Rifqa Bary will be perfectly safe at home with her father, eh? After all, we know that Islam is a peaceful and tolerant faith that condemns honor killing -- right? "Taxi boss jailed for threats against daughter," by Megan Gillis for the Ottawa Sun, November 10 (thanks to Sounder):
The city's taxi union boss was handed a year in jail Tuesday for what a judge deemed an "honour crime."Yusef Salam Al Mezel, 44, had pleaded guilty to criminally harassing his 23-year-old daughter, Eman, over three weeks in July 2007.
"Mr. Al Mezel has threatened his daughter with serious violence and has caused her to fear for her safety in the name of honour," Judge Lynn Ratushny wrote. "He has committed the crime of harassment against her in the name of honour."
Al Mezel admitted to pushing his daughter, threatening to break her legs and kill her and smashing her computer. When she fled marriage to a Syrian man for a $9,000 dowry, he stalked her to a shelter and a friend's home.
He sent her e-mails threatening her uncles and cousins would go "crazy" over the family's honour and to come home before someone got hurt.
Police spirited the young woman -- and the family sheltering her -- out of Ottawa.
There's no evidence Al Mezel would have killed her [really? -- ed.] but his threats "invoke a seriously dangerous belief system that can and has led to violence against women," Ratushny wrote.
The judge noted that Al Mezel, who came from Kuwait 20 years ago, is a community leader -- a founder of his mosque, city council candidate and representative of 1,500 taxi drivers...
Eman Al Mezel testified she'd stained the family "sharaf" by running away and shedding the hijab and killing her was the only way to clean it.
Al Mezel's other daughters testified that their father was never violent and is a religious "modernist." His brothers testified the family are "lefties" and believe men and women are equals.
Al Mezel himself said that listening to expert evidence on honour crimes was like hearing about a "different world" -- he'd never, he said, lived in that world or held those beliefs.
Of course not!
Al Mezel's lawyer, Geraldine Castle-Trudel, argued at sentencing that Al Mezel was a desperate father who wanted to bring his daughter home and the victim of anti-Muslim stereotypes....
...which just happened to come out of his own mouth.
I am glad that there is justice and the girl is safe. One year isn't long enough though. In the case for Rikfa Bary, I hope they use this case as evidence in court. If this won't wake the Ohio b**gers up, what will?
This is a 23 year old woman!! She is not a child. Her father tried to "sell" his adult daughter to some Syrian Guy for $9000.00 against her will. This cabbie leader made death threats against his own daughter. Do Moslem women have have fewer rights than unbelievers in Canada? Are there any feminists out there to complain about this? A burglar would get a stiffer sentence than this.
Robert, I am very pleased that your coverage on islam in Canada. I don't ever recall your speaking engagements in Canada. You should start a Canadian tour such as in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
He sent her e-mails threatening her uncles and cousins would go "crazy" over the family's honour and to come home before someone got hurt.
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"Someone" might get hurt? I doubt the male relatives were the ones Al Mezel had in mind, somehow. If he was telling the truth, then he was not the only threat to his daughter's life. That the police spirited the daughter—and the family sheltering her—out of town seems an acknowledgment of that fact.
The same is true with Rifqa Bary—her father is likely the greatest threat to her safety, but others—male relatives, female relatives, members of the mosque and the Muslim "community", are all threats to her life.
First let me disclaim any affinity for Islamic cultural medievalisms in adoptive Dar al Harb countries. I feel no affection for and their practitioners either. In fact, I am among Robert Spencer's biggest fans. But in a case like this one, there CAN be two sides. Ideally what courts do is sort out the truth in the best way possible and that is through evidence (facts), advocacy and disputation. Since here we have only a framework of facts, (and those are disputed), any conclusions must wait for the full facts to emerge. Listen. Our side is better than their's. We don't jump to conclusions. That's one reason we are better. Sharia law is medieval. Ours is enlightenment based. The only enlightenment they've ever seen was the discovery of oil reserves. Let's not let them be our teachers with all this knee-jerking judgmentalism. This is not being faux-PC either!
"Eman Al Mezel testified she'd stained the family "sharaf" by running away and shedding the hijab and killing her was the only way to clean it."
"There's no evidence Al Mezel would have killed her."
Uh-huh.
Of course Rifqa Bary is safe. Everyone knows that those forest-dwelling Canucks are a more primitive and barbarous people than we Americans are. After all, they are running dogs of English imperialism and evil counter-revolutionaries. Why, they even have First Nations folk who trap furs! Hence, it stands to reason that their Muslim immmigrants must be more primitive and barbaric than ours are down here.
