Life From Under A Tablecloth
On Islam Watch ("Islam under scrutiny by ex-Muslims"), Alamgir Hussain contests the often-made claim that honor killings are not Islamic.
Here is a Muslim riddle. When one criticizes the practice of Muslim women wearing the burka or hijab, Muslims quickly respond that their religious symbol or choice is being attacked, but when girls like Aqsa die for refusing to accept the same religious symbol, Muslims quickly respond by saying their religion has nothing do with the death.It is indeed a fact that wearing the burka (not the more liberal hijab) is a religious duty for Muslim women commanded by Allah. The Quran [24:31] commands Muslim women to “draw their veils over their bosoms” so as not to expose their physical assets to unrelated people. Allah says [Quran 33:59]: “O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers [Muslims] to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad).”
No Muslim will deny that Allah’s commands in the Quran are non-negotiable and binding on all Muslims. When someone dies for refusing to comply with those binding Islamic obligations, it is ridiculous to say the Islamic religion has nothing to do with that death.
When I was growing up as a Muslim, my religious teachers at my school and madrasa used to tell us that a righteous Muslim parent must ask his or her children to follow their religious duties at the age of eight and pressure them at the age of ten. If they continue to refuse, beat them at the age of twelve. In many Muslim countries not all parents apply this protocol rigorously, but it remains a widely accepted guide. Some parents do follow it closely in order to bring their disobedient children onto the righteous path. As a result, injuries and even deaths occur, like Aqsa's. These injuries and deaths can in no way be separated from the Islamic religion.
Whether it is for the refusal to wear the burka/hijab, or to follow other religious obligations, deaths such as Asqa’s occur in Islamic countries on a regular basis. The UK’s Sunday Times reported on December 16th that 48 women have been killed in Basra, Iraq in the last six months for “un-Islamic behavior.” The actual number of these incidents is likely to be much higher since many of them go unreported.
Red graffiti in Basra warns women, "Your makeup and your decision to forgo the headscarf will bring you death." In Pakistan, an estimated 1,500 women die from honor killings every year. People in those countries hardly make a fuss about it. That’s a price those women have to pay for violating the Islamic codes. It is well accepted in Muslim societies, and people pay little attention to such incidents. In most cases, they go unreported.
Unfortunately Muslim mothers,aunts, sisters, etc. are buying into all of this Koranic based veiling. All of those "honor" killings couldn't occur without the consent and help of the women in those families. Just like female circumcision couldn't survive without the complicity of the women in the family.
Islamic or not, when the women of these cultures finally stop supporting this horrendous crime, the "honor" killings will stop.
westside at December 29, 2007 11:15 AM
You could say the same, substituting "men" for "women."
Norman at December 30, 2007 12:56 AM
You seem to be a pretty intelligent, in tune, urban socialite type Amy. I have a question for you. Why is it that the National Organization for Women is so athunderously silent when it comes to the treatment of islamic women? This is a real mystery to me. It seems to me that protesting about female circumcisions, honor killings, etc. is exactly their job, and these things are starting to crop up in the US even. I don't buy that they are bending to religious practices and staying out of it for that reason because if it were catholics doing this, they would be screaming like hell. I don't get it.
Bikerken at December 30, 2007 12:21 PM
Amy's right about NOW, bikerken. They're a pretty lame joke. I found this out the hard way by joining my local chapter. What I found was state-wide cat fighting between themselves, a lot of lip service about reaching out to poor women and women of color (with very little real effort to; and they definitely didn't listen to me about keeping the meetings in the downtown library that was easily accessible by bus instead moving them to a white suburb that is difficult to get to if you have no car) and no real attention to the issues I had interest in addressing.
The Feminist Majority, who publish Ms. Magazine, does address these issues. (feminist.org for anyone interested)
Donna at December 31, 2007 7:32 AM
I spoke a gay friend of mine at work and asked him "why is the gay community not saying anything about the islamists? You know they want to kill you too." Even after pressing him all I could get was "it's a blind spot." They have got to wake the hell up.
Richard Cook at January 1, 2008 7:58 AM
Why is it that the National Organization for Women is so athunderously silent when it comes to the treatment of islamic women? This is a real mystery to me.
I've posted on this before. Search NATIONAL ORGANIZATION in my search window to the left and you should find some of the posts.
Amy Alkon at January 1, 2008 8:21 AM
Here's a comment from a NOW rep on one of my blog items:
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2007/11/dont_get_gangra.html
And here's my response:
Amy Alkon at January 1, 2008 8:22 AM
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