual shooting or stabbing, (but not) the mother who lures the girl home," Chesler says. "The religion has failed to address this as a problem and failed to seriously work to abolish it as un-Islamic."
Jasser says his community needs to address how to treat young women who want to assimilate. "Until we have women's liberation ... we're going to see these things increase."
REALITY AS REVEALED BY WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA:
<<”The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000.[1]
Human Rights Watch defines "honor killings" as follows:
Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce-even from an abusive husband-or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.[2]
The loose term honor killing applies to killing of both males and females in cultures that practice it.[3] For example, during the year 2002 in Pakistan, it is estimated that 245 women and 137 men were killed in the name of Karo-kari in Sindh. These killings target women and men who choose to have relationships outside of their family's tribal affiliation and/or religious community.
Some women who bridge social divides, publicly engage other communities, or adopt some of the customs or the religion of an outside group may thus also be attacked. In countries that receive immigration, some otherwise low-status immigrant (Muslim) men and boys have asserted their dominant patriarchal status by inflicting honor killings on women family members who have participated in public life, for example in feminist and integration politics.[4] Women in the family do support the honor killing of one of their own, when they agree that the family is the property and asset of men and boys. Alternatively, matriarchs may be motivated not by personal belief in the misogynistic ideology of women as property, but rather by tragically pragmatic calculations. Sometimes a mother may support an honor killing of an "offending" female family member in order to preserve the honor of other female family members since many men in these societies will refuse to marry the sister of a "shamed" female whom the family has not chosen to punish, thereby "purifying" the family name by murdering the suspected female.
There is some evidence that homosexuality can also be perceived as grounds for honor killing by relatives. In one case, a gay Jordanian man who was shot and wounded by his brother.[5] In another case, a homosexual Turkish student, Ahmet Yildiz, was shot outside a cafe and later died in the hospital. Sociologists have called this Turkey's first publicized gay honor killing.[6][7]
ACCORDING TO THE UN IN 2002:
"The report of the Special Rapporteur ... concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honour killings had been reported in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in western countries such as France, Germany, America, and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities."[13][14]
There is a strong positive correlation between violence against women, and women's social power and equality; and a baseline of development, associated with access to basic resources, health care, and human capital, such as literacy - as research by Richard G. Wilkinson shows. In a male dominated society, there is more inequality between men, and women lose out not just physically and economically, but crucially because men who feel subordinated will often try to regain a sense of their authority in turn by excessive subordination of those below them, ie women. (Interestingly, he says that in male-dominated societies, not only do women suffer more violence, and worse health: but so do men.)[15]
According to Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, the practice "goes across cultures and across religions."[16]
Europe
In 2005 Der Spiegel magazine reports: 'In the past four months, six Muslim women living in Berlin have been brutally murdered by family members', and goes on to cover the case of Hatun Sürücü - killed by her brother for not staying with her husband of forced marriage, but of 'living like a German'. Precise statistics on how many women die every year in such honor killings are hard to come by, as many crimes are never reported, said Myria Boehmecke of the Tuebingen-based women's group Terre des Femmes which, among other things, tries to protect Muslim girls and women from oppressive families. The Turkish women's organization Papatya has documented 40 instances of honor killings in Germany since 1996.[17][18]
Hatun Sürücü's brother and murderer, was convicted of murder and jailed for nine years and three months by a German court in 2006.[19]
In March 2009, Turkish immigrant Gülsüm S. was killed for a relationship outside her family's plan for an arranged marriage.[20]
Every year in the UK, a dozen women are victims of honor killings, occurring almost exclusively to date within Asian and Middle Eastern families[21] and often cases are unresolved due to the unwillingness of family, relatives and communities to testify. A 2006 BBC poll for the Asian network in the UK found that 1 in 10 of the 500 young Asians (Muslims) polled said that they could condone the murder of someone who dishonored their family[22] In the UK, in December 2005, Nazir Afzal, Director, West London, of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, stated that the United Kingdom has seen "at least a dozen honour killings" between 2004 and 2005.[23] While precise figures do not exist for the perpetrators' cultural backgrounds, Diana Nammi of the UK's Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation is reported to have said:"about two-thirds are Muslim. Yet they can also be Hindu, Sikh and even eastern European."[24]
Another well known case was of Heshu Yones, who was stabbed to death by her father in London in 2002, when her family heard a love song dedicated to her and suspected she had a boyfriend.[25] Another girl suffered a similar fate in Turkey.[26]
Middle East
In April 2008 it came to light that some months prior, a Saudi woman was killed by her father for chatting on Facebook to a man. The murder only came to light when a Saudi cleric referred to the case in an attempt to demonstrate the strife that the website causes.[27]
A June 2008 Report by the Turkish Prime Ministry's Human Rights Directorate, says that in Istanbul alone, there is one honor killing every week; and reports over 1,000 during the last 5 years. It adds that metropolitan cities are the location of many of these.[28]
UNICEF reported that in the Gaza strip and the West bank that "According to 1999 estimates, more than two-thirds of all murders were most likely 'honour' killings."[29]
In 2003 James Emery (adjunct professor of anthropology at Metropolitan State College of Denver and expert on Afghan politics and the Taliban) wrote: In the Palestinian communities of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan, women are executed in their homes, in open fields, and occasionally in public, sometimes before crowds of cheering onlookers. Honor killings account for virtually all of the murders of Palestinian women in these areas.[30]
As many as 133 women were killed in the Iraqi city of Basra alone in 2006-79 for violation of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for honor killings, according to IRIN, the news branch of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Amnesty International claims honor killings are also conducted by armed groups, not the government, upon politically active women and those who did not follow a strict dress code, as well as women who are perceived as human rights defenders.[31]
Jordan, considered one of the most liberal countries in the Middle East still witnesses instances of honor killings. In Jordan there is minimal gender discrimination and women are permitted to vote but men receive reduced sentences for killing their wives or female family members if they have brought dishonor to their family. Families often have sons who are considered minors, under the age of 18, to commit the honor killings. A loophole in the juvenile law allows minors to serve time in a juvenile detention center and they are released with a clean criminal record at the age of 18. Rana Husseini, a leading journalist on the topic of honor killings, states that "'nder the existing law, people found guilty of committing honor killings often receive sentences as light as six months in prison'"[32]. There has been much outcry in Jordan for the amendments of Article 340 and 98. In 1999, King Abdullah created a council to review the gender inequalities in the country. The Council returned with a recommendation to repeal Article 340. "[T]he cabinet approved the recommendation, the measure was presented to parliament twice in November 1999 and January 2000 and in both cases, though approved by the upper house, it failed to pass the elected lower house"[32]. In 2001 after parliament was suspended, a number of temporary laws were created which were subject to parliamentary ratification. One of the amendments was that "husbands would no longer be exonerated for murdering unfaithful wives, but instead the circumstances would be considered as evidence for mitigating punishments". Also to continue with the efforts of creating gender equality, women were given the same reduction in punishment if found guilty of the crime. But parliament returned to session in 2003 and the ratifications were rejected by the lower house after two successful readings in the upper house[32].
