Finding that Aqsa Parvez, the victim of an honor killing in Canada, was buried in an unmarked grave, Pamela Geller wanted to give her a fitting memorial -- both for Aqsa's sake and as a stand against the dehumanization that is intrinsic to honor killing. I was proud to join in this effort, and now part of that effort has come to fruition: "A Grove of Trees Has Been Planted in Israel In Loving Memory of Aqsa Parvez and All Victims of Honor Killings Worldwide."
Pamela notes: "The memorials in Pelham and Jerusalem are the first indication that in the Free World we are not going to stand by silently while the Islamic world brutalizes women and treats them as worthless trash. They are two small steps toward widespread resistance against honor killing in the West and elsewhere."
Read all the details over at Atlas Shrugs.
The grove of trees in Israel is a very thoughtful memorial, but what of the unmarked grave in Canada ? Is it still unnmarked ?
Here are the main comments that were made to this article, while we were discussing it on IntenseDebate.
MAXPUBLIUS said - Israel is truly the beacon of light unto the world.
And it is a national disgrace for Canada not to have done this itself.
But nothing like the disgrace Muslims live in every single day of their lives.
NAKAL said - I am sure planting trees in memory of persecuted and murdered Muslims in Israel is totally lost on them, as is the fact that Israel took in 5000 Muslim Sudanese, Darfurians and Eritreans who are working in hotels in Arad and Eilat (and getting subsidized education for their children at Israeli taxpayer's expense), while Muslims can't even stop killing one another, let alone treating each other with respect and decency.
As I have said before, sense of irony (and compassion) is not one of the Muslim's stronger suits.
NAKAL added - Why do you think the Bahai headquarters is in Haifa ? Because Bahuallah, who founded the Bahai religion in Persia was chased out by the Muslims and had to find refuge in Israel (and did).
CIVILUS DEFENDUS said - Finally, a symbol of honor in a land of liberty... from a culture of shame and oppression.
DDOGGMA said - Very nice, Lets hope you dont have to do it again, for this other poor girl thats under threat.
-DUMBLEDORESARMY said to DDOGG - The thing to do if there are more 'honor' killings (Muslim Ritual Sacrifices of Females) in western countries, will be just to add more trees to the same grove. Trees in Israel...producing oxygen, cooling the air, bringing rain, holding the soil together, building fertility, benefiting Planet Earth...and benefiting the Jews! And let the jihadis and sharia-addicts and sharia-pushers gnash their teeth, for every time they sacrifice some poor girl on the altar of 'allah', the more trees will spring up on the hills of eretz Israel. *I* would plant fruit trees, nut trees, olive trees, and cedar trees.
LEEVY said - Such a sadness and tragedy this young girls death has shown us the evil things islam exposes to the world, and for the converts and appologists to deny the truth about islam is just as evil as islam.
May God keep Aqsa safe and in a better place. till we meet again. RIP
DUMBLEDORESARMY said - It should not be forgotten that many Muslim girls who are ritually sacrificed in this way within dar al Islam would, had they not been so sacrificed, gone on to practise and perpetuate Muslim supremacism their whole lives long; to ululate with glee at the news of the deaths of kafirs, to hand out candy when told that some assassin had murdered Jews.
They may, nevertheless, having been killed before they could do any of this, be mourned as human beings; but the chief value of drawing attention to their deaths, is in order to show non-Muslim westerners what a ghastly, female-hating human-sacrificing social system the sharia-pushers dream of imposing on all six billion humans on this planet.
However - when such killings happen within the West, it is quite likely that the victims are thus sacrificed because in the minds of the Muslims around them, they are perceived as actual or potential apostates - dating non-Muslim boys or men, making friends and hanging around with non-Muslim girls, actually eloping or trying to elope with a non-Muslim man (and refusing to blackmail him into becoming a Muslim, but rather, encouraging or allowing him to maintain his non-Muslim beliefs and practices), and refusing to wear full Islamic dress.
In those cases they can be wholeheartedly mourned, in that they were murdered even as they were tentatively reaching out and taking their first baby steps away from Darkness, toward the light.
UNDAUNTED said - This evil must be destroyed.
If all we can do is reach out to and give ourselves to the protection and deliverance of these girls and women... so be it.
Let shame smother those who, this side of heaven, do nothing but pray, waiting for God to do... "something."
-TAPROOT replied to Undaunted - What we can do is talk about it-tell the world !
I wish Robert Spencer, or someone like him would write another book . Name it "HORROR STORY" exposing the grisly details and get people to notice ! Spill it all about the blood-splattered religion. Shake things up ! Even if it means some "bad" publicity Robert !
PROFITSBEARD said - And let them all be Gharqad trees.
Kudos to Pamela and Robert and all involved in this loving effort to memorialize a tragically murdered young girl, and to prevent her sisters oppressed by Islam from ending up with the same grim, heartless fate.
CNDN4FREEDOM said - Thank you Pamela for your efforts to see that one of my fellow Canadian citizens be memorialized after being unjustly murdered.
We need to wake up to the facts that honor killings are real in the "Muslim World" and this awful practice is here despite what we are told by people trying to marginalize this issue.
There's too much talk about stereotyping and being sensitive as to not offend the Muslim community.
Meanwhile we are letting young women be mistreated and even die for the stupidest of reasons.
May the marking of these tragic deaths prompt more people to seek and truth and demand action from our authorities to send a message we won't tolerate this.
-CONCERNED said - "What a great idea! Israel needs trees. I remember in 1956 when my maternal grandfather, an Irish Catholic, died. A Jewish man came to his funeral and told my mother that a tree would be planted in Israel to honour my grandfather. I cheered very hard for Israel in the war later that year.
Also I am delighted in hearing good news out of Canada!"
STEPHENA said - "Well done to all concerned. I do think that this initiative will go some way to preventing future killings by raising general awareness.
How the cemetery director could block the plans because of the objections of the family, who murdered her, is the most imbecilic thing I've heard."