GREAT NEWS, SAINTS!
Thanks to all of you who prayed and signed the petition in behalf of Rifqa Bary. She does not have to return to Ohio at this time. The next big challenge will be custody debate.
Thanks again.
One Nation Under God!
AMEN!
--Livvy McDonald
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No, this is not another article about "death panels," real or imaginary, although it could be given the parallels.
No. Today I write of a current atrocity requiring our vigilance.
I speak of that abominable absurdity referred to as, "honor killings," a diabolical phenomena that accompanies societal acceptance of Sharia law.
The problem is simply this:
When "We the People," individually and then nationally in the aggregate, fail to acknowledge the God of the Holy Bible---The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-- we open ourselves up to the subtle invasion of other gods. Such is the current thrust of all attempts to "Islamatize" the United States. This is serious folks. Just take a look at England if you want to see where we are heading unless a dramatic turnaround occurs here in America.
One might ask, What are the roots to 'honor killings?
I recommend that you visit Pam Geller's website for recent history. Geller has been documenting incidents for a few years now and has spear-headed at least one initiative against it. In fact, Dr. Wafa Sultan, former Islamist for thirty-three years, recently released a statement that can be read in its entirety on Atlas Shrugs. Basically, Dr. Sultan makes an appeal with response to the current case of Rifqa Bary. Bary is a teenage girl whose fate weighs in the balance right here in the United States as the courts decide to have her return to her parents’ home. According to Sultan,
"Our Western court system must be educated on Islamic apostasy laws to understand Rifqa Bary’s predicament, and the plight of all those like her who choose to leave Islam. "
The problem is that Rifqa Bary is considered "Apostate" to the Islamic religion. According to Dr. Sultan, "Under Sharia every Muslim has the right to kill such an apostate without any questions asked."
Here is the link:
In looking into the phenomenon of "honor killings," that truly radical publication we all grew up with called National Geographic states,
Reports submitted to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights show that honor killings have occurred in Bangladesh, Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda. In countries not submitting reports to the UN, the practice was condoned under the rule of the fundamentalist Taliban government in Afghanistan, and has been reported in Iraq and Iran. But while honor killings have elicited considerable attention and outrage, human rights activists argue that they should be regarded as part of a much larger problem of violence against women.
In India, for example, more than 5,000 brides die annually because their dowries are considered insufficient, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Crimes of passion, which are treated extremely leniently in Latin America, are the same thing with a different name, some rights advocates say, "In countries where Islam is practiced, they're called honor killings, but dowry deaths and so-called crimes of passion have a similar dynamic in that the women are killed by male family members and the crimes are perceived as excusable or understandable," said Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. The practice, she said, "goes across cultures and across religions. Complicity by other women in the family and the community strengthens the concept of women as property and the perception that violence against family members is a family and not a judicial issue. Females in the family—mothers, mothers-in-law, sisters, and cousins—frequently support the attacks. It's a community mentality," said Zaynab Nawaz, a program assistant for women's human rights at Amnesty International.
On the website, STOP-STONING.ORG, the author argues,
While the media tends to present so-called ‘honour killings’ – which have the most dis-honourable intention of causing harm to women – as predominantly prevalent in Muslim countries, documented cases from around the world testify to thousands of women being murdered every year in the name of ‘family honour’. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights acknowledges that so-called ‘honour killings’ have occurred in Great Britain, Brazil, India, Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Sweden, and Uganda as well as in Muslim nations such as Turkey, Jordan, Pakistan, and Morocco. In Latin America, ‘crimes of passion’ committed by men are not classified as murders and are instead treated leniently or completely excused. The abuse of women’s human rights cuts across boundaries of culture and religion.There is evidence that some governments actually condone "honor killing," the "national legislation legitimizes the killing of women by their relatives.
According to STOP STONING.COM,
In Haiti: Article 269 of the Penal Code states that “in the case of adultery as provided for in Article 284, the murder by a husband of his wife and/or her partner, immediately upon discovering them in flagrante delicto in the conjugal abode, is to be pardoned.” Yet a wife who kills her husband upon discovering him in the act of adultery is not excused.In Syria: Articles 548, 239, 240, 241, and 242 of the Syrian penal code grant immunity or a significantly reduced sentence to a man who murders a female relative. Similarly discriminatory laws exist throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia. Such biased and discriminatory laws not only contradict international law but national constitutions whereby women and men are to be treated equally before in all matters concerning the law. They further legitimizing and promoting the perpetration of killings in the name of honour.