Israel, in contrast to its neighbors, sentences convicted perpetrators of honor killings to life in prison, as was the case in a 2008 incident where two Arab-Israeli brothers murdered their sister[33]
North America
FURTHER INFORMATION: HONOR KILLING IN THE UNITED STATES
A 2007 study by Dr. Amin Muhammad and Dr. Sujay Patel of Memorial University, Canada, showed how Islamic honor killings have been brought to Canada. He wrote: "When people come and settle in Canada they can bring their traditions and forcefully follow them. In some cultures, people feel some boundaries are never to be crossed, and if someone would violate those practices or go against it, then murder is justified to them." He also noted that there are hundreds of cases annually in his native Pakistan. He added that "In different cultures, they can get away without being punished -- the courts actually sanction them under religious contexts"[34]
An article in the Spring 2009 edition of Middle East Quarterly[35] argues that the United States is far behind Europe in acknowledging that honor killings are a special form of domestic violence, requiring special training and special programs to protect the young women and girls most subject to it. The article suggests that the fear of being labeled "culturally insensitive" prevents US government officials and the media from both identifying and accurately reporting these incidents as "honor killings" when they occur. Failing to accurately describe the problem makes it more difficult to develop public policies to address it.
South Asia
In Pakistan honor killings are known locally as karo-kari. Amnesty International's report noted "the failure of the authorities to prevent these killings by investigating and punishing the perpetrators."[36] Recent cases include that of three teenage girls who were buried alive after refusing arranged marriages.[37] Another case was that of Taslim Khatoon Solangi, 17, of Hajna Shah village in Khairpur district, which became widely reported after the graphic account of her father 57-year-old Gul Sher Solangi, who allegedly tortured and murdered his eight months' pregnant daughter on March 7 on the orders of her father-in-law, who accused her of carrying a child conceived out of wedlock.[38][4]. Statistically, honor killings enjoy high level of support in Pakistani society, despite widespread condemnation from human rights groups.[39] In 2002 alone, over 382 people, about 245 women and 137 men, became victims of honor killings in the Sindh province of Pakistan.[40] Over the course of six years, over 4,000 women have fallen victim to this practice in Pakistan from 1999-2004.[41] More recently (in 2005), the average annual number of honor killings for the whole nation ran up to more than 10,000 per year. [42] According to woman rights advocates, The concepts of women as property and honor are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part, ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." [43] Frequently, women murdered in "honour" killings are recorded as having committed suicide or died in accidents. [43]
…
People are still murdered across Northern India for daring to marry without their family's acceptance, in some cases for marrying outside their caste or religion. In Haryana, for example, a couple of such incidents still occur every year.[16][46] Bhagalpur in the northern Indian state of Bihar has also been notorious for honor killings.[47] Recent cases include a 16-year-old girl, Imrana, from Bhojpur was set on fire inside her house on Monday in a case of what the police called 'moral vigilantism'. The victim had screamed for help for about 20 minutes before neighbours arrived only to find her still smoldering. She was admitted to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.[48] Another case in May 2008, Jayvirsingh Bhadodiya shot his daughter Vandana Bhadodiya and struck with her in the head with an axe.[49]
References:
1. ^ "A Human Rights and Health Priority". United Nations Population Fund. www.unfpa.org/swp/2000/english/ch03.html. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
2. ^ "Violence Against Women and "Honor" Crimes". Human Rights Watch. www.hrw.org/press/2001/04/un_oral12_0405.htm. Retrieved 2001-04-06.
3. ^ Teen Lovers Murdered in India Honor Killing. LiveLeak.com
4. ^ (Swedish)"Fadimes minnesfond". fadimesminne.nu. www.fadimesminne.nu/. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
5. ^ Marina Jimenez. "Gay Jordanian now 'gloriously free' in Canada". The Globe and Mail. www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v4/sub/MarketingPage?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2FArticleNews%2FTPStory%2FLAC%2F20040520%2FGAY20%2FTPNational%2FTopStories&ord=1145130566379&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true. Retrieved 2004-05-20.
6. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (November, 26, 2009). "Soul-Searching in Turkey After a Gay Man Is Killed". New York Times. pp. A16. www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/world/europe/26turkey.html?ref=world. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
7. ^ Nicholas Birch. "Was Ahmet Yildiz the victim of Turkey's first gay honor killing?". The Independent. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/was-ahmet-yildiz-the-victim-of-turkeys-first-gay-honour-killing-871822.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
8. ^ Dan Bilefsky. "How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide". The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/world/europe/16turkey.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
9. ^ a b Dan Bilefsky. "'Virgin suicides' save Turks' 'honor'". International Herald Tribune. www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/12/news/virgins.php. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
10. ^ "Iraqi woman had 80 women raped then recruited as suicide bombers". www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25006101-401,00.html.
11. ^ "Iraq's 'female bomber recruiter'". BBB. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7869570.stm.
12. ^ "Al-Qaeda damaged by arrest of 'rape and suicide bomb' woman". The Times, London. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5661466.ece.
13. ^ a b "Working_towards_the_elimination_of_crimes_against_women_committed_in_the_name_of_honour" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/AllSymbols/985168F508EE799FC1256C52002AE5A9/$File/N0246790.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
14. ^ "Abu-Ghanem women speak out against serial 'honor killings'". Haaretz. www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829440.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
15. ^ Richard G. Wilkinson (2005). The Impact of Inequality. The New Press. ISBN 9781565849259. books.google.co.uk/books?id=kxWSsoA5Q_4C&dq=%22richard+wilkinson%22+inequality&pg=PP1&ots=xem4wcQbpL&sig=7jDm6UAG-GfUeBCX8BxPqYmmQRc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA215,M1.
16. ^ a b Mayell, Hillary. "Thousands of Women Killed for Family "Honor"". National Geographic. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
17. ^ ""The sleeper Lived Like a German"". Der Spiegel, Germany. www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,344374,00.html.
18. ^ "Muslim girls in Austria fighting forced marriages - Program for women helps them escape from family pressures, unwanted weddings -- and violence". San Francisco Chronicle. www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/04/MNGH0G1B7L1.DTL&type=printable.
19. ^ "Turkish man in Berlin jailed for 'honour killing' of sister". www.expatica.com. www.expatica.com/de/articles/news/turkish-man-in-berlin-jailed-for-honour-killing-of-sister-29300.html. here
20. ^ "Erschlagen, weil sie schwanger war? - Killed, because she was pregnant?". Der Bild. www.bild.de/BILD/news/2009/03/11/ehrenmord/erschlagen-weil-sie-schwanger-war.html.
21. ^ "BBC: Honour killings in the UK". BBC. www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonor_2.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
22. ^ "One in 10 'backs honour killings'". BBC. news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_5311000/5311244.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
23. ^ Lily Gupta. "Multicultural sensitivity is no excuse for moral blindness ...". The Guardian. commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/lily_gupta/2008/01/forcing_the_issue.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
24. ^ James Button. "My family, my killers". The Sydney Morning Herald. www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/01/1201801034293.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
25. ^ www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article99191.ece
26. ^ "A Feminist analysis of Honour Killings in rural Turkey". www.scar.utoronto.ca/~socsci/sever/pubs/honorkillings.html.
27. ^ Damien McElroy. "Saudi woman killed for chatting on Facebook". The Daily Telegraph. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583420/Saudi-woman-killed-for-chatting-on-Facebook.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
28. ^ "Honor killings claim 1,000 lives in five years". Turkish Daily News. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=107834. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
29. ^ "UNICEF Executive Director targets violence against women". UNICEF. www.unicef.org/newsline/00pr17.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
30. ^ "Honour Killings among the Palestinians". www.worldandi.com/newhome/public/2003/may/clpub.asp.
