Survivors of gender-based violence need to be believed and supported. They also need society to describe the harm they experience with appropriate language. Yet time and again, violence against Muslim women is framed as “honour-based,” further stigmatizing victims and the wider communities to which they belong….It’s time for this to stop.
Do people actually still believe that there is no difference between “honour violence” against women and domestic violence against women? While both are despicable, there is a critical difference.
The authors of the article below are Amira Elghawaby (NCCM/CAIR.CAN Communications Director) and Manall Farooqi. They point an accusatory finger at police, and wrongly so, in connection with a case in which a young Muslim woman filed a domestic abuse report against her father. Police referred to this as “honour-based violence.”
Elghawaby and Farooqi take offence to the use of this term, and say this about “honour violence”:
There is nothing honourable at all about the alleged actions of her father, nor is there anything within Islamic teachings that would condone such coercion of one’s family members, or of anyone at all.
Indeed, there is “nothing honourable at all about the alleged actions of her father,” but is it really true that there is nothing “within Islamic teachings that would condone such coercion of one’s family members”? For starters, Islamic teachings state….
Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great. (Qur’an 4:34)
Contemporary translations sometimes water down the word “beat,” but it is the same word used in verse 8:12 and clearly means “to strike.”
And take in your hand a green branch and beat her with it, and do not break your oath… (Quran 38:44)
A woman came to Muhammad and begged him to stop her husband from beating her. Her skin was bruised so badly that it is described as being “greener” than the green veil she was wearing. Muhammad did not admonish her husband, but instead ordered her to return to him and submit to his sexual desires. (Sahih Bukhari 72:715)
Of course not all Muslims practice this, but to say that it is not in Islamic teachings — well, shall we say, this is not the first effort to conceal the teachings within Islam that are used to justify human rights abuses against women.
Westerners are not at all targeting Muslims by calling out this disgraceful abuse, but many are dutifully remaining silent instead of helping Muslim women who live in fear of serious abuses such as “honour” violence, FGM, forced marriage, wife beatings, being regarded as of lesser value than men, etc.
“Honour violence” — as dishonourable as it is — is a widely known, widely practiced, systemic problem, as revealed in the film The Honour Diaries, in which “women’s rights advocates with connections to Muslim-majority societies” engage in an open “dialogue about gender inequality,” and indeed with “honour violence” within such societies, which are described as “human rights disasters.”
Even the United Nations recognizes the obvious difference between domestic violence against women and “honour violence” against women. “Honour violence” includes:
rape victims, women suspected of engaging in premarital sex, and women accused of adultery have been murdered by their relatives because the violation of a woman’s chastity is viewed as an affront to the family’s honour.
It is horrendous to be complicit in such human rights disasters, or try to cover them up and pretend as though Muslims were being targeted when people call out such abuses.
Law enforcement shouldn’t label such acts this way at all, nor should journalists go along with this faulty script.
This is the kind of deceptive victimology that drives “Islamophobia” campaigns. It is an effort to bully Westerners to either accept or turn a blind eye to sharia practices. Ignoring such practices in Western nations enables a two-tier legal system, in which assaults and other human rights offences committed by Muslims who consider themselves ruled by the sharia (deemed above all laws) receive immunity. This is precisely why the massive coverup of Muslim rape gang abuses happened in the UK. Police and social workers were terrified of being called “Islamophobic” and/or “racist.”
Widespread abuses in any religion or culture such should not be tolerated under the umbrella of Western constitutions, which were intended to advance the principle of equal rights for all.
“Farooqi and Elghawaby: Nothing honourable about violence against women”, by Amira Elghawaby and Manall Farooqi, Ottawa Citizen, November 7, 2017:
Survivors of gender-based violence need to be believed and supported. They also need society to describe the harm they experience with appropriate language. Yet time and again, violence against Muslim women is framed as “honour-based,” further stigmatizing victims and the wider communities to which they belong.
It’s time for this to stop.
Recently, news emerged that a young Muslim woman in Gatineau had filed a complaint of domestic abuse against her father. The police called it “honour-based” violence. There is nothing honourable at all about the alleged actions of her father, nor is there anything within Islamic teachings that would condone such coercion of one’s family members, or of anyone at all.
Using “honour” to describe such cases only results in further stereotyping of Muslim or racialized households as particularly backwards, barbaric and uncivilized. It’s a failure to recognize that patriarchy, and the varieties of violence often associated with it, is a global phenomenon that exists among all communities. Violence against women is universally about power and control.
