Honor killing in the United States

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Several honor killings have been documented in the United States. As of 2012, there is no central agency that collects data across all jurisdictions in regards to honor violence in the United States.[ citation needed ] There is reluctance among some organizations to label events as honor killings to avoid stigmatizing Muslim and Arab cultures. [1]

Contents

Background

Around 2017, City University of New York John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Ric Curtis led a team that analyzed honor killing statistics from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and made a proxy estimate for the United States based on that, resulting in an estimated 23–27 annual honor killings in the U.S. In 2017 Jesse Singal of New York Magazine wrote "there’s effectively no evidence that honor killings are common at all, according to one of the only (if not the only) studies attempting to estimate how prevalent that crime is." [2] Executive Order 13769 "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" stated that the U.S. federal government would collect information on honor killings committed by foreigners resident in the U.S.

In 2012, Zuhdi Jasser of the think tank American Islamic Forum for Democracy argued that honor killings were a phenomenon in the U.S. that needs to be investigated. [3] In 2015, senior fellow of Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism, Farhana Qazi, stated that the actual number of honor killings was higher than the reported statistics due to a reluctance to embarrass relatives of the deceased. [4]

In 2014, the research corporation Westat released a study on honor killings and violence entitled "Honor Violence Measurement Methods". The study was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice, and it identified four types of honor violence: honor killings, honor-based domestic violence, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation. The report estimated that 23–27 honor killings took place in the United States each year. [5] [4]

Instances

Tina Isa

In 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri, sixteen-year-old Palestina (Tina) Isa was murdered by her Palestinian father, Zein Isa, with the aid of her Brazilian mother, Maria Isa, a former Roman Catholic who had converted to Islam. Their daughter listened to American popular music such as dance, rap, R&B, and rock. After learning that Palestina had taken a part-time job without her parents' permission, and dated an African American man, her father felt she had become too modernized. On the day of her murder, Zein repeatedly stabbed his daughter, while her mother Maria held her down. [6] On December 20, 1991, [7] both Zein and Maria Isa were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Zein died from complications of diabetes on February 17, 1997. Maria Isa's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment without parole; she died on April 30, 2014, in a Vandalia, Missouri, prison at the age of 70. [8]

Amina and Sarah Said

Amina and Sarah Said were the children of an Egyptian immigrant father Yaser Abdel Said and a United States-born mother, Patricia "Tissie" Said ( née Owens). Both girls were born in Dallas, Texas: Amina on March 2, 1989, and Sarah on March 16, 1990. The girls were found shot to death in a taxi at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving, Texas, on January 1, 2008. Both girls had left their home in Lewisville, Texas, earlier that evening with their father. At 7:33 p.m., a call came into the Irving Police Department's 911 call center. The call was from Sarah Said; she had been shot nine times and told the operator, "My dad shot me and my sister. I'm dying!" Their mother, Patricia Said, claimed that both girls were killed for having non-Muslim boyfriends. Death threats had been made by Yaser against the girls. They ran away and were safe, but their mother brought them back.

Yaser Abdel Said was an FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive, and the FBI offered a $100,000 reward [9] for information leading to his arrest. [10] [11] Said was featured on America's Most Wanted as well as on a Fox News special about honor killings in the United States. [12] Said was captured at age 63 on August 26, 2020, after being on the run for more than a dozen years. [13] Said was convicted in 2022 of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sandeela Kanwal

On 6 July 2008, Sandeela Kanwal was murdered by her father, Chaudhry Rashid, in what was widely considered an honor killing. [14] Kanwal's father attempted to justify the honor killing using a common patriarchal pretext.[ further explanation needed ] Jamie Tarbay of NPR News reported that when authorities arrived at the crime scene, her father was very nonchalant concerning his actions. [15]

Aasiya Zubair

In February 2009, Muzzammil Hassan was arrested and charged with murdering his estranged wife Aasiya Zubair with a knife. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) responded with an "Open Letter to Muslim Leaders", expressing shock and sadness at the murder, condemning domestic violence, and calling on imams and Muslim leaders to "provide support and help to protect the victims of domestic violence" and "to never second-guess a woman who comes to us indicating that she feels her life to be in danger." [16] Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali, vice-president of ISNA, stated: "This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and cannot be ignored. It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community." [17]