31. ^ Arwa Damon. "Violations of 'Islamic teachings' take deadly toll on Iraqi women". CNN. www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/08/iraq.women/index.html?eref=ib_topstories. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
32. ^ a b c d "Jordan: Special Report on Honour Killings". www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/6f6d5166f24330a0e8edcb79796ca5cc.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
33. ^ www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/963645.html
34. ^ Jamie Baker. "Cultural 'honour' killing brought to Canada". The Telegram. www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=d05e437f-4661-4965-9455-ff30c6b9d4a5&k=20265. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
35. ^ www.meforum.org/article/2067
36. ^ "Pakistan: Honour killings of women and girls". Amnesty International. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/018/1999.
37. ^ "Three teenagers buried alive in Pakistan 'honour killing'". Irish Time. www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2008/0901/1220180158986.html.
38. ^ "Pakistan to investigate 'honour killing' case". Th National Newspaper, Abu Dhabi. www.thenational.ae/article/20081028/FOREIGN/662811008/1103/NEWS.
39. ^ [1]
40. ^ [2]
41. ^ [3]
42. ^ "'Honour Killings' and the Law in Pakistan" by Sohail Warraich. Chapter 4 of "Honour, Crimes, paradigms, and violence against women" By Sara Hossain, and Lynn Welchman,Zed Books (November 10, 2005), ISBN 1842776274
43. ^ a b Yasmeen Hassan, The Haven Becomes Hell: A Study of Domestic Violence in Pakistan, "The Fate of Pakistani Women.",1995 Aug. 72 p. (Special Bulletin), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
44. ^ Lata Mani: Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India. Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1998
45. ^ Immolation - India's Secret
46. ^ Indian village proud after double "honor killing". Reuters. May 16, 2008.
47. ^ Eight beheaded in Indian 'honor killing'. United Press International. February 12, 2009.
48. ^ timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/16-year-old-burnt-in-Gzb-honour-killing/articleshow/4311952.cms
49. ^ www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1405020.php/Father_kills_daughter_in_honour_killing_in_western_India”>>
THE BBC (British Broadcasting Corp., a UK government agency.) ON HONOR KILLINGS:
BBC On Honor Crimes:[source - retrieved from www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml on 12/17/2009]
Honour crimes
'Honour' crime involves violence committed by those who aim to protect the reputation of their family or community.
Introduction
Honour killing is the murder of a person accused of "bringing shame" upon their family.
Victims have been killed for refusing to enter a marriage, committing adultery or being in a relationship that displeased their relatives.
In many instances, the crimes are committed by family members against a female relative.
More cases have reached the UK courts in recent years but a number of crimes still remain unresolved or undetected.
In some parts of the world, women who have been raped have also been murdered for the 'dishonour' of being a victim and the 'disgrace' it brings to their family.
Honour killing is believed to have originated from tribal customs where an allegation against a woman can be enough to defile a family's reputation - 'a life without honour is not worth living.'
HONOUR-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE UK
Murders have sometimes taken place after a family reacted violently to their son or daughter adopting the trappings of western culture.
It's thought that up to 12 honour killings happen every year. They usually occur within South Asian and Middle Eastern families.
One of the most well-known cases is that of Banaz Mahmod, from Surrey, whose murder in 2006 was organised by her father and uncle.
She had left an unhappy arranged marriage after which she started a relationship with another man. The 20-year-old was strangled and hidden in a suitcase which was then buried underneath a Birmingham property.
The police were criticised for mis-handling Ms. Mahmod's situation when she contacted them on a number of occasions before her death.
Shahien Taj, from the Henna Foundation, said: "Honour is supposed to be a positive word. Clearly, calling a killing an 'honour crime' is a contradiction of terms.
"A lot of talk and dialogue takes place after a crime has happened, but this is too little too late. If you really want to deal with an issue, you have to unpack it in its true context."
Forced marriages and honour violence
Organisations that deal with honour-based violence also help forced marriage victims, as some of those killed in the name of "honour" were trying to escape coercion into matrimony.
Laws to prevent forced marriages and provide a way out for those already in unconsented unions were introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in November 2008.
Anybody convicted of trying to force someone into a marriage could be jailed for up to two years.
Within the first year, 86 Forced Marriage Protection Orders were implemented.
But as one worker who specialises in the issue said, "The sticking point is that potential victims don't want orders served on their parents - or whoever is responsible - they just want a way out of the situation."
Rise in 'honour' crimes
In December 2009, the Metropolitan Police reported that there had been a huge rise in recorded incidents motivated by "honour."
They said 211 incidents had been reported in London - 129 of which were criminal offences - between April and October.
The increase may partly be due to police being instructed in September 2009 to assume honour crimes have been committed in more situations.
Nazir Afzal, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "It will be about making sure we look for the signs so that we don't miss cases."
Detective Chief Inspector Gerry Campbell of the Metropolitan Police told The Guardian, "Young woman are predominately the victims of honour-based violence but we are seeing an increase in young men and boys - it's now about 15% of the total numbers."
He also added that 25% of their cases involved people under the age of 18.
THE BBC (British Broadcasting Corp., a UK government agency.) WAKE-UP CALL:
BBC WAke Up Call On Honor Killings [source - retrieved from news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8387475.stm on 12/17/2009]
UK honour killing 'wake-up call'
The case o***irl allegedly murdered by her own family is a "wake-up call" over so-called honour killings in the UK, the Old Bailey has been told.
Tulay Goren, 15, disappeared in 1999 after continuing a relationship with a man her family disapproved of.
Tulay's father Mehmet, 49, and uncles, Ali Goren, 56, and Cuma Goren, 42, all deny murdering the teenager.
In his closing speech, Jonathan Laidlaw QC said it was "shocking" to see feudal" crime in 21st Century Britain.
The prosecutor said: "How a father with the support of two of his brothers could take a knife to his own daughter, if that is what occurred, is something that is really quite impossible to understand.
"If the prosecution are right, to add to the sheer brutality of what these men did is the cold-blooded nature of this killing."
All that is on their minds are the lies they have told in order to escape conviction Jonathan Laidlaw QC
He continued: "If there are those in this country who believe we do not face similar problems as other countries where honour violence occurs, this case will be something of a wake-up call."
The court has been told that Tulay's relationship with her boyfriend, Halil Unal, would have been unacceptable to her family.
He is a Sunni Muslim while the Goren family was from the Alevi branch of the faith.
Tulay went missing from Woodford Green, north London, in January 1999. Her body has never been found.
The brothers have tried to shift the blame to each other during the course of the trial.
Ali and Mehmet Goren, both from Woodford Green, and Cuma Goren, from Walthamstow, also deny conspiring to murder Mr Unal between May 1998 and February 1999.
Mr Laidlaw said none had shown any remorse, adding: "All that is on their minds are the lies they have told in order to escape conviction - a conviction we suggest all three richly deserve."
