Better late than never. It’s interesting, however, that most Muslim spokesmen in the West will deny that honor killings have anything to do with Islam in the first place. If that’s the case, why should this edict need to be issued? “Top Shia Muslim cleric bans honour killings,” from AFP (thanks to WriterMom):
Beirut — Lebanon’s top Shia Muslim cleric Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah issued a fatwa, or religious edict yesterday, banning so-called honour killings as repulsive acts that contradict Islamic law.
He denounced “honour crimes in which men kill their sisters, daughters or other [female] relatives on the pretext of committing acts against decency and honour.”
Mr. Fadlallah said in a statement that he was issuing the edict amid reports of an increase in the practice across the Arab world.