Iraqi Kurdistan: Islamic Clerics Blamed For Prevalence Of Honor Killing

From Jihad Watch:

Iraqi Kurdistan: Islamic clerics blamed for prevalence of honor killing


Maybe the clerics say nothing because they know that with there being no mandatory retaliation in Islamic law against parents for killing their children, what can they really say against honor killing? "Retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2).



"Blame on Clerics for Prevalence of Honor Killing in Iraqi Kurdistan," by Soran Bahadin at Kurd Net, October 9 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):



ERBIL-Hewlêr, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', -- Shawbo Abdul-Razaq, 20, was talking to an alleged boy by phone as her father came over in one of the poor Kurdish neighborhoods of Erbil. He shot her to death right there, according to a neighbor who witnessed the event.

Shawbo was murdered in Qatewi, a rural neighborhood in the capital of the federal region of Kurdistan in the north of Iraq. The murderer has run away.



Such a killing is often labeled as an extreme case of "honor killing". Honor killing is about killing a woman for having alleged pre-marriage sexual relations or extra-sexual relations with other men in addition to her husband.



While widely perceived as a cultural phenomenon here in the Kurdish society, many people blame religious men for putting a blind eye on it or even justify it.



Hassan Yusuf, a post-graduate student studying sociology at the University of Salahaddin, says that there is a lack of religious support to combat violence against women the region.



"The Mullahs [clerics] have yet to be able to inform people not to kill women. Most people have used religion as a justification after they killed a woman," said Yusuf.



But Mullah Ali Khate, who is a member of Kurdistan's Fatwa Committee- a body that issues religious verdicts-, says most religious preachers have made it clear that nobody has the right to randomly kill someone. He said they have informed the people that the court is the only institution to make such a decision.



"If a married woman or man had adultery in the presence of four witnesses, their punishment would be death by Islam," said Khate. "But this has to be decided by the court."



"However, if a single girl or boy did so, there would be not death sentence." [...]



Mullah Khidr Aziz, a preacher in the Khabat neighborhood in Erbil,www.ekurd.netbelieves that 90 percent of clerics do not talk against honor killing because they are influenced by the culture.



"I asked them why you don't talk about women killing. They said because they are afraid of people's reactions," said Aziz....



Mullah Aziz has his own experience. He said one day a man who was praying next to him. But A few minutes after he had left the mosque, he killed his single sister because he saw her standing next to man home.



According to statistics provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government, 59 women were murdered in the first six months of this year. But local non-governmental organizations say the rate is much higher....



Posted by Robert on October 17, 2010 7:17 PM