AND THE CRIME AGAINST WOMEN BY MEMBERS OF ISLAM CONTINUES:
Turkey: In Turkey, persons found guilty of this crime are sentenced to life in prison.[9] There are well documented cases, where Turkish courts have sentenced whole families to life imprisonment for an honor killing. The most recent was on January 13, 2009, where a Turkish Court sentenced five members of the same Kurdish family to life imprisonment for the "honour killing" of Naile Erdas, 16, who got pregnant as a result of rape.
Pakistan: Honor killings are known as Karo Kari . The practice is supposed to be prosecuted under ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it. Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings. On December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women's rights organizations were, however, wary of this law as it stops short of outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Women's rights groups claimed that in most cases it is the victim's immediate relatives who are the killers, so inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the Islamic provisions. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing.[ However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it passed. It is doubtful whether or not the law would actually help women. [source – from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia]
CONCLUSION:
An often overlooked point of major importance is that NONE OF THESE GOOD FOR NOTHING ‘HONOR’ MURDERS HAVE EVER BEEN EXCOMMUNICATED, DISFELLOWSHIPED, OR OTHERWISE THROWN OUT OF ISLAM. Also, some Muslim clergy actually promote and/or feel ‘honor’ murders are highly desirable.
Some Muslim groups try to distance themselves from this wicked practice in Europe and North America, but NONE has erected pressure on their clergy to get action against these murderers thrown out of Islam or effective pressure to get them stopped.
With respect to the two taxonomies of so called Christians, neither group 1 or group 2 (with the exception of the Coptic’s) permit this among their members without taking action.
[[Note: definitions:
Group 1 - the genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ do NOT involve themselves with war and violence, believe in myths, or meddle in politics, and try to follow to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ. Also, they have NO creedal doctrines and/or traditions.
Group 2 - the false claimants of being followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ involve themselves with war and violence, believe in myths, and meddle in politics while falsely claiming to be followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace. The give 'lip' service with respect following to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ - the term Sunday Christian aptly fits them. They have their creedal doctrines and/or traditions and assign more importance to these than the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible.]]
To learn more, check out the following:
[1] religioustruths.proboards59.com/ An Educational Referral Forum
[2] www.network54.com/Forum/403209 A Forum Devoted to Exposing The False Religion of Islam
[3] jude3.proboards92.com/ A Free-Speech Forum For All
[4] www.freewebs.com/iris_the_preacher My web site.
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
INTRODUCTION:
An honor killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, where the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonor upon the family, clan, or community. This perceived dishonor is normally the result of (a) utilizing dress codes unacceptable to the family (b) wanting out of an arranged marriage or choosing to marry by own choice or (c) engaging in certain sexual acts. These killings result from the perception that defense of honor justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonors their clan or family. This is the reality among many members of Islam, and also among a very few members of group 2 false so called Christian religions (Coptic).
REALITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA FROM CREDIBLE SOURCES:
SOURCE 1
Honor Killing in Texas, by Robert Spencer, 01/08/2008 [source - Human Events.com, retrieved from www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24329 on 12/18/2009]
Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, smile happily in one widely circulating photo, and Amina is wearing what looks like a sweatshirt bearing the name “AMERICAN.” But their fate may have been the herald of a new, disquieting feature of the American landscape: honor killing. Amina and Sarah were shot dead in Irving, Texas, on New Year’s Day. Police are searching for their father, Yaser Abdel Said, on a warrant for capital murder.
The girls’ great aunt, Gail Gartrell, told reporters, “This was an honor killing.” She explained that Yaser Said had long abused the girls, and after discovering that they had boyfriends, had threatened to kill them -- whereupon their mother fled with them. “She ran with them,” said Gartrell, “because she knew he would carry out the threat.” But Said found them, and apparently did carry it out.
Honor killing, the practice of murdering a female family member who is believed to have sullied the family honor, enjoys widespread acceptance in some areas of the Islamic world. However, Islam Said, the brother of Amina and Sarah, has denied that the murders had anything to do with Islam at all. “It’s not religion,” he insisted. “It’s something else. Religion has nothing to do with it.”
And to be sure, the Qur’an or Islamic tradition does not sanction honor killing. Muslim spokesmen have hastened, after the recent killing in Canada of another teenage Muslim girl, Aqsa Parvez, by her father to tell the public that honor killing has nothing to do with Islam, but is merely a feature of Islamic culture in some areas. Aqsa Parvez was sixteen years old; her father, Muhammad Parvez, has been charged with strangling her to death because she refused to wear the hijab. Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association, declared: “The strangulation death of Ms. Parvez was the result of domestic violence, a problem that cuts across Canadian society and is blind to colour or creed.” Sheikh Alaa El-Sayyed, imam of the Islamic Society of North America in Mississauga, Ontario, agreed: “The bottom line is, it’s a domestic violence issue.”
But these dismissals are too easy, principally because they fail to take into account important evidence. In some areas, honor killing is assumed to be an Islamic practice. There is evidence that Islamic culture inculcates attitudes that could lead directly to the murders of these two girls in Texas. In 2003, the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. In a sadly typical consequence of this early last year, a Jordanian man who murdered his sister because he thought she had a lover was given a three-month sentence, which was suspended for time served, allowing him to walk free. The Yemen Times just last week published an article insisting that violence against women is necessary for the stability of the family and the society, and invoking Islam to support this view.
The killings of Amina and Sarah Said raises uncomfortable questions for the Islamic community in the United States, questions about the culture and mindset that people like Yaser Said bring to this country. Now that honor killing has come to Texas, Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. have an all the more urgent responsibility to end their denial and confront these cultural attitudes. If they don’t, and instead continue to glibly insist that religion has nothing to do with what happened to these poor girls, the murders of the Said sisters will only be the beginning of a new American phenomenon.
Here are a few of the comments submitted by our readers. Click to view all
Please remember the opinions expressed by our readers are in no way those of Human Events, nor are they condoned by us, and we reserve the right to remove abusive posts. Report Abusive Post
We've had two killings of young muslim women here in the capital of Islamic USA - Dearborn, Michigan, over the past 3-4 years. Both cases were very quickly and quietly hushed but most citizens here suspect it was honor killings.
Bottom line: You import people from a far different culture through immigration, they also bring their culture with them and you change our society.
It's the immigration, stupid!
SOURCE 2
Murder in the Family: Honor Killings in America, Fox News, [retrieved from www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391531,00.html on 12/18/2009]
Saturday, July 26, 2008
July 7: Chaudhry Rashid waits with other inmates to make his first appearance in Magistrate Court at the Clayton County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Ga.
July 7: Chaudhry Rashid waits with other inmates to make his first appearance in Magistrate Court at the Clayton County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Ga.
When she was just 19, Sandeela Kanwal traveled from America to Pakistan for an arranged marriage to a cousin twice her age.
Less than six years later, she was dead — strangled — and her father, Chaudhry Rashid, was arrested by police as the suspect for what some have called an "honor killing."
After their marriage, Kanwal had lived in the United States apart from her husband, who remained in Pakistan. She was reunited with him in April at her family home in Atlanta, but he moved to Chicago days later, leaving her alone once again.
On July 1, Kanwal filed for divorce, a prospect her father, a 52-year-old immigrant from Pakistan, would not entertain. Investigators say that after an argument on the night of July 5, he strangled Kanwal with a bungee cord. He could not accept the "disgrace" a divorce or affair would bring on his family, according to police.
