In light of this week’s honor killing in Atlanta, Georgia, a Jordanian women’s rights activist argues for a global fight against the practice.
Shocking though the so-called "honor killing" of Sandeela Kanwal in Atlanta, Georgia last Sunday has been for Americans, it's an all-too-common occurrence in the Middle East. Activists like Lina Nabil, featured earlier on Islam's Advance, have dedicated their careers to combating honor crimes like these. Yesterday I asked her about her successful strategies for protecting women like Ms. Kanwal - and why combating honor crimes must be a global fight.
Honor crimes in the Middle East are difficult to stop, explains Lina, because both the victims and abusers are reluctant to seek mediation.
"It's drummed into everyone that issues of personal honor must be dealt within the confines of the family,” Nabil says. “For a father to seek mediation would be a sign of his weakness. Women are also under huge pressure to keep quiet."
"Often women only take action when their situation has reached crisis point," she said. There are currently more than 20 women in Jordan who are imprisoned of their own accord after fleeing murderous relatives and opting for jail for their own protection.
One solution is women's shelters specifically set up to deal with honor crimes, which house resource centers to address these issues before they become life-threatening. The Jordan Women’s Union runs eleven such shelters in Jordan, housing 118 women and providing advice and counseling to hundreds more. The Union also runs a dedicated hotline.
"We help women try and find their own solutions, but at the same time we let them know there is a way out," says Nabil.
But the real battle is to change male behavior, says Nabil, and to do that is to enforce stricter sentencing of perpetrators. Jordan, like many countries in the region, allows light custodial sentences for murder, if the man argues he committed the crime in a "moment of passion" defending family honor. Nabil cites a host of examples in which murderers have received six-month prison sentences for killing family members.
"If you want to change behavior in Islamic countries, and by extension immigrant families in America, you have to change the sentencing guidelines in these countries," says Nabil. "Men are being told that they can get away with murder."
So what should the U.S. do to clamp down on honor crimes?
"America should view such light sentencing [in Islamic countries] as a human rights violation, and apply pressure to governments accordingly," says Nabil.
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Comments (5)
The christian score for aggression, mass murder, rapine and occupation is way ahead of the Muslims.
Adding up Christian killing for just the past 100 years will easily show Christians are #1 in the mass killing department.
1. Us christian army invaded the Phillipines 2-5 million killed
2. A group of mostly Christian nations got into a tiff with each other and manged to kill 30 million or so. Primarily the Christians managed to kill other Christians.
3. Some 20 years later a group of Christian nations unsatisfied with the results of WW1 went for another round. This time they managed to kill some 50 million plus people. Christians countries managed to kill millions of innocent Jews. Other Christians developed weapons (WMD's) to vaporize entire cities. The Christian country managed to use these WMD's and vaporized 2 cities full of civillians. When asked why the Christian US claimed they killed 200K+ innocent civillians in order to save lives!.
3. Christian country forcefully divided Korea and ended up instigating another war. Score some 4-7 million dead.
4. A pair of christian countries unhappy with Vietnam's insistance of being free fought the Vietnam war and killed some 5-20 million people.
5. A famous Christian country unhappy with algerians insistance of freedom managed to kill some 1M+ algerians.
6. A Christian country unhappy with Iraq's leadership placed sanctions and managed to kill some 500K innocent Iraqi children.
7. Same christian country wishing to steal Iraqi Oil invaded Iraq (Operation Iraq Oil Liberation). managed to kill some 1M+ iraqis. The Iraq score is on going.
8. Christian country manages to kill some 43 million innocent babies via abortion from 1974 to 2004.
The sum total Christian score of mass murder just over the last 100 years leaves all other religions in the dust. No other religion even comes close. And of course we have'nt gone thru to count prior christian killings of native americans or native africans.
Or even the amazingly named european wars.
30 years war (war for 30 years wow)
war of the roses
100 years war (war for 100 years 4-5 generations of wars, amazing!)
I think Christians should be awarded the ROP award
rh
July 14, 2008 6:09 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on July 14, 2008 18:09
Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit adultery) and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's Book', and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8, p.539).
This proves two matters
1. The Rajm verse was in the Quran, and its rule is still in effect.
2. Some verses were removed from it and only Allah knows how many were added.
As for your second objection to my 'allegation" that "women as man’s property". This is all over the Quran. A man can divorce a woman by merely uttering “I divorce you“ A man can marry up to four women and have at the same time an infinite number of concubines. A woman‘s inheritance share is half that of her brother, and her testimony when accepted is half that of a man etc. etc. etc.
You say
"Third, no Quranic verse states that women are "deficient in intelligence and faith""
You are right, this is in the Hadith. The one in the Quran is "Most of Hell's population is of women" or is this too in the Hadith?
July 12, 2008 4:09 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on July 12, 2008 04:09
Ibrahim Mahfouz, you are basically lying on three counts. First, there is no command "to stone an adulterer or fornicating women" in the Quran.
Second, no Quranic verse claims that Women are men's property. In fact, the common jurisprudential view among scholars is that if a married man declares his wife to be his "property", the marriage becomes immediately annulled.
Third, no Quranic verse states that women are "deficient in intelligence and faith".
Nevertheless, it was amusing to see your insecurities come to light.
July 11, 2008 4:04 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on July 11, 2008 16:04
Islam is not a religion of peace. It is a false religion, and it is the enemy.
We should do everything in our power to resist it eliminate it.
July 11, 2008 12:34 PM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on July 11, 2008 12:34
So what should the U.S. do to clamp down on honor crimes?
"America should view such light sentencing [in Islamic countries] as a human rights violation, and apply pressure to governments accordingly," says Nabil.
When the so-called “honor killing” is mentioned, Muslim apologists are quick to point out that this is not a religious but a social issue. They claim that, there is no Quranic verse that calls for killing women for opting out of an arranged marriage or refusing to wear a Hijab. Yes, that is true, but there is a plain command to stone an adulterer or fornicating women. It is a short leap between the two for a mind steeped in a belief that (1) women are men’s property, and (2) are deficient in intelligence and faith; concepts preached in the Quran.
July 11, 2008 8:11 AM | Report Offensive Comment
Posted on July 11, 2008 08:11