Furthermore, certain laws even provide additional incentives for male relatives to encourage or force those under the age of 18 to murder their mothers, aunts and sisters. Many such cases have been documented. These laws serve to reinforce a prejudiced mentality amongst all members of society, including the police and judiciary. Bias against women within these institutions allow the perpetration of violence against women to continue on an immense scale. Human Rights Watch reports that in Guatemala, and elsewhere in Latin America, police rarely investigate or follow up on the hundreds of murders of women in Latin America each year because they are assumed to be “crimes of passion.”
"Islam Watch" states,
"Women who choose to take control of their lives, choose their own partners, exercise their freedom, or choose to have sex before marriage are targets for honour killings. The person who kills under the name of honour is trying to consolidate his/ her position in the society, in the family and community. He/she uses religion to achieve such position. Families who loose their honour are not taken seriously in the community. This is, without doubt, the consequence of the political power that dominates people’s lives. The same system and power imposes laws and regulations such as compulsory veil, negates the right to choose ones life and prohibits freedom of speech in the society. Political Islam steers women’s lives with the help of Sharia law. In Iran the constitution is based on Sharia law where women are considered immature and imbeciles in every aspect of society. Today, there is a strong women’s movement all over the Middle East against religious injustice in women’s lives and against patriarchy. There are campaigns against honour killings in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Iran, Lebanon and Morocco. It is a movement for equality and human rights."
So, why is it that "honor killings" are tolerated?
Well, there is a creeping strategy to such tolerance occuring now in Western cultures, a strategy that is recognizable. According to MA Khan, sponsor of Islam Watch and author of Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism and Slavery,
"This debate has another angle in Europe. There is talk of “culture in ethnic minority communities”. It means women’s and children’s rights are tramped on, while cultural relativists take over women’s and children’s lives. Respecting culture takes precedence to human life and women’s rights. Imams and priests have become the representatives and speakers of these communities. It has created a situation where medieval culture is kept alive and religion takes over."
Hareetz.com, in discussing the rather recent case of the Abu-Ghanem women,
"It was a typical "honor killing," meant to remove some perceived stain on the family's reputation. The perpetrators of most honor killings in the Arab community are not apprehended. Hamda's murder, however, was one too many for the women in the Abu-Ghanem family. She was the eighth woman to be murdered in the extended family in the last six and a half years. All her predecessors also lost their lives in "honor killings."Again, according to Hillary Mayhill,
There is nothing in the Koran, the book of basic Islamic teachings, that permits or sanctions honor killings. However, the view of women as property with no rights of their own is deeply rooted in Islamic culture, Tahira Shahid Khan, a professor specializing in women's issues at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan, wrote in Chained to Custom, a review of honor killings published in 1999.
Women are considered the property of the males in their family irrespective of their class, ethnic, or religious group. The owner of the property has the right to decide its fate. The concept of ownership has turned women into a commodity which can be exchanged, bought and sold.[Emphasis Mine].
To the question, has there been any success in stopping such "honor killings" in mass? I would call your attention to communities where culture has been successfully influenced by those who are in right relationship with Jesus Christ. It is with Him, that the status of women has been elevated from servitude and property to that of personhood. Where women are perceived as fully human, "honor killings" are not prevalent. History is quick to remind us that the declaration of "Christian" on a culture is not enough to prevent such attrocities. Unfortunately, those "so-called" Christian communities have participated in this practice as the writer at "Rebellious Arab Girl," a Palestinian website, is quick to point out. She says,
Christians and members of other faiths also participate in the acts in the middle east. Now in Turkey when honor killings happen in mostly Kurd inhabited areas they are claimed as ’suicide or accident’. And the historical killings ’sati’ can also be considered honor killings in which the widow is burned alive after her husbands death. This kind of killings happen in mostly South Asia. Though many honor killings are done in the Middle East, most of the honor killings are done in Pakistan and South Asian countries, or immigrants from those nations to Europe (Ex. England has seen more then a dozen honor killings from immigrant groups). There are a few reasons why honor killings take place: 1. When a women commits adultery, or is presumed by her paranoid family to have committed 2. When a women wants divorce and does separate from her husband. 3. Refusing to enter an arranged marriage 4. Being a victims of a sexual assault 5. Falls in love with a man outside her faith or town Now those reasons all don’t call the woman ‘the guilty one’ because all of the things she is a victim in expect maybe number one which she might be innocent still.