The United Nations estimates that as many as 5,000 women are murdered in such honor killings each year for offenses like immodesty or refusing an arranged marriage. They may be on the rise in the U.S., as seen anecdotally in Kanwal's death and a handful of other prominent attacks:
• Fifty-year-old Yaser Abdel Said became the focus of a massive manhunt after he allegedly killed his teenage daughters Sarah and Amina — for dating boys against his will. Relatives say he tried to marry off Amina in his native Egypt when she was 16, and he hasn't been seen since the girls were shot to death on New Year's Day.
• Zein Isa, a Palestinian terrorist who lived in St. Louis, was convicted of killing his daughter Palestina in 1989. Investigators say he was furious she had a black boyfriend, went to a school dance and got a job at Wendy's. Palestina's mother held her down as Isa plunged a 9-inch knife into his daughter's chest, actions the FBI picked up on a microphone as they investigated Isa for his terrorist ties.
• Waheed Mohammad, a 22-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan, was shamed by his sister, who he thought was a "bad Muslim girl." At his mother's behest, investigators say, he tried to "stop" his sister, stabbing her multiple times, though she survived and spoke to FOX News.
SOURCE 3
Honor killings: When the ancient and the modern collide, January 23, 2008|By Cinnamon Still [source - SFGate.com, retrieved from articles.sfgate.com/2008-01-23/opinion/ga20080123cstillwell_1_honor-killings-so-called-honor-muslim on 12/18/2008]
wellThroughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, young Muslim women are being targeted for violence. Lest it be thought hate crimes are to blame, it is, in fact, their own relatives who are the perpetrators. So-called honor killings, whereby a Muslim male family member, typically the father, murders his daughter in order to defend the family's honor, is a growing problem.
SOURCE 4
HONOR KILLINGS IN AMERICA & ABROAD [SOURCE - sOUND vISION.COM, retrieved from www.soundvision.com/info/misc/honor.asp on 12/18/2009]
The images were horrific.
A young Muslim Pakistani woman's disfigured hands, raised in supplication after Salat were displayed for the world to see in a BBC documentary. Her horrific punishment was meted out for "dishonoring" her family.
A young man in Jordan described how he recited the Quran as he strangled his sister to death for "dishonoring" the family in a similar documentary broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
A program on honor killing was also aired on ABC in the United States the same week as these two documentaries.
"Honor killings" occur after a woman "disgraces" her family. In the BBC and CBC documentaries, the dishonoring took different forms.
These images are straight from the Muslim world: Pakistan and Jordan. Another example of how sick, cruel and barbaric Muslims are towards their women. Or not?
SOURCE 5
'Honor killings' in USA raise concerns, By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY, Updated 11/30/2009 1:42 PM, [Retrieved from www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-honor-killings-in-the-US_N.htm on 12/18/2009]
Muslim immigrant men have been accused of six "honor killings" in the United States in the past two years, prompting concerns that the Muslim community and police need to do more to stop such crimes. "There is broad support and acceptance of this idea in Islam, and we're going to see it more and more in the United States," says Robert Spencer, who has trained FBI and military authorities on Islam and founded Jihad Watch, which monitors radical Islam.
…
Some clerics and even lawmakers in these countries have said families have the right to commit honor killings as a way of maintaining values, according to an analysis by Yotam Feldner in the journal Middle East Quarterly.
In the USA, police allege the latest "honor killing" was that of Noor Almaleki, 20, who died Nov. 2 after she and her boyfriend's mother were run over in a Peoria, Ariz., parking lot. Prosecutors charged Almaleki's father, Faleh Almaleki, with murder, saying the Iraqi immigrant was upset that his daughter rejected a husband she married in Iraq and moved in with an American.
"By his own admission, this was an intentional act, and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family," says Maricopa County prosecutor Stephanie Low, according to The Arizona Republic.
Many Muslim leaders in the USA say that Islam does not promote honor killings and that the practice stems from sexism and tribal behavior that predates the religion.
[[REALITY CHECK; But NOT one of the perpetrators has been excommunicated, disfellowshiped, or otherwise thrown out of Islam.]]
"You're always going to get problems with chauvinism and suppressing vulnerable populations and gender discrimination," says Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Not all agree. Zuhdi Jasser says some Muslim communities have failed to spell out how Islam deals with issues that can lead to violence.
"How should young adult women be treated who want to assimilate more than their parents want them to assimilate?" asks Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which advocates a separation of mosque and state. "How does an imam treat a woman who comes in and says she wants a divorce ... or how to deal with your daughter that got pregnant, and she's in high school?"
Phyllis Chesler, who wrote about honor killings in her book Woman's Inhumanity to Woman, says police need to focus on the crimes' co-conspirators if they wish to reverse the trend. Before 2008, there were six honor killings in the USA in the previous 18 years, according to her research.
"It's usually the father, brother or first male cousin who is charged with the actual shooting or stabbing, (but not) the mother who lures the girl home," Chesler says. "The religion has failed to address this as a problem and failed to seriously work to abolish it as un-Islamic."
Jasser says his community needs to address how to treat young women who want to assimilate. "Until we have women's liberation ... we're going to see these things increase."
REALITY AS REVEALED BY WIKIPEDIA, THE FREE ENCYCLOPEDIA:
<<”The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000.[1]
Human Rights Watch defines "honor killings" as follows:
Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce-even from an abusive husband-or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.[2]
The loose term honor killing applies to killing of both males and females in cultures that practice it.[3] For example, during the year 2002 in Pakistan, it is estimated that 245 women and 137 men were killed in the name of Karo-kari in Sindh. These killings target women and men who choose to have relationships outside of their family's tribal affiliation and/or religious community.
Some women who bridge social divides, publicly engage other communities, or adopt some of the customs or the religion of an outside group may thus also be attacked. In countries that receive immigration, some otherwise low-status immigrant (Muslim) men and boys have asserted their dominant patriarchal status by inflicting honor killings on women family members who have participated in public life, for example in feminist and integration politics.[4] Women in the family do support the honor killing of one of their own, when they agree that the family is the property and asset of men and boys. Alternatively, matriarchs may be motivated not by personal belief in the misogynistic ideology of women as property, but rather by tragically pragmatic calculations. Sometimes a mother may support an honor killing of an "offending" female family member in order to preserve the honor of other female family members since many men in these societies will refuse to marry the sister of a "shamed" female whom the family has not chosen to punish, thereby "purifying" the family name by murdering the suspected female.
