My thoughts on Honor Killing
The unjustifiable crime of killing ones wife, daughter, sister, female or male cousin, Auntie, Uncle to maintain the primitive concept of ‘honor’ is a subject that not only touches the Islamic system of which I am a skeptic of. But a variety of communities and cultures throughout the world.
Here is my current list of communities / cultures who have reports of honor killings online.
Druze
Sikh
Hindu
Italian or Sicilian
Moslem / Islam: Palestinian, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan ETC…
Why am I so skeptical of Islam verses the other cultures-communities or religious systems I listed?
As a lifelong Westerner I cant imagine that a person sense of honor would drive a man, husband, father, grandfather, uncle to murder a female relative.
These horrific crimes cannot simply be placed totally on muslim communities or families. American Italian immigrants also killed their own for the sake of family honor in the early days of their migration to America.
Example:
“Title Unto the daughters : the legacy of an honor killing in a Sicilian-American family”
“Author Tintori, Karen. ”
“Edition 1st ed. ”
“Publisher New York : St. Martin’s Press, 2007. ”
“Description 240 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. ”
“ISBN 020 ^a9780312334635 ”
“ISBN 020 ^a031233463X ”
Yet these crimes called ‘honor killings’ are mostly reported online from muslim countries and communities.
Other examples about Islamic honor killings:
“Title Murder in the name of honor : the true story of one woman’s heroic fight against an unbelievable crime / Rana Husseini. “
“Author Husseini, Rana. ”
“Publisher Oxford, England : OneWorld, 2009. ”
“Description xiv, 250 p. ; 24 cm. ”
“Notes Includes bibliographical references (p. [223]-230) and index. ”
“ISBN 020 ^z1851685979 ”
“ISBN 020 ^z9781851685974 ”
“Title Burned alive : a survivor of an “honor killing” speaks out / Souad, in collaboration with Marie-Therese Cuny. “
“Author Souad. ”
“Publisher New York : Warner Books, 2005, c2004. ”
“Description 225 p. ; 24 cm. ”
“Notes Translated by Judith Armbruster. ”
“ISBN 020 ^a0446694878 :^c$13.95 ”
Killing ones family member, Honor killings are defined online as:
“Honor and violence”
“Today, in some Muslim countries women live under the threat of “honor killings.” An honor killing is the murder of a person, almost invariably a woman, who has been perceived as having brought dishonor to their family for such simple crimes as being seen talking to a non-relative boy. Even the suspicion of such conduct can result in death. Such killings are typically perpetrated by the victim’s own relatives and/or community, and unlike a crime of passion or rage-induced killing, it is usually planned in advance and often with horrific methods. At times the family will goad a young woman to kill herself to avoid being murdered by her family. Suicide bombers in the Middle East have seen women join their ranks at times to restore the honor of a husband or family after the woman has committed adultery. Such killings are often regarded as a “private matter” for the affected family alone, and courts rarely become involved or prosecute the perpetrators. Laws protecting women from honor killing are often absent from certain Arab states.”
“Honor” in the case of females is often related to sexuality. Preservation of “honor” is equated primarily to maintenance of virginity of unattached women and to the exclusive monogamy of the remainder. Conceptions of honor vary widely between cultures; in some cultures, honor killing of female members of one’s own family are considered to be justified if the individuals have “defiled the family’s honor” by marrying against the family’s wishes, or even by being the victims of rape. Honor killings sometimes target women who choose boyfriends, lovers, or spouses outside of their family’s ethic and/or religious community, or refuse to enter into an arranged marriage or seeking a divorce.”
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Honor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor
Honor killings are also reported online in Hindu communities, Druze communities, Sikh Communities and the list will likely grow.
Yet as a Westerner I simply donot understand how a grown man, a husband, uncle, son or other family relations are willing to absolve the supposed sins of a wife, daughter, female cousin by shedding their blood.
More examples:
“The Palestinian Human Rights Monitor The bi-monthly publication of the PHRMG”
“Honor Killing”
“PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS”
“Killing of Women on the Basis of Family Honor”
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2002/Aug2002.htm
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2002/Aug2002-2.htm
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2002/Aug2002-3.htm
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2002/Aug2002-4.htm
http://www.phrmg.org/monitor2002/Aug2002-5.htm
The_Skeptical_Christian 
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