Cold, Premeditated, Ritual Murder. The Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan. Part Two February 19, 2009

Chesler Chronicles » Cold, Premeditated, Ritual Murder. The Honor Killing of Aasiya Z. Hassan. Part Two

Phyllis Chesler has some searching questions regarding the murder of Aasiya Z. Hassan. This was no ordinary murder. She was beheaded by her husband. The question that is raised here is: was it an honour killing or just domestic violence? It does not matter to me what it is called because domestic violence that ends in death is as much an evil as honour killing. The difference though is that honour killing is a practice amongst cultures where the majority belong to Islam. This is why we make the link to Islam when we read and then talk about honour killings. Yet, there is always that cultural component to take into consideration. In this case Aisiya Hassan and her husband Mohammed came from Pakistan. Hassan is a well respected banker within the Muslim community in Buffalo.

This raises the question about honour killings, which is something that is often denied as being unIslamic. Just like in the USA, and the UK, Australia has had its share of honour killings, and the victim has almost always been a young girl who has brought “dishonour” about her family becuase she wanted to have an Australian boyfriend. The killer is usually the father, or another relative such as a brother, and the girl is usually brutally stabbed to death.

I do not believe that we understand the nature of honour killings. We do not fully appreciate the nature of Muslim society. We do not understand that the men own the wife, daughter or sister. This is why these crimes in Muslim lands are not criminalized. Some Muslims claim that honour killings are against Islam but that is also not true.

If anyone believes that this is not Islamic then think about the statistics that have come to light – that 90% of women in Pakistan are routinely beaten both in childhood and as wives and mothers. Also take into consideration that there are mullahs who have openly stated that it is ok to beat the wife or daughter, and remember that some of the most horrific crimes that are perpetrated these days are ones involving girls from Pakistan or other Muslim lands who have wanted to be freed from the violence.

I have a question for all of the feminists who want to reclaim the night, and who rail about domestic violence: why is it that not one voice is raised to help these women, who are our sisters when they are being treated like animals? Why is there not one voice being raised against honour killings?

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UN Suspends Aid in Gaza – Hamas caught stealing again February 8, 2009

The UN aid agency in Gaza has announced that it has suspended all aid shipments, accusing Hamas of seizing supplies of food.

The shipment consisted of ten lorries carrying flour and rice, which were taken from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The UN Secretary –General Ban Ki-moon has stated that Hamas must immediately release the shipment, and he has called upon Hamas to “refrain from interference with the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza”.

Despite the stern warnings from the UN, Hamas have given what can only be considered a sleight of hand response by stating that the goods would only be returned to the agency

“if it turns out it is indeed its property”.

Such a statement is no assurance that the goods will be returned. It is the kind of statement that is intended to give an “out”.

Hamas is being caught out in its double dealing and to add further examples of the double dealing it has been reported that Hamas is ignoring Gazans who are not supporters of Hamas, and that these other people have only received limited financial aid from Hamas, despite having their homes destroyed owing to the actions of Hamas. (I will deal with these actions in another post)

He lost his daughters and a niece… share the anguish February 6, 2009

An Israeli probe into the death of the three daughters of a Gaza doctor in a recent offensive has concluded that they were kiled by Israeli fire. The Israeli troops had fired shells at what was considered to be “suspicious figures in Dr. Isseldeen Abuelaish’s house, believing they were observers directing sniper fire.

Dr. Izzeldeen Abuelaish is an Israeli trained doctor who is fluent in Hebrew. He denies that there were snipers near his house. It could be that the snipers were indeed hiding nearby, knowing that the doctor was a friend to Israel (this is speculation).

His response to the inquiry shows the good doctor to be a remarkable person:

“We all make mistakes, ad we don’t repeat the.”

He also added ” I have two options – the path of darkness or the path of light. The path of darkness is like choosing all the complications with diseases and depression, but the path of light is to focus on the future of my children. “

Let us pray for the good doctor and his family during their time of sorrow and grief.

What happens when Gitmo detainees are released February 6, 2009

Last October, a young Yemeni-American and Muslim teenager by the name of Susan Elbaneh who had returned to Yemen for her arranged marriage was killed during a blast at the USA embassy in Sana, Yemen. This rather beautiful young woman and her husband were amongst the victims of an attack on the USA embassy that was led by a former Gitmo inmate.

This story has received very little attention from the MSM, and what is worse, is that journalists who are pro-closing of Guantanamo Bay without consideration as to what will happen to the present detainees have glossed over the fact that this girl is a Muslim who was killed in the attack – ditto for the civilians who were waiting to enter the gates of the embassy when the attack took place.

What is really intriguing about the story is that this girl’s family are involved in Jihad. Her father and an uncle were charged with supply material support to jihadists and her cousin is a man on the run from the USA because of his jihad activities. It seems that having family members who are involved is no guarantee that jihad will not strike in the family.

A more serious thing to consider though, is the role of Yemen in the ultra-right wing jihad attacks all over the world. Yemen might be a very poor country but it has spawned a large number of Jihadis. Some of Yemen’s jihadis have spent time in Gitmo, were rehabilitated and sent to Saudi Arabia for re-education, and from there they escaped and returned to their further activities. In attempting to deny this fact (that former Gitmo detainees have returned to the field) at least one journalist has attempted to cover up the story about the death of Susan Elbaneh. Yemen has also spawned a number of extremely hardline mufti (do not dare call these people clerics) such as Abu Bakr Bashir in Indonesia. From what I understand Al Qaeda got its beginnings in Yemen.