Noor Almaleki

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, an Iraqi immigrant, used his vehicle to strike and kill his daughter Noor Almaleki (aged 20) in a Phoenix valley parking lot in October 2009. He also severely injured her boyfriend's mother, Amal Khalaf. Police said Almaleki told detectives and witnesses after the October 2009 incident that he was angry at his daughter because she was "too Westernized," defying Iraqi and Muslim values. Noor had shunned an arranged marriage to a first cousin in Iraq, and was living with her boyfriend and his mother, police said. Earlier, she had insisted on driving and crashed the family van. County prosecutor Laura Reckart said an enraged Almaleki hid in the parking lot waiting for her and her boyfriend's mother and then "revved and raced that car right into them." Following his daughter's death, Almaleki fled to Mexico and later to London, where he was taken into custody upon his arrival. [18]

After four days of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman jury at Maricopa County Superior Court convicted him of second-degree murder. The jury also convicted him of aggravated assault for crashing his vehicle into Khalaf, and two further counts of hit-and-run. Subsequently, Almaleki was sentenced to 34 ½ years in prison. [19]

Gelareh Bagherzadeh and Coty Beavers

Jordanian-American Ali Mahmood Awad Irsan was sentenced to death in a Texas court on August 14, 2018, for the murders of Gelareh Bagherzadeh and Coty Beavers in Greater Houston. [20] Bagherzadeh, an Iranian-American, had encouraged Irsan's daughter Nesreen to renounce Islam and to convert to evangelical Christianity. Beavers, who was also an evangelical Christian, [21] was Nesreen's husband. [22]

American Muslim community response

Leaders of the American Muslim community have condemned the practice. Members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations have condemned all honor killings as well as specific incidents. [23] Many Muslim leaders in the US say that Islam does not promote honor killings and that the practice stems from sexism and tribal behavior that predates the religion. "You're always going to get problems with chauvinism and suppressing vulnerable populations and gender discrimination," says Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. [24]

In February 2009, after the high-profile killing of Aasiya Zubair, Muslim leaders began a nationwide, unified effort entitled "Imams Speak Out: Domestic Violence Will Not Be Tolerated in Our Communities," asking all imams and religious leaders to discuss domestic violence in their weekly sermon or their Friday prayer services. [25] The group, "Muslim Men Against Domestic Violence", [26] was founded soon after the murder.

See also

Related Research Articles

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An honor killing, honour killing, or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of themselves or their family. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste, other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or sexuality. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honor killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs. They are prevalent in various parts of the world, especially in MENA countries, as well as in immigrant communities in countries which do not otherwise have societal norms that encourage honor killings. Honor killings are often associated with rural and tribal areas, but they occur in urban areas as well.

Aqsa "Axa" Parvez was the victim of a murder in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. During the murder trial, Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno acknowledged the slaying as an honour killing, stating, that he found it "profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old could be murdered by a father and brother for the purpose of saving family pride, for saving them from what they perceived as family embarrassment". Aqsa's brother, Waqas, had strangled her. Aqsa's death was reported internationally and sparked a debate about the status of women in Islam. The Toronto Star stated that the father's perception of himself being unable to influence his daughter's behavior was a major factor in the death, and that "Media in Toronto and around the world immediately reported and continues to report that Aqsa was killed because she refused to wear the hijab. But it was much more complicated than that."

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Aasiya Zubair, also known as Aasiya Hassan was married to Muzzammil Hassan, the Pakistani-American founder and owner of Bridges TV, the first American Muslim English-language television network. In February 2009, she was found dead, beheaded, at the Bridges TV station in Orchard Park, New York after her estranged husband turned himself in to a police station and was charged with second-degree murder.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Noor Almaleki</span> Iraqi-American victim of honour killing (1989–2009)

Noor Faleh Almaleki was an Iraqi American woman whose father killed her by striking her with a motor vehicle in an honor killing.