The laws describing violence against women already cover exactly what these cases involve, making it redundant to create a whole new category based on false assumptions that particular communities have specific tendencies to commit specific types of crime.
The case of alleged abuse in Gatineau has already been used as fodder by those opposed to religious freedom for women who wear niqab. In one particularly illogical argument, one columnist went as far as to suggest that defending the rights of Muslim women to wear whatever they want would actually silence any Muslim girl who might be experiencing abuse about her own wardrobe choices. On the contrary, labelling violence against women as honour-based could actually deter victims from reporting it, for a variety of reasons: They might believe they were deserving of such treatment, or might fear stigmatizing their entire family or community if they were to speak up.
Violence against women is a societal norm we need to disrupt. Every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Additionally, research shows that seven in 10 people who experience family violence are young girls and women. This includes women who are killed because their partners fear they will commit, or have committed, adultery.
One case in Ottawa involved a man named Marc Hutt who was convicted in 2013 of brutally killing his wife. Despite having the hallmarks of an honour killing, according to a definition by Human Rights Watch, the term never entered the discourse, observed educator and columnist Aisha Sherazi. One has to wonder if it was because the perpetrator wasn’t from a stereotypical ethnic background.
Creating arbitrary categories of gendered violence won’t solve this problem. Victims must be at the centre of our preoccupation with addressing violence. That includes using language that is fair and avoids scapegoating. This isn’t only a question of semantics: Language can affect public policy as well. The previous government spent five times more money to address “honour crimes” or “harmful cultural practices” in one year than it did addressing violence against Indigenous women, despite the high numbers of missing and murdered women from these communities.
Journalists and lawyers at the New York Times recently discussed how they have been describing the explosive allegations of sexual abuse and assault by powerful men in Hollywood. “Using an evocative phrase or term to describe certain behavior may make for more interesting reading, but it may also suggest more than we know,” wrote Christina Koningisor, the Times’s First Amendment fellow, in exploring why some terms are chosen over others. In the case of so-called honour-based violence, using the term sensationalizes rather than describes the actions involved.
Law enforcement shouldn’t label such acts this way at all, nor should journalists go along with this faulty script.
Linda says
You can only conclude that “enraged” is a natural state for practising Muslims. If a Muslim isn’t enraged, he isn’t practising and watch out when he begins to practise.
The Liberal government in Canada would do well not to pander to any and all requests for Sharia law in Canada. You would think that Canada could learn vicariously from countries like England which have tried to accommodate Sharia law.
LeftisruiningCanada says
islam is well known as the “religion of perpetual outrage”. Given that both terms stem from a variety of general “rage”, i’d say it’s close enough.
The Federal Liberals of Canada have surely learned from the UK’s shining example. They seem to be fully committed to making it even easier for islam to take over, avoiding all of the many hiccoughs that have so bogged down the advance forward to sharia uber alles.
Linda says
It’s unbelievable after being warned long ago about Islam by one of the UK’s best prime ministers, namely, Winston Churchill, that the UK would facilitate Islamization, but, that is exactly what they seem to be doing. The politicians must be in the pockets of Saudi Arabia. Trudeau would be all in for that, too. The more I see of him, the more I think he’s all about the filthy rich.
Rufluc says
I’m with you on that Linda. There is evidence that the facilitation of Islam, especially Sharia law, into UK’s society is being ‘allowed’ covertly and quietly by all the liberals and lefties that have infiltrated our government, and by the many others who are just too terrified of losing their jobs if they appear ‘Islamophobic’ or ‘racist’ if they don’t go along with it all. It is a very worrying situation indeed. One that is based on a form of psychological blackmail.
Take for example Halal meat. The barbaric cruel methods used to slaughter animals to meet the requirements of Muslims go against the strict European laws that prevent cruelty and suffering of animals in the way that Halal methods cause.
So why do we allow it? Why do we pander to their demands? It’s because they use their ‘religion’ (I use the term loosely because it’s not really a religion, it’s a theocratic political ideological cult) to circumvent nearly every one of our laws. Rape and all forms of sexual abuse against women, the beating of women, ‘honour’ killings, FGM, the hatred and murdering of gays, the chopping off of limbs, etc etc. are allowed and our authorities just turn a ‘blind eye’ to it all and allow it to manifest. Whilst their numbers and colonised areas in our countries are left to continue to grow, together with the level of threat against us. This is the evil shroud of Sharia spreading throughout our lands.
