Buried Alive In Balochistan

Far be it from me to reinforce stereotypes about Pakistani attitudes towards the safety and security of women. I am a product of Musharraf’s Enlightened Moderation and the soft image of Pakistan is my top priority. Pakistanis are nothing if not conscious of the softness of their image.

This was evidenced today in the remarkable step taken this week by the Senator from Balochistan, Sardar Israrullah Zehri, when he was asked why no inquiry had been made into the murder of five women, buried alive in Balochistan a month ago in the name of honour.

Zehri said, and it was quoted as such in the daily Dawn, that this was a part of “our tribal custom”. On Monday, he appeared on Dawn News television, an English language news network, to let us know that, yes, murder is against the law and, yes, it is un-Islamic to bury people alive, but, you see, there is no real education in this area, it’s tribal culture and it will take five thousand years to change.

Well, that’s alright then. Thank God it wasn’t an act of barbarism by otherwise civilized people. Thank God they were already barbaric to begin with. Now we can go sip coffee and continue to exploit natural gas resources in Balochistan without providing any infrastructure, education or healthcare in return. Read More »

“Honor Killings” Contort Religion

ATLANTA — As an American Muslim, I was horrified to read about the tragic death of Sandela Kanwal in Clayton County, Ga., allegedly at hands of her father in a supposed “honor killing.”

According to area police, Kanwal’s father killed her because she left her husband. According to the twisted logic of “honor killings,” Kanwal ruined the “honor” of the family by leaving her arranged marriage.

It would be easy to point a finger at all Muslims and rail against such barbaric traditions. But this I can tell you: I am a Muslim, born and raised in Tennessee, and I do not subscribe to this brand of honor.

As a co-founder of the American Islamic Fellowship, an Atlanta area organization of more than 200 Muslims, I can tell you that our organization does not subscribe to any interpretation of Islam that condones murder in the name of religion or honor. To me and our membership, this is an abhorrent expression of a universal phenomenon of misogynistic thinking that targets women as the guardians of a community’s honor.

It comes from the mouths of Christian saints, Italian philosophers, American revolutionaries, French existentialists, Baptist preachers, modern historians, European scientists, English poets, and Muslim imams, just to name a few: “It is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in every woman.”, “It is said in the state of adultery, the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time on the woman.” Why? Read More »