Village Journals
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Outcry in Syria & Jordania
Some experts estimate that 200 to 300 honor killings like Zahra's occur every year in Syria.
www.csmonitor.com
A Jordanian who killed his divorced Sister over rumours that she had a lover was cleared of premeditated murder because he acted in a "fit of rage," after his family dropped charges. *:
www.metimes.com
Islam's Outlook on Women
Anyone with even a basic understanding of Islamic teachings is sure to say to themselves, "Islam granted unparalleled rights to women, but what went wrong in later centuries?" What is the Islamic outlook on women and why is it that honor killings are so alien to Islamic teachings?
While there are by now many resources on the status of Women in Islam, a brief tract that has now become a must-read is "Gender Equity in Islam" by a renowned Scholar of Islam, Dr. Jamal Badawi. Badawi reminds us in contemporary language of the awesome, liberating force with which Islamic Teachings uplifted and dignified the Women of Arabia and indeed all Women.
Excerpts from "Gender Equity in Islam "
1. The Qur'an effectively ended the cruel pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide (wa'd): ( When the female (infant) buried alive is questioned for what crime she was killed)(At-Takwir 81:8-9).
2. The Qur'an went further to rebuke the unwelcoming attitudes among some parents upon hearing the news of the birth of a baby girl, instead of a baby boy: (An-Nahl 16:58-59)
3. Parents are duty bound to support and show kindness and justice to their daughters. Prophet Muhammad said, "Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, Allah will enter him into Paradise." (Ahmad) and "Whosoever supports two daughters until they mature, he and I will come in the Day of Judgment as this (and he pointed with his two fingers held together)." (Ahmad).
Rather than depressing us with examples of how far some Muslims are from understanding and internalizing the totally inspiring and forward-thinking conceptualization of Women, it suffices to say that there are people who are committing honour killings and justifying their barbarity through a distorted and CORRUPT understanding of Islam.
However, as Badawi has pointed out briefly in this essay, there is absolutely nothing within Islamic teachings that would even remotely be misconstrued as condoning honor killings.
Islam's outlook on Women simply does not tolerate the tradition of honor killings.
However, we must begin to go beyond such short hasty responses and acknowledge the fact that somehow, at some point in time, some Muslims somewhere decided that they were going to claim that Islam justifies honor killings. Rather than admitting that they were inspired and driven by the evil in their own hearts and minds, they chose, and still choose to this day, to malign the religion of Islam. What is needed is a very frank dialogue with these Muslims to help them understand how their reasoning is completely ill-conceived and theologically corrupt.
Although the primary reason why someone engages in an honor killing varies with each tragedy, almost all of the time, at the heart of the matter is an accusation (sometimes a very, very baseless accusation) of fornication or adultery or some sex-related indiscretion.
Most unfortunate is the fact that once the Young Woman is killed in a fit of rage, there is no longer an opportunity, as in the case described above, to inquire as to what really happened between the Man and the Woman.
Is there any justification at all to take a life all for the sake of preserving one's name and honor?
There should be just as much effort to educate young men and Women about righteous conduct as there should be to educate parents and adults in general about the persistence of certain traditions that are totally abhorrent, such as honor killings, which are entirely outside of the framework of Islamic teachings.
Honor killings bring nothing but dishonor to those who sanction them and to those who carry them out, and they have no justification either direct or implied in Islamic Teachings.
www.csmonitor.com
A Jordanian who killed his divorced Sister over rumours that she had a lover was cleared of premeditated murder because he acted in a "fit of rage," after his family dropped charges. *:
www.metimes.com
Islam's Outlook on Women
Anyone with even a basic understanding of Islamic teachings is sure to say to themselves, "Islam granted unparalleled rights to women, but what went wrong in later centuries?" What is the Islamic outlook on women and why is it that honor killings are so alien to Islamic teachings?
While there are by now many resources on the status of Women in Islam, a brief tract that has now become a must-read is "Gender Equity in Islam" by a renowned Scholar of Islam, Dr. Jamal Badawi. Badawi reminds us in contemporary language of the awesome, liberating force with which Islamic Teachings uplifted and dignified the Women of Arabia and indeed all Women.
Excerpts from "Gender Equity in Islam "
1. The Qur'an effectively ended the cruel pre-Islamic practice of female infanticide (wa'd): ( When the female (infant) buried alive is questioned for what crime she was killed)(At-Takwir 81:8-9).
2. The Qur'an went further to rebuke the unwelcoming attitudes among some parents upon hearing the news of the birth of a baby girl, instead of a baby boy: (An-Nahl 16:58-59)
3. Parents are duty bound to support and show kindness and justice to their daughters. Prophet Muhammad said, "Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, Allah will enter him into Paradise." (Ahmad) and "Whosoever supports two daughters until they mature, he and I will come in the Day of Judgment as this (and he pointed with his two fingers held together)." (Ahmad).
Rather than depressing us with examples of how far some Muslims are from understanding and internalizing the totally inspiring and forward-thinking conceptualization of Women, it suffices to say that there are people who are committing honour killings and justifying their barbarity through a distorted and CORRUPT understanding of Islam.
However, as Badawi has pointed out briefly in this essay, there is absolutely nothing within Islamic teachings that would even remotely be misconstrued as condoning honor killings.
Islam's outlook on Women simply does not tolerate the tradition of honor killings.
However, we must begin to go beyond such short hasty responses and acknowledge the fact that somehow, at some point in time, some Muslims somewhere decided that they were going to claim that Islam justifies honor killings. Rather than admitting that they were inspired and driven by the evil in their own hearts and minds, they chose, and still choose to this day, to malign the religion of Islam. What is needed is a very frank dialogue with these Muslims to help them understand how their reasoning is completely ill-conceived and theologically corrupt.
Although the primary reason why someone engages in an honor killing varies with each tragedy, almost all of the time, at the heart of the matter is an accusation (sometimes a very, very baseless accusation) of fornication or adultery or some sex-related indiscretion.
Most unfortunate is the fact that once the Young Woman is killed in a fit of rage, there is no longer an opportunity, as in the case described above, to inquire as to what really happened between the Man and the Woman.
Is there any justification at all to take a life all for the sake of preserving one's name and honor?
There should be just as much effort to educate young men and Women about righteous conduct as there should be to educate parents and adults in general about the persistence of certain traditions that are totally abhorrent, such as honor killings, which are entirely outside of the framework of Islamic teachings.
Honor killings bring nothing but dishonor to those who sanction them and to those who carry them out, and they have no justification either direct or implied in Islamic Teachings.