As you probably know, the left are evil manipulators of the truth, and they play their psychological games of preying on peoples natural charitable instincts and morals to further their cause. Which is why when people get called a ‘racist’ they first go into denial mode and then go to extraordinary lengths to prove why they are not, as if their lives depend on it. The fact that there are differences between races like there is between religions, is neither here nor there! But why is it such a crime to raise these differences, and thereby talk about them based on the facts that are there for all to see?
They also instill their beliefs into our children at a very early age, when they are most easily manipulated. They are left wing targeted institutions that are the breeding grounds for our future generations to be brain washed to left wing ideals. Many teachers come from universities where their minds have also been polluted with far left ideologies, and so their evil treacherous beliefs continue to be propagated throughout our society with every new generation that passes. This most likely explains why the younger generation are idolising Corbyn, a hard left marxist if ever there was one, together with his black racist ‘white hating’ side kick Diane Abbot aka The Financial brain of Britain….NOT!
Tommy Robinson, who founded the EDL (English Defense League), was disgusted by the way his home town of Luton is being overtaken by Muslims and the criminal evil they were involved in, especially against non Muslims. Like drug dealing, which they pursue with the specific intent of targeting white British people and other non Muslim individuals, so as to gain power and control over them, once they’re hooked on the drugs they’re plying.
This kind of practice also extends to the explotation of our young underage white girls that were/are ‘easy meat’ for the prolific Muslim paedophiles that were/are preying on them, which is STILL happening all over the UK. Despite the few low profile cases that have jailed just a few dozen of them (out of the tens of thousands that have been, and are still doing it).
The countless millions if not billions all this is costing our society is immense, not to mention the tens of thousands of British lives it’s destroying. Muslims know that the British authorites are completely paralysed in doing anything about it because of their perilous fear of being accused of Islamophobia and racism! So they are left to be free to do whatever they want, knowing that the fear the left wing have instilled into them by the use of this politically correct propaganda, is paying them protectionist dividends to continue with their world domination crusade. In fact if you think carefully about it, this left wing/Muslim collusion arrangement is exactly how Satan himself would go about achieving his evil aim!
In his book, Tommy exposed how corrupt our authorities and police really have become, and how they continue to pander to the Muslims by a) allowing them to continue with their evil expansion plans, and b) preventing any non Muslim who tries to stop them, including people like Tommy. Even Theresa May sanctioned court orders against him, causing him to spend a great deal of time in jail for reasons that were entirely false, thereby exposing him to the radical Muslims that are now filling our jails! This just goes to show how far up the political tree this kind of treason has reached!
If you get the chance to read his book ‘Enemy of the State’, do so. He truly is NOT a racist or a far right fascist in any way, as the authorities and the left make him out to be, but a true patriot who is just greatly concerned for his familty, his people and his country. It makes a truly amazing read and will make your blood boil as he exposes what is really going on behind the scenes!
If something isn’t done to stop this Islamic crusade against us in this country and across the West, there WILL be war in our streets, and then our rivers will indeed run with much blood. And it will be entirely the fault of our pathetic Liberal leaders who are wholly out of their depth to make the decisions that are needed in these times of this ever growing threat.
mummymovie says
Well, they need not be enraged much longer- They’ll soon get their way, I fear, what with Trudeau’s muslim hordes that are on the way. After a million or so of the ‘refugees’ he’s signed up for pour in over the next three years to create a Germany-like atmosphere of sharia-fueled fear and violence among Canadian citizens and their spineless politicians, and Canada’s police are eventually rendered helpless, muslim leaders will be getting their way left and right, no doubt. And as a bonus, jihad attacks will be carried out on a regular basis in both Canada and the U.S., thanks to the porous borders between the two countries.
Wellington says
Makes me wonder if the day may come when the US will need a northern border wall as well. My God, Justin Trudeau continues on track to do more damage to Canada than any other person in Canadian history.
As an American, I wish Canada well, as I always have, but things are not looking good for America’s northern neighbor because a complete and destructive fool is now heading the Canadian government.
mummymovie says
Elementary my dear Wellington- I’m afraid the day is already upon us, right now, considering that Justin’s Million Migrant March into Canada is already underway.