There is some evidence that homosexuality can also be perceived as grounds for honor killing by relatives. In one case, a gay Jordanian man who was shot and wounded by his brother.[5] In another case, a homosexual Turkish student, Ahmet Yildiz, was shot outside a cafe and later died in the hospital. Sociologists have called this Turkey's first publicized gay honor killing.[6][7]
ACCORDING TO THE UN IN 2002:
"The report of the Special Rapporteur ... concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honour killings had been reported in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in western countries such as France, Germany, America, and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities."[13][14]
There is a strong positive correlation between violence against women, and women's social power and equality; and a baseline of development, associated with access to basic resources, health care, and human capital, such as literacy - as research by Richard G. Wilkinson shows. In a male dominated society, there is more inequality between men, and women lose out not just physically and economically, but crucially because men who feel subordinated will often try to regain a sense of their authority in turn by excessive subordination of those below them, ie women. (Interestingly, he says that in male-dominated societies, not only do women suffer more violence, and worse health: but so do men.)[15]
According to Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, the practice "goes across cultures and across religions."[16]
Europe
In 2005 Der Spiegel magazine reports: 'In the past four months, six Muslim women living in Berlin have been brutally murdered by family members', and goes on to cover the case of Hatun Sürücü - killed by her brother for not staying with her husband of forced marriage, but of 'living like a German'. Precise statistics on how many women die every year in such honor killings are hard to come by, as many crimes are never reported, said Myria Boehmecke of the Tuebingen-based women's group Terre des Femmes which, among other things, tries to protect Muslim girls and women from oppressive families. The Turkish women's organization Papatya has documented 40 instances of honor killings in Germany since 1996.[17][18]
Hatun Sürücü's brother and murderer, was convicted of murder and jailed for nine years and three months by a German court in 2006.[19]
In March 2009, Turkish immigrant Gülsüm S. was killed for a relationship outside her family's plan for an arranged marriage.[20]
Every year in the UK, a dozen women are victims of honor killings, occurring almost exclusively to date within Asian and Middle Eastern families[21] and often cases are unresolved due to the unwillingness of family, relatives and communities to testify. A 2006 BBC poll for the Asian network in the UK found that 1 in 10 of the 500 young Asians (Muslims) polled said that they could condone the murder of someone who dishonored their family[22] In the UK, in December 2005, Nazir Afzal, Director, West London, of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, stated that the United Kingdom has seen "at least a dozen honour killings" between 2004 and 2005.[23] While precise figures do not exist for the perpetrators' cultural backgrounds, Diana Nammi of the UK's Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation is reported to have said:"about two-thirds are Muslim. Yet they can also be Hindu, Sikh and even eastern European."[24]
Another well known case was of Heshu Yones, who was stabbed to death by her father in London in 2002, when her family heard a love song dedicated to her and suspected she had a boyfriend.[25] Another girl suffered a similar fate in Turkey.[26]
Middle East
In April 2008 it came to light that some months prior, a Saudi woman was killed by her father for chatting on Facebook to a man. The murder only came to light when a Saudi cleric referred to the case in an attempt to demonstrate the strife that the website causes.[27]
A June 2008 Report by the Turkish Prime Ministry's Human Rights Directorate, says that in Istanbul alone, there is one honor killing every week; and reports over 1,000 during the last 5 years. It adds that metropolitan cities are the location of many of these.[28]
UNICEF reported that in the Gaza strip and the West bank that "According to 1999 estimates, more than two-thirds of all murders were most likely 'honour' killings."[29]
In 2003 James Emery (adjunct professor of anthropology at Metropolitan State College of Denver and expert on Afghan politics and the Taliban) wrote: In the Palestinian communities of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan, women are executed in their homes, in open fields, and occasionally in public, sometimes before crowds of cheering onlookers. Honor killings account for virtually all of the murders of Palestinian women in these areas.[30]
As many as 133 women were killed in the Iraqi city of Basra alone in 2006-79 for violation of "Islamic teachings" and 47 for honor killings, according to IRIN, the news branch of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Amnesty International claims honor killings are also conducted by armed groups, not the government, upon politically active women and those who did not follow a strict dress code, as well as women who are perceived as human rights defenders.[31]
Jordan, considered one of the most liberal countries in the Middle East still witnesses instances of honor killings. In Jordan there is minimal gender discrimination and women are permitted to vote but men receive reduced sentences for killing their wives or female family members if they have brought dishonor to their family. Families often have sons who are considered minors, under the age of 18, to commit the honor killings. A loophole in the juvenile law allows minors to serve time in a juvenile detention center and they are released with a clean criminal record at the age of 18. Rana Husseini, a leading journalist on the topic of honor killings, states that "'nder the existing law, people found guilty of committing honor killings often receive sentences as light as six months in prison'"[32]. There has been much outcry in Jordan for the amendments of Article 340 and 98. In 1999, King Abdullah created a council to review the gender inequalities in the country. The Council returned with a recommendation to repeal Article 340. "[T]he cabinet approved the recommendation, the measure was presented to parliament twice in November 1999 and January 2000 and in both cases, though approved by the upper house, it failed to pass the elected lower house"[32]. In 2001 after parliament was suspended, a number of temporary laws were created which were subject to parliamentary ratification. One of the amendments was that "husbands would no longer be exonerated for murdering unfaithful wives, but instead the circumstances would be considered as evidence for mitigating punishments". Also to continue with the efforts of creating gender equality, women were given the same reduction in punishment if found guilty of the crime. But parliament returned to session in 2003 and the ratifications were rejected by the lower house after two successful readings in the upper house[32].
Israel, in contrast to its neighbors, sentences convicted perpetrators of honor killings to life in prison, as was the case in a 2008 incident where two Arab-Israeli brothers murdered their sister[33]
North America
FURTHER INFORMATION: HONOR KILLING IN THE UNITED STATES
A 2007 study by Dr. Amin Muhammad and Dr. Sujay Patel of Memorial University, Canada, showed how Islamic honor killings have been brought to Canada. He wrote: "When people come and settle in Canada they can bring their traditions and forcefully follow them. In some cultures, people feel some boundaries are never to be crossed, and if someone would violate those practices or go against it, then murder is justified to them." He also noted that there are hundreds of cases annually in his native Pakistan. He added that "In different cultures, they can get away without being punished -- the courts actually sanction them under religious contexts"[34]
An article in the Spring 2009 edition of Middle East Quarterly[35] argues that the United States is far behind Europe in acknowledging that honor killings are a special form of domestic violence, requiring special training and special programs to protect the young women and girls most subject to it. The article suggests that the fear of being labeled "culturally insensitive" prevents US government officials and the media from both identifying and accurately reporting these incidents as "honor killings" when they occur. Failing to accurately describe the problem makes it more difficult to develop public policies to address it.
South Asia
In Pakistan honor killings are known locally as karo-kari. Amnesty International's report noted "the failure of the authorities to prevent these killings by investigating and punishing the perpetrators."[36] Recent cases include that of three teenage girls who were buried alive after refusing arranged marriages.[37] Another case was that of Taslim Khatoon Solangi, 17, of Hajna Shah village in Khairpur district, which became widely reported after the graphic account of her father 57-year-old Gul Sher Solangi, who allegedly tortured and murdered his eight months' pregnant daughter on March 7 on the orders of her father-in-law, who accused her of carrying a child conceived out of wedlock.[38][4]. Statistically, honor killings enjoy high level of support in Pakistani society, despite widespread condemnation from human rights groups.[39] In 2002 alone, over 382 people, about 245 women and 137 men, became victims of honor killings in the Sindh province of Pakistan.[40] Over the course of six years, over 4,000 women have fallen victim to this practice in Pakistan from 1999-2004.[41] More recently (in 2005), the average annual number of honor killings for the whole nation ran up to more than 10,000 per year. [42] According to woman rights advocates, The concepts of women as property and honor are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part, ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." [43] Frequently, women murdered in "honour" killings are recorded as having committed suicide or died in accidents. [43]
…
People are still murdered across Northern India for daring to marry without their family's acceptance, in some cases for marrying outside their caste or religion. In Haryana, for example, a couple of such incidents still occur every year.[16][46] Bhagalpur in the northern Indian state of Bihar has also been notorious for honor killings.[47] Recent cases include a 16-year-old girl, Imrana, from Bhojpur was set on fire inside her house on Monday in a case of what the police called 'moral vigilantism'. The victim had screamed for help for about 20 minutes before neighbours arrived only to find her still smoldering. She was admitted to a local hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.[48] Another case in May 2008, Jayvirsingh Bhadodiya shot his daughter Vandana Bhadodiya and struck with her in the head with an axe.[49]
References:
1. ^ "A Human Rights and Health Priority". United Nations Population Fund. www.unfpa.org/swp/2000/english/ch03.html. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
2. ^ "Violence Against Women and "Honor" Crimes". Human Rights Watch. www.hrw.org/press/2001/04/un_oral12_0405.htm. Retrieved 2001-04-06.