Sandeela Kanwal was a Pakistani woman living in the Atlanta metropolitan area in Clayton County, Georgia, who was murdered by her father Chaudhry Rashid in an honor killing, on July 6, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Shaima Alawadi</span> Iraqi-born American woman murdered in California, US in 2012

Shaima Alawadi was an Iraqi-born American housewife who was murdered in El Cajon, California on March 21, 2012.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaser Abdel Said</span> Egyptian-American murderer and former fugitive

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Irsan</span> Jordanian-American convicted murderer

Ali Mahmood Awad Irsan is a Jordanian-American convicted murderer held on Texas death row. He was sentenced for the murders of Iranian-American activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh, a friend of one of his daughters; and his son-in-law, Coty Beavers, in Greater Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Tina Isa</span> 1989 honor killing of an American teen in St. Louis, Missouri

Palestina Zein "Tina" Isa was an American teenage girl murdered in an honor killing in St. Louis, Missouri by her parents, Zein and Maria Isa. Her death was recorded on audiotape during Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance on Zein Isa due to his association with the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). He and his wife were both convicted for first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Zein Isa died of diabetes before he could be executed. Maria Isa was later resentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison.

An honor killing, honour killing, or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of themselves or their family. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste and other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or to sexuality, and those murdered will often be more liberal than the murderer rather than genuinely "dishonorable". Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honour killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs. They are prevalent in various parts of the world, as well as in immigrant communities in countries which do not otherwise have societal norms that encourage honor killings. Honor killings are often associated with rural and tribal areas, but they occur in urban areas too. Although condemned by international conventions and human rights organizations, honor killings are often justified and encouraged by various communities.

References

  1. ↑ Dahl, Julia (April 5, 2012). ""Honor killing" under growing scrutiny in the U.S." CBS News . Retrieved December 6, 2019. And if international data is bad,[...] state agency attempts to collect data on any kind of "honor" violence, including murders.[...]But the very notion that violence in the name of [...] and anti-Muslim sentiment.
  2. ↑ Singal, Jesse (March 6, 2017). "Here's What the Research Says About Honor Killings in the U.S." New York . Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  3. ↑ Jasser, M. Zuhdi (March 5, 2012). "Muslim women face threat in U.S." The Arizona Republic . Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2023– via USA Today.
  4. 1 2 McKay, Hollie (November 10, 2015). "Honor killing in America: DOJ report says growing problem is hidden in stats". Fox News . Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Report on Exploratory Study into Honor Violence Measurement Methods - Appendixes | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  6. ↑ Smith, Erika Lyn. "Tina Isa America's Honor Killing". Bella Online. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Missouri Couple Sentenced to Die In Murder of Their Daughter, 16". The New York Times . December 20, 1991. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Woman convicted of killing her daughter dies in prison". FOX2now.com. May 2014.
  9. ↑ "FBI—New Top Ten Fugitive: Help Us Find a Murderer". FBI. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ Whitley, Glenna (June 19, 2008). "American Girls". Dallas Observer . Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Reward offered for Lewisville cabbie wanted in daughters' deaths". dallasnews.com.
  12. ↑ "Mother Of Slain Girls Wants Justice For Daughters". Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Father on FBI's most wanted list captured". BBC News. August 27, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Man Accused Of Killing Daughter For Family Honor". NPR . Archived from the original on April 17, 2023.
  15. ↑ Tarabay, Jamie (January 26, 2009). "Man Accused Of Killing Daughter For Family Honor". NPR.org. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  16. ↑ Nomani, Asra Q. (February 23, 2009). "Prelude to Murder". The Daily Beast.
  17. ↑ "Responding to the Killing of Aasiya Hassan: An Open Letter to the Leaders of American Muslim Communities | ISNA". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Jury Convicts Iraqi Immigrant in 'Honor Killing' of Daughter". aolnews.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Iraqi guilty of murder in daughter's honor killing". Reuters. February 22, 2011.
  20. ↑ Rogers, Brian (August 14, 2018). "Jury delivers death sentence for Jordanian immigrant convicted of two Houston-area 'honor killings'". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  21. ↑ Rogers, Brian (June 18, 2018). "Wife testifies her husband confessed to pulling the trigger in one of two Houston-area 'honor killings'". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  22. ↑ Malislow, Craig (June 2, 2015). "Authorities Say Ali Irsan Stole Out of Greed and Murdered Out of Honor". Houston Press . Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  23. ↑ "CAIR Condemns Domestic Violence Incident". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021.
  24. ↑ Dorell, Oren. "'Honor killings' in USA raise concerns". USA Today . Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  25. ↑ "American Muslims Call to Action to End Domestic Violence". startribune.com.
  26. ↑ "Muslim Men Against Domestic Abuse". mmada.org.
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