Amazing, that he would consider political posturing, grandstanding and personal virtue signaling so important that he would foolishly sacrifice future generations of Canadians and the well-being of his country, especially having the real-time model of the decomposition of Western European countries to observe as a macabre experiment that hasn’t yet played out fully, but already gives us strong indications that it’s not going to work out for the better for European nations engaging in it.
Shame on the goddamn fool.
Wellington says
I disagree the day is upon us. America at present still needs a southern border wall far more than it needs a northern one. I think you’ve jumped the gun a bit here but I am with you in the main.
don says
you have got that absolutely right and most Canadians are ashamed of this idiot PM,canada will be free when this dope and his left wing party are gone
Rufluc says
So one wonders WHY the dope was voted into power in the first place?
My answer would be- it’s because the majority of the electorate don’t have the level of intelligence that is needed to see through the lies of the left, and so they fall for the ‘guff’ they spout. No doubt a lot of women also voted for him because to them he was ‘eye candy’. Nothing to do with his treacherous politics.
LeftisruiningCanada says
It is a shame that the left loving politics of this country may well ruin things here and lead to something like you mentioned.
Canada and the US should be the closest thing to brothers that two nations could be, but alas the 49th parallel is still the junction between two opposing political philosophies. Crossing the border is to find oneself on the other side of a revolution that was signed into being back in 1776.
gravenimage says
Just a short while ago when we were under the traitorous Obama and Canada had the decent and relatively Islamo-savvy PM Harper, I rather envied our northern neighbor.
eduardo odraude says
Dear Muslim: Your own source texts say that Muhammad ordered the torture of a man in order to get hold of a treasure
We learn of that in the earliest Muslim biography of Muhammad, pages 511-517 (758-766 in the Arabic). https://archive.org/stream/TheLifeOfMohammedGuillaume/The_Life_Of_Mohammed_Guillaume#page/n279/mode/1up
The same pages in that earliest Muslim biography of Muhammad also tell us that after the torture, Muhammad had the man beheaded, and that later that night, or the next, Muhammad took into his private tent for consummation of “marriage” the tortured man’s widow, whose father and other male relatives Muhammad had just killed.
The following video begins with the words “Dear Muslim,” spoken by a former Muslim who goes by the moniker “Brother Ismaa’eel.” As you will see, Brother Ismaa’eel, who is fluent in Arabic and English, displays and very clearly explains in this video the primary Islamic source texts where those actions of Muhammad are described by early Muslims themselves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSV-0HdiFEM
MFritz says
Well, that’s fully understandable. They’re always very touchy about the truth being spoken in public.
gravenimage says
Spot on.
Voytek Gagalka says
“…further stigmatizing victims and the wider communities to which they belong….It’s time for this to stop.”
Unfortunately, with all respect to reality, it will not stop. The reason is the core doctrine of Islam and as long as it is observed and enforced, to think that violence against women will somehow stop because one says that “It’s time for this to stop,” is engaging in wishful thinking and committing fallacy of reversing cause and effect. First deal with problem of Islam (admittedly an infinitely difficult but not impossible problem to resolve: everything which was implemented by men, however, can be changed by men; it is called human volition), and then your resultant problem will simply disappear.
Walter Sieruk says
About the topic of Islamic violence which, something, takes the form of the brutal cruel vicious and murderous action that is so inappropriately y called “honor killing.” This malicious misogyny is so heinous callous and malice- filled that it’s an affront to all that is good, decent and right. In addition, the author, Brigitte Gabriel , and well as founder and head of http://www.actforamerica.org had revealed in her book which is entitled THEY MUST BE STOPPED on pages 171,172 , that “The shocking reality is that most Muslim men ,including those educated in the West ,have no objection to the degradation of women in their countries .Across the Muslim world, even in moderate Islamic countries, women’s’ rights are almost nonexistent…Women is Islam are considered unclean ,deemed inferior even to dirt.” Furthermore, as for Islamic violence against girls and women in Canada. In this just citied book it explains on page 176 that “Honor killings have also come to the West thanks to the rise of Islamic immigration.”
Indeed, they must be stopped!
Catherine says
Thanks, Christine, fir a great reply to Amira Elghawaby’s Taqiyya on honour Violence. I hope a copy went to the Ottawa Citizen (not that I would expect them to publish it! Lol!
