The two Americans are Dr. Phyllis Chesler, professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York; and M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (he's from Wisconsin).
Short version: details, including the quite gruesome beheading and display of body parts, make Aasiya's murder look like an honor killing.
Defending Islam, or Defending Honor Killing?
I don't think that ignoring an issue and hoping it'll go away is a good idea. Muslim women are being killed by Muslim men, because the men are in a snit about something. And, back in the old country, the men are expected to act that way.This isn't right. Not according to American law. And, according to quite a few Muslims, including Pakistan's Islamic Party, it's not right according to Islam.
Honor killing, along with some other weird customs and ideas that show up in places like Sudan and Saudi Arabia, seems to have more to do with a Middle Eastern culture that was ancient when Abraham had children, than what The Prophet taught a few thousand years later.
I'm sure that the idea of "honor killing" is an embarrassment to some Muslims. (I've written about this before.) But, it doesn't seem to be quite as directly related to Islam as some 'whiter-than-thou' American bigots and the occasional misguided Muslim might think.
Remember what Pakistan's Islamic Party said: 'Honor killing is against Islam.'
Jumping to Conclusions is Dumb: No Matter Which Way You Go
I don't think it's right - or sensible - to assume that, because a few cultures where almost everyone is a Muslim practice honor killing, all Muslims accept honor killing. Much less that Islam itself says 'if your wife makes you feel bad, kill her.'I also think that some 'sophisticated' Americans, in their zeal to defend another 'oppressed minority,' should take a deep breath before speaking, and think very carefully about exactly what they are defending.
Related posts:
- "Muzzammil Hassan on CNN: Islamic Network and Beheaded Wife in (some of) the News"
(February 17, 2009) - "Muslim Founder of Islamic Network Beheads Wife: But it's No Big Deal?"
(February 16, 2009) - "Saudi Arabia Bans Valentine's Day - and the Color Red"
(February 10, 2009) - "The New York Times, Insularity, and Assumptions"
(October 21, 2008) - "CAIR, Yaser Said, and the FBI: Don't Say 'Honor Killing' "
(October 14, 2008) - "Honor Killing is Against Islam, Islamic Party Members Say"
(September 7, 2008) - "Pro-Islamic Ads Coming to New York City Subways: There's a Real Danger Here, of Becoming Informed"
(July 21, 2008)
- "Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?"
Phyllis Chesler, Middle East Quarterly (Spring 2009) - "American Islamic Forum for Democracy
2 comments:
Orthodox Islam (as defined by the consensus of the 4 major schools of Sunni Islamic law) doesn’t condone “honor killing”, but it does decriminalize the act of parents killing their children (“Reliance of the Traveller”, o1.2(4) (pages 583-4) and o3.12 (p. 587)). (It’s clear to me that Islam co-opted instead of rejected this pre-Islamic 7th century cultural practice.)
Orthodox Islam does condone physically disciplining disobedient wives (“Reliance of the Traveller” m10.12 (bottom p. 540-2)), based on Koran Surah 4:34. The non-Muslim Dawood’s translation of 4:34 is “beat them”, Indian Muslim Ali’s is “spank them (lightly)”, the “(lightly)” an insertion that’s not in the Koran, and the translation by the Muslim Ansari of Mawdudi (an Islamist) is “beat them”. (Mawdudi makes it clear (via his note on the Surah) that the force should be just what’s needed to stop the disobedience.)
This wasn’t an “honor killing” in the true sense of a father/brother/uncle killing a girl who had “shamed” him/the family.
But Islam is a huge perp here (sorry to disagree with you), and to deny that is just denial.
Anonymous,
I'm not familiar with your source, but you could be right.
However, I'm not quite as deeply in 'denial' as you may think.
Islam seems to be a belief system that's heavily dependent on the pre-existing cultures of 'Islamic' countries. The Islam of Sudan isn't quite the Islam of Saudi Arabia, and both seem to be quite different from the Islam of Indonesia, where honor killing doesn't seem to be part of the mix.
Muslims I've corresponded with assure me that honor killing isn't an intrinsic part of Islam, and I'm inclined to assume that they believe that.
Under the circumstances, I'm not quite as willing to condemn Islam as a whole for honor killing and related customs - particularly considering the stand taken by Pakistan's Islamic Party.
On the other hand, Islam does seem to have some issues to deal with.
More recent posts on this general topic: "Muzzammil Hassan's Beheaded Wife No Honor Killing - Move Along" (February 19, 2009), "Honor Killing, Muzzammil Hassan and Aasiya, Protecting Feelings,and Common Sense" (February 20, 2009).
Post a Comment