Honor Killing Quotes
The logic of this quotation is irrational and faulty but exists the world over. Someone is told to refrain from certain activities because others will be offended and resort to immoral and illegal activities. This is what was said to the Orangemen of Ireland parading in Catholic areas and the reverse. Or women were warned against certain kinds of dress less they be raped. See {623723} .
This law is used to free “honor killing” murderers who have killed female relatives for what they thought was a sexual transgression that “stained the family honor.” The custom exists in some other countries but rarely with such sanction of law. In the case of Article 548 the word “witnesses” is interpreted to mean “heard about it” or even has some reason to suspect it. Each year in Syria hundreds of innocent women, and even girls are killed with impunity. In one 2007 case a 15 year old girl was kidnapped and raped. When she was freed by the police she was jailed. A cousin got her released by agreeing to marry her, but after the marriage, one of her own brothers, with the knowledge and concurrence of the rest of the family, butchered her with a knife. The family then held a party to celebrate the cleansing of their honor.
In a sense, Ebla had the first “shotgun weddings”. But it shows the value to this ancient society to having a family unit for the raising of children.
A daughter’s behavior is a reflection of the family and its honor. If a girl is unchaste, it is the duty of the father or other male relatives to kill the girl. However, this proverb warns about hearsay and gossip causing action which would have been unjust and regretted later.
This appeal was to the Sunni Muslims to join in the war against the Shiite Muslims and the Americans. While there have been very few rapes by American forces in the Iraq war there have been some of Sunnis against Shiite women and vice versa. Sexual defiling is such an emotive concept for Iraqi Muslims, that the few cases there have been were propaganda fodder. Note the use of the term “Crusader” to designate Christians. They are still living in world of a thousand years ago.
In much of the Islamic world if a woman commits adultery or becomes pregnant out of wedlock, she will often be killed by her own father or brothers who perceive that this is the only way to maintain the honor of the family. The primitive custom really becomes gross when a woman who is the victim of rape, ends up being killed by her own male family members. In some Muslim countries honor killings are against the law but that prohibition is rarely legally enforced.
The “law” that the murdered woman had broken was that she had dated a man who although a Muslim was not a Druze. Even in Israel where so called “honor killings” are definitely illegal, amongst some traditional communities there is understanding if not subtle approval. The woman had been killed by her own father and two of her uncles. The Shfaram Duse community actually celebrated the murder.