3. ^ Teen Lovers Murdered in India Honor Killing. LiveLeak.com
4. ^ (Swedish)"Fadimes minnesfond". fadimesminne.nu. www.fadimesminne.nu/. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
5. ^ Marina Jimenez. "Gay Jordanian now 'gloriously free' in Canada". The Globe and Mail. www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v4/sub/MarketingPage?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2FArticleNews%2FTPStory%2FLAC%2F20040520%2FGAY20%2FTPNational%2FTopStories&ord=1145130566379&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true. Retrieved 2004-05-20.
6. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (November, 26, 2009). "Soul-Searching in Turkey After a Gay Man Is Killed". New York Times. pp. A16. www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/world/europe/26turkey.html?ref=world. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
7. ^ Nicholas Birch. "Was Ahmet Yildiz the victim of Turkey's first gay honor killing?". The Independent. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/was-ahmet-yildiz-the-victim-of-turkeys-first-gay-honour-killing-871822.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
8. ^ Dan Bilefsky. "How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide". The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/world/europe/16turkey.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1. Retrieved 2006-07-16.
9. ^ a b Dan Bilefsky. "'Virgin suicides' save Turks' 'honor'". International Herald Tribune. www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/12/news/virgins.php. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
10. ^ "Iraqi woman had 80 women raped then recruited as suicide bombers". www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25006101-401,00.html.
11. ^ "Iraq's 'female bomber recruiter'". BBB. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7869570.stm.
12. ^ "Al-Qaeda damaged by arrest of 'rape and suicide bomb' woman". The Times, London. www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article5661466.ece.
13. ^ a b "Working_towards_the_elimination_of_crimes_against_women_committed_in_the_name_of_honour" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/AllSymbols/985168F508EE799FC1256C52002AE5A9/$File/N0246790.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
14. ^ "Abu-Ghanem women speak out against serial 'honor killings'". Haaretz. www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/829440.html. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
15. ^ Richard G. Wilkinson (2005). The Impact of Inequality. The New Press. ISBN 9781565849259. books.google.co.uk/books?id=kxWSsoA5Q_4C&dq=%22richard+wilkinson%22+inequality&pg=PP1&ots=xem4wcQbpL&sig=7jDm6UAG-GfUeBCX8BxPqYmmQRc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA215,M1.
16. ^ a b Mayell, Hillary. "Thousands of Women Killed for Family "Honor"". National Geographic. news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
17. ^ ""The sleeper Lived Like a German"". Der Spiegel, Germany. www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,344374,00.html.
18. ^ "Muslim girls in Austria fighting forced marriages - Program for women helps them escape from family pressures, unwanted weddings -- and violence". San Francisco Chronicle. www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/04/MNGH0G1B7L1.DTL&type=printable.
19. ^ "Turkish man in Berlin jailed for 'honour killing' of sister". www.expatica.com. www.expatica.com/de/articles/news/turkish-man-in-berlin-jailed-for-honour-killing-of-sister-29300.html. here
20. ^ "Erschlagen, weil sie schwanger war? - Killed, because she was pregnant?". Der Bild. www.bild.de/BILD/news/2009/03/11/ehrenmord/erschlagen-weil-sie-schwanger-war.html.
21. ^ "BBC: Honour killings in the UK". BBC. www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonor_2.shtml. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
22. ^ "One in 10 'backs honour killings'". BBC. news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_5311000/5311244.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
23. ^ Lily Gupta. "Multicultural sensitivity is no excuse for moral blindness ...". The Guardian. commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/lily_gupta/2008/01/forcing_the_issue.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
24. ^ James Button. "My family, my killers". The Sydney Morning Herald. www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/01/1201801034293.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
25. ^ www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article99191.ece
26. ^ "A Feminist analysis of Honour Killings in rural Turkey". www.scar.utoronto.ca/~socsci/sever/pubs/honorkillings.html.
27. ^ Damien McElroy. "Saudi woman killed for chatting on Facebook". The Daily Telegraph. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1583420/Saudi-woman-killed-for-chatting-on-Facebook.html. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
28. ^ "Honor killings claim 1,000 lives in five years". Turkish Daily News. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=107834. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
29. ^ "UNICEF Executive Director targets violence against women". UNICEF. www.unicef.org/newsline/00pr17.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
30. ^ "Honour Killings among the Palestinians". www.worldandi.com/newhome/public/2003/may/clpub.asp.
31. ^ Arwa Damon. "Violations of 'Islamic teachings' take deadly toll on Iraqi women". CNN. www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/08/iraq.women/index.html?eref=ib_topstories. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
32. ^ a b c d "Jordan: Special Report on Honour Killings". www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/6f6d5166f24330a0e8edcb79796ca5cc.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
33. ^ www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/963645.html
34. ^ Jamie Baker. "Cultural 'honour' killing brought to Canada". The Telegram. www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=d05e437f-4661-4965-9455-ff30c6b9d4a5&k=20265. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
35. ^ www.meforum.org/article/2067
36. ^ "Pakistan: Honour killings of women and girls". Amnesty International. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/018/1999.
37. ^ "Three teenagers buried alive in Pakistan 'honour killing'". Irish Time. www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2008/0901/1220180158986.html.
38. ^ "Pakistan to investigate 'honour killing' case". Th National Newspaper, Abu Dhabi. www.thenational.ae/article/20081028/FOREIGN/662811008/1103/NEWS.
39. ^ [1]
40. ^ [2]
41. ^ [3]
42. ^ "'Honour Killings' and the Law in Pakistan" by Sohail Warraich. Chapter 4 of "Honour, Crimes, paradigms, and violence against women" By Sara Hossain, and Lynn Welchman,Zed Books (November 10, 2005), ISBN 1842776274
43. ^ a b Yasmeen Hassan, The Haven Becomes Hell: A Study of Domestic Violence in Pakistan, "The Fate of Pakistani Women.",1995 Aug. 72 p. (Special Bulletin), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
44. ^ Lata Mani: Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India. Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1998
45. ^ Immolation - India's Secret
46. ^ Indian village proud after double "honor killing". Reuters. May 16, 2008.
47. ^ Eight beheaded in Indian 'honor killing'. United Press International. February 12, 2009.
48. ^ timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Lucknow/16-year-old-burnt-in-Gzb-honour-killing/articleshow/4311952.cms
49. ^ www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1405020.php/Father_kills_daughter_in_honour_killing_in_western_India”>>
THE BBC (British Broadcasting Corp., a UK government agency.) ON HONOR KILLINGS:
BBC On Honor Crimes:[source - retrieved from www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml on 12/17/2009]
Honour crimes
'Honour' crime involves violence committed by those who aim to protect the reputation of their family or community.