DRHazard says
Some people might buy the claim that Muslims and non-Muslims are exactly the same in their propensity for certain kinds of violence. But they wouldn’t have facts on their side. CARE is not interested in facts or statistical studies They’re also not concerned in the welfare of Muslim women, being good citizens, gratitude, rational criticism, personal responsibility, or the truth in general. The only thing they consider to be dishonorable is telling the truth about Islam. They would never do that.
Roger says
The twisted mind of a moslem..So typical of their ridiculously low level of intelligence…I often wonder how much of their filthy inbred/insane seed has penetrated the free world..
gravenimage says
Canada: Muslim leaders enraged that police reported Muslim father abusing his daughter as “honour-based violence”
…………………….
Muslims don’t want Infidels to know the truth about Islam–until it is too late.
mortimer says
Canada’s NINCOMPOOP PRIME MINISTER (Jihadi Justin) calls himself a ‘Feminist’, and yet, preposterously refuses to call HONOR KILLINGS, FGM, CHILD MARRIAGE or STONING “barbaric practices”.
Nincompoop Jihadi Justin IS MORALLY BLIND when it comes to the REAL EVILS in Islam.
Another FAKE FEMINIST.
mortimer says
For Christine I recommend two proof texts concerning Islamic MISOGYNY and SADISM:
– “Hang up your scourge where your wife can see it.” – from Kash-shaf (the revealer) of al-Zamkhshari (Vol. 1, p. 525)
– “The Prophet said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.” -Abu Dawud (2142)
Historian says
Here is a an article pointing out several important differences between honor killings and the type of domestic violence that is most common among modern Western peoples. Among the most salient: modern Western domestic abuse, which is more commonly directed against spouses/intimate partners than daughters, is typically HIDDEN because the abuser knows that it is criminal and/or knows that he would be shamed if the abuse is revealed publicly. Quite a bit is not planned, arising out of drug abuse and/or verbal arguments that at some point in the heat of the argument the abuser escalates to physicalforcel.
In contrast, honor killings and other honor abuse are often not hidden because they are INTENDED to restore family honor. The violence, rather than being seen as shameful, the way so much wife-beating is, is “honor-restoring” and is believed to erase the shame of the females’ perceived misconduct to the family, which is why, unlike with spousal abuse, often several family members are involved in ‘punishing’ the females perceived to be shaming the family. And it is commonly planned in advance, unlike the domestic violence that arises out of verbal arguments escalating to violence or drug/alcohol abuse.
http://www.meforum.org/2067/are-honor-killings-simply-domestic-violence
Politicianphobia says
Here in Canada, beating anyone is called assualt, although I do fear Justine Trudeau, a lot of politicians, and judges are watering it down for all the poor Muslim men. What are the police to do, other than to assist the collaborators or be fired. The Muslim Brotherhood is very active, the Imams preach hate and we have a committee talking about M-103. I do wish the word treason would be brought to the forefront. I want a leader who stands up and says “NO more Muslim BS“.
UNCLE VLADDI says
That’s right, people!
No need to make laws which specifically point out that muslims commit 99% of all “honour” murders worldwide, because “you all do it, too!”
Nothing to see here – move it along, now – you hatefully bigoted racists!
😉
More on today’s TAQUIYYA MOMENT, brought to you by the concerned Muslimas at the leftist Ottawa Citizen (PA11, and online, here):
Notable quotes: (“NO COERCION OF ANYONE IN ISLAM!”)
“nor is there anything within Islamic teachings that would condone such coercion of one’s family members, or of anyone at all. Using “honour” to describe such cases only results in further stereotyping of Muslim or racialized households as particularly backwards, barbaric and uncivilized. The laws describing violence against women already cover exactly what these cases involve, making it redundant to create a whole new category based on false assumptions that particular communities have specific tendencies to commit specific types of crime.”
http://unclevladdi.blogspot.ca/2017/11/check-out-todays-taquiyya-moment_8.html
Dean says
Islamists. media and Leftists are now twisting the word “honor” (to their advantage in order to paper over crimes) in the same way they have twisted our English language to make anything connected to Islamic barbarity just fine in the eyes of the world, If we are dumb enough to buy into their propaganda, then we deserve the jihad and sharia coming to a city near us.
Cheer Bear Girl says
Canada’s ruling class is ignorant of the reality of Islam. I hope Trump has a wall built on our border with Canada too. I don’t want this craziness here either.