Muslim mother accused in UK honor murder of teen implicates husband, CNN dissembles about Islam's justification for practice

Typical Islamic supremacist dissembling, aided and abetted by CNN: "Prosecutor Afzal says 'no faith on Earth' justifies killing."

Unfortunately, that is not true. Why does it matter whether or not there are Islamic teachings that justify honor killing? In order to help clarify for authorities what they are and why they happen, so that future honor killings may possibly be prevented. Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Mother accused in UK 'honor murder' of teen implicates husband," by Richard Allen Greene for CNN, July 10 (thanks to all who sent this in):

London (CNN) -- In a trial that has been front-page news in Britain, a woman accused with her husband of killing their daughter in an alleged "honor murder" abruptly changed her defense this week and implicated her husband in the teen's death.

Ifitkar Ahmed and his wife Farzana are on trial in Chester, England, accused of killing their daughter Shafilea, 17...in September 2003. They have pleaded not guilty.

Newspapers, television and radio have all been reporting on the prosecution case that Shafilea's parents killed her because they felt her "western" lifestyle brought shame on the family.

On Monday, Farzana said she had seen her husband attack Shafilea. She said she tried to intervene to protect the girl, but that her husband pushed her away and punched her, CNN affiliate ITV reported.

"Extremely scared," she fled the room and stayed in a bedroom with other children until she heard a car leaving 20 minutes later.

When her husband returned alone, she asked where their daughter was.

"If you care for your dear life and that of your children, don't ever ask me this question again," he told her, ITV reported.

Shafilea's sister testified last month that she saw her parents kill Shafilea by stuffing a plastic bag into her mouth.

Alesha Ahmed, Shafilea's younger sister, did not tell police she had seen the killing until 2010, ITV reported.

Farzana Ahmed testified Monday that only one of their children, Mevish, was present when she saw her husband attacking Shafilea.

Reliable figures of the number of honor murders around the world are hard to come by, but the United Nations Population Fund has estimated there could be 5,000 per year.

So-called "honor murders" are a significant enough problem in Britain that the country's Crown Prosecution Service has an expert specializing in cases where members of a family kill relatives over behavior which they say shames the family.

Family convicted in 'honor murders'

The prosecutor, Nazir Afzal, told CNN earlier this year that convicting perpetrators can be difficult.

"There is a wall of silence around this, and people are not prepared to talk," he said.

But Afzal insisted that it was "absolutely important that you bring every single person to justice because you want to deter other people from doing it."

There is a perception that the crime is particularly common among Muslims, but one vocal British campaigner says not all honor violence is perpetrated by Muslims.

Jasvinder Sanghera, who was the victim of a forced marriage, is not Muslim; she is Sikh.

"Significant cases are happening within South Asian communities, be it Pakistani, Indian, Sikh, Muslim, Kurdish, Iranian, Middle Eastern communities," she said.

Prosecutor Afzal says "no faith on Earth" justifies killing....