Introduction
Honour killing is the murder of a person accused of "bringing shame" upon their family.
Victims have been killed for refusing to enter a marriage, committing adultery or being in a relationship that displeased their relatives.
In many instances, the crimes are committed by family members against a female relative.
More cases have reached the UK courts in recent years but a number of crimes still remain unresolved or undetected.
In some parts of the world, women who have been raped have also been murdered for the 'dishonour' of being a victim and the 'disgrace' it brings to their family.
Honour killing is believed to have originated from tribal customs where an allegation against a woman can be enough to defile a family's reputation - 'a life without honour is not worth living.'
HONOUR-BASED VIOLENCE IN THE UK
Murders have sometimes taken place after a family reacted violently to their son or daughter adopting the trappings of western culture.
It's thought that up to 12 honour killings happen every year. They usually occur within South Asian and Middle Eastern families.
One of the most well-known cases is that of Banaz Mahmod, from Surrey, whose murder in 2006 was organised by her father and uncle.
She had left an unhappy arranged marriage after which she started a relationship with another man. The 20-year-old was strangled and hidden in a suitcase which was then buried underneath a Birmingham property.
The police were criticised for mis-handling Ms. Mahmod's situation when she contacted them on a number of occasions before her death.
Shahien Taj, from the Henna Foundation, said: "Honour is supposed to be a positive word. Clearly, calling a killing an 'honour crime' is a contradiction of terms.
"A lot of talk and dialogue takes place after a crime has happened, but this is too little too late. If you really want to deal with an issue, you have to unpack it in its true context."
Forced marriages and honour violence
Organisations that deal with honour-based violence also help forced marriage victims, as some of those killed in the name of "honour" were trying to escape coercion into matrimony.
Laws to prevent forced marriages and provide a way out for those already in unconsented unions were introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in November 2008.
Anybody convicted of trying to force someone into a marriage could be jailed for up to two years.
Within the first year, 86 Forced Marriage Protection Orders were implemented.
But as one worker who specialises in the issue said, "The sticking point is that potential victims don't want orders served on their parents - or whoever is responsible - they just want a way out of the situation."
Rise in 'honour' crimes
In December 2009, the Metropolitan Police reported that there had been a huge rise in recorded incidents motivated by "honour."
They said 211 incidents had been reported in London - 129 of which were criminal offences - between April and October.
The increase may partly be due to police being instructed in September 2009 to assume honour crimes have been committed in more situations.
Nazir Afzal, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "It will be about making sure we look for the signs so that we don't miss cases."
Detective Chief Inspector Gerry Campbell of the Metropolitan Police told The Guardian, "Young woman are predominately the victims of honour-based violence but we are seeing an increase in young men and boys - it's now about 15% of the total numbers."
He also added that 25% of their cases involved people under the age of 18.
THE BBC (British Broadcasting Corp., a UK government agency.) WAKE-UP CALL:
BBC WAke Up Call On Honor Killings [source - retrieved from news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8387475.stm on 12/17/2009]
UK honour killing 'wake-up call'
The case o***irl allegedly murdered by her own family is a "wake-up call" over so-called honour killings in the UK, the Old Bailey has been told.
Tulay Goren, 15, disappeared in 1999 after continuing a relationship with a man her family disapproved of.
Tulay's father Mehmet, 49, and uncles, Ali Goren, 56, and Cuma Goren, 42, all deny murdering the teenager.
In his closing speech, Jonathan Laidlaw QC said it was "shocking" to see feudal" crime in 21st Century Britain.
The prosecutor said: "How a father with the support of two of his brothers could take a knife to his own daughter, if that is what occurred, is something that is really quite impossible to understand.
"If the prosecution are right, to add to the sheer brutality of what these men did is the cold-blooded nature of this killing."
All that is on their minds are the lies they have told in order to escape conviction Jonathan Laidlaw QC
He continued: "If there are those in this country who believe we do not face similar problems as other countries where honour violence occurs, this case will be something of a wake-up call."
The court has been told that Tulay's relationship with her boyfriend, Halil Unal, would have been unacceptable to her family.
He is a Sunni Muslim while the Goren family was from the Alevi branch of the faith.
Tulay went missing from Woodford Green, north London, in January 1999. Her body has never been found.
The brothers have tried to shift the blame to each other during the course of the trial.
Ali and Mehmet Goren, both from Woodford Green, and Cuma Goren, from Walthamstow, also deny conspiring to murder Mr Unal between May 1998 and February 1999.
Mr Laidlaw said none had shown any remorse, adding: "All that is on their minds are the lies they have told in order to escape conviction - a conviction we suggest all three richly deserve."
AND THE CRIME AGAINST WOMEN BY MEMBERS OF ISLAM CONTINUES:
Turkey: In Turkey, persons found guilty of this crime are sentenced to life in prison.[9] There are well documented cases, where Turkish courts have sentenced whole families to life imprisonment for an honor killing. The most recent was on January 13, 2009, where a Turkish Court sentenced five members of the same Kurdish family to life imprisonment for the "honour killing" of Naile Erdas, 16, who got pregnant as a result of rape.
Pakistan: Honor killings are known as Karo Kari . The practice is supposed to be prosecuted under ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it. Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings. On December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women's rights organizations were, however, wary of this law as it stops short of outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Women's rights groups claimed that in most cases it is the victim's immediate relatives who are the killers, so inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the Islamic provisions. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing.[ However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it passed. It is doubtful whether or not the law would actually help women. [source – from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia]
CONCLUSION:
An often overlooked point of major importance is that NONE OF THESE GOOD FOR NOTHING ‘HONOR’ MURDERS HAVE EVER BEEN EXCOMMUNICATED, DISFELLOWSHIPED, OR OTHERWISE THROWN OUT OF ISLAM. Also, some Muslim clergy actually promote and/or feel ‘honor’ murders are highly desirable.
Some Muslim groups try to distance themselves from this wicked practice in Europe and North America, but NONE has erected pressure on their clergy to get action against these murderers thrown out of Islam or effective pressure to get them stopped.
With respect to the two taxonomies of so called Christians, neither group 1 or group 2 (with the exception of the Coptic’s) permit this among their members without taking action.
[[Note: definitions:
Group 1 - the genuine (true) followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ do NOT involve themselves with war and violence, believe in myths, or meddle in politics, and try to follow to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ. Also, they have NO creedal doctrines and/or traditions.
Group 2 - the false claimants of being followers of Jesus (Yeshua) Christ involve themselves with war and violence, believe in myths, and meddle in politics while falsely claiming to be followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace. The give 'lip' service with respect following to the 'letter' the words and commandments of Christ - the term Sunday Christian aptly fits them. They have their creedal doctrines and/or traditions and assign more importance to these than the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible.]]
To learn more, check out the following:
[1] religioustruths.proboards59.com/ An Educational Referral Forum
[2] www.network54.com/Forum/403209 A Forum Devoted to Exposing The False Religion of Islam
[3] jude3.proboards92.com/ A Free-Speech Forum For All
[4] www.freewebs.com/iris_the_preacher My web site.
Your Friend in Christ Iris89