(facetiousness)
The judge noted that Al Mezel, who came from Kuwait 20 years ago, is a community leader -- a founder of his mosque, city council candidate and representative of 1,500 taxi drivers....
These are all signs that this man will pose muslim-trouble to law enforcement officers of Ottawa.
Great foresight on part of the Ottawa police to take the girl out of harm's way.
Any idea why my recent activity does not show up on my page?
"Police spirited the young woman -- and the family sheltering her -- out of Ottawa."
A muslim family, even her family, or a non-muslim foster family? Details, details. But whatever the case, because they were forced to move, shouldn't there have been charges of threatening violence prosecuted against the father for that, too, making the jail sentence longer?
Lary9:
How are there two sides to this? How is anyone jumping to conclusions?
"Let's not let them be our teachers with all this knee-jerking judgmentalism. This is not being faux-PC either!"
Sure sounds like it to me.
Kepha,
Thanks for the morning smile!
This Canadian was deeply disturbed by the massacre at Fort Hood. Believe me, Canadians are waking up to the evil that is islam, and we support our American cousins in your efforts to raise awareness of the threat of islamization.
Canadians maybe waking up. But the media and politicos aren't.
Canada still seeks to import more Muslims every year. Right now Muslims out number Jews in Canada.
Police boast of being so sensitive that when they arrest Muslims for plotting to behead the prime minister they make no mention of Islam.
I hope
He keeps dropping
His soap
Canada has made a small but significant step. To my Ohio friends, remember the Raly for Rafiq Bary is on Nov. 16 between 11AM and 2PM at the Franklin County Courthouse (Juvenile Division) on High Street in Columbus ( If I got any of that wrong please correct me.). If at all possible please be there even if you have to travel from Toledo.
Nine grand, huh? Well now we know what a young, marriagable woman is worth.
Perhaps the judge is bound by limitations of Canadian law? I don't know. If so, then Canadian law could stand to be stiffened. But that would be difficult now because it would be clear that the trigger is to counter sharia, to insult Muslims. But maybe a viable approach in North-American legislation would be o specifically push for laws that leave no sharian loopholes.
In this case, it would seem that the judge might have imposed a community-service type sentence in addition to the brief jail term - force dad to publish a statement that he will not harm his daughter or the family or anyone else; maybe keep him in jail until he does.
Is it reasonable now for the police to at least interview all the uncles and cousins for their potential complicity in the planned crime of multiple murder, now that dad has admitted that they are members of his gang?
Probably hasn't/won't happen. Innocent until proven murderers.
What is there a difference between dad's threat and a death fatwa? Are only his relatives permitted to kill her?
Lary9 wrote:
But in a case like this one, there CAN be two sides. Ideally what courts do is sort out the truth in the best way possible and that is through evidence (facts), advocacy and disputation. Since here we have only a framework of facts, (and those are disputed), any conclusions must wait for the full facts to emerge.
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Lary, I would take your point if the above case were some sort of unsubstantiated rumor—but it is not. Al Mezel, has pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, and has been duly setenced by a Canadian court of law.
I believe most of the fact of this case *have* emerged. That Al Mezel was—at the very least—threatening his daughter is abundantly clear—and he has admitted that he did so in the name of the family's "honour".
Guy,
I haven't heard that Canada is seeking to import more Muslims. I heard that the latest sign on the door is "No F**king Vacancy! for Muslim immigrants!"
Perhaps the government of Quebec seeks that. Quebed is precominantly Catholic and Catholics and Muslims seem to be going to bed with one another for some strange reason.
Our Conservatives in Canada are not for importing more Muslims.
The Muslim population roughly 780,000 is 2% of Canada's population.
1 year in jail in Canada is about 3 months in jail thanks to mandatory probation after 1/3 of the sentence is served. The guy should be doing 20 years, or better still just deported
sorry - 4 months
"Quebed is precominantly Catholic and Catholics and Muslims seem to be going to bed with one another for some strange reason."
Quebec has not been predominantly Catholic since the "Quiet Revolution", which happened in the 1960s. It is predominantly secular.
Catholics and Muslims getting in bed with one another? You have got to be kidding.
The political landscape in Canada is unfortunately very liberal (in the worst sense). The courts police and immigration policies are frighteningly so.
She's already thrown off the Slave Rag: that's one of the reasons why her dear darling Mohammedan daddy wanted to kill her.
So let us sincerely hope that she goes the whole hog (so to speak) and apostasises. She will be much happier.
*Then* the score - so long as the RCMP are up to scratch - will be Kuffars +1 (and more, once she finds a nice kafir husband to have babies with), Ummah - 1.