Rebellious Arab Girl goes on to ask and then answer the following question,
Why are they done? Because the family thinks that by that way the girl brought dishonor to the family and the family names ‘was thrown down the drain’ by her actions. It is committed by the females family. Sharif Kanaana, professor of anthropology at Birzeit University states that honor killing is: A complicated issue that cuts deep into the history of Arab society. .. What the men of the family, clan , or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power. Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. The honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What’s behind it is the issue of fertility , or reproductive power.[wikipedia] An Amnesty International statement adds: The mere perception that a woman has contravened the code of sexual behavior damages honor. The regime of honor is unforgiving: women on whom suspicion has fallen are not given an opportunity to defend themselves, and family members have no socially acceptable alternative but to remove the stain on their honor by attacking the woman [wikipedia]
Then, "Rebellious Arab Girl" says,
Why is it surprisingly not stopped or has a strict law against it? Because countries where its culture (ex; middle east and south Asia) or religion (ex: Hindus in India) to kill the government won’t stop it and sees it as a ‘private issue’ for the family and not the state. Does religion permit honor killings? In Islam honor killings are totally rejected and has no proof in Islam. There is no specific saying in the Quran which condemns it, but it is forbidden by all interpretations of Islam, whether from an extremist to a moderate to a reformist, all honor killings are rejected. And honor killings are mentioned in the Quran when the killing of a young girl to protect family honor, which is strongly rejected in Islam. There is a difference between culture and religion, and because the culture of honor killings are located in Muslim nations it is confused.Although I do not fully buy the explanation "Rebellious Arab Girl" gives, there is some truth to the idea that cultures, no matter how abominable, can be accomodated by religious practice.
Thankfully, God gives us a way out of this societal scenario.
The New Testament of the Holy Bible speaks of Christ Jesus interrupting a stoning, a biblically exposed example of ancient "Honor Killing," folks. That planned "honor killing" is there for all to read about. It has been available for scrutiny for the last 2,000 plus years so that everyone can know exactly what God's position is on this public issue. Read for yourself.
Here is the account:
The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him He straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:3-8)
This is Christ Jesus' response, a response that surpasses tradition, culture, and all the trappings of legalistic/religious enslavement. God's response points to self-examination in the execution of law.
Such is the foundation for justice.
God's position points society in the direction of sober reflection, scrutiny that must take part within each of us within ourselves but against life's canvas of conscience as given by God. It is only within the context of authority higher than that of mass aggitation/hysteria, lynch mobs, and vigilantism that right judgment may be orchestrated. Good judgment originates with reverence for God Who then grants moral clarity. Reverential fear of the LORD is the beginning of Wisdom.
It is only within the confines of God-fearing relationship that justice ladden with mercy can result.
In a word, Grace.
Where God's grace is absent, where relationship with Christ is non-existent or only tangential in some sort of compartmentalized fashion, such attrocities can be tolerated for what ever reason. Unfortunately, in the case of many western civilized nations, our spiritual legacy has been discarded in exchange for a bowl of multicultural soup seasoned with the notion that all philosophies, religions, and gods are created equal. The God of the Holy Bible sets before us a choice and not at gun point. We are to choose between death and life. He urges us to choose life.
So, now here we are. We, in the United States have benefited from a system of governance where our founders actually put in rather skeletal form a glimspe of Christ Jesus' notion of justice. That word made flesh rendered Constitutional guarantees and took the rough stuff of Lockean philosophy and submerged it into the confines of scrupulous captivity under Christ as according to 2 Corinthians 10:5 where it reads,
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We are indebted to our Jewish brethren for being the human vehicle by which God's law was delivered to earth so that we would know that "adultery" really is not acceptable in the eyes of God. But, we are also grateful to Israel because God brought forth His Son through her, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, so that we would know what mercy and grace look like. That understanding, where fully realized, has made true democracy a viable option for humanity.
In the absence of that relationship and understanding, the tenets that promote democracy are not viable. Respect for life because it is a gift of God is what is required to value each human being enough to respond justly and with respect for the well-being of all.
It is to our dismay that those traits of justice are strategically under attack and if not addressed in exactitude may slip away from us as our nation shifts its gaze away from the God of the Holy Bible, the God that provided the biblical foundations for western civilization. As the view to the God of the Bible and reverence for His word gets displaced by a multitude of other gods, including the war god, Allah, and its accompanying culture of death, we can expect this society to take on the traits of that with which it is mesmerized.
To stop "honor killings" we need to honor God.
It is with honoring God that the hearts of the fathers can return to the children, and the hearts of children will return to fathers. A requirement made by God in Malachi 4:6where it says,
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.
Without this turning, God promises a curse on the land. The spiritual implications are outlined in Leviticus 26.
Consider the emergence of "honor killings" on American soil as yet one more barometer of our distance from God.
Let's continue to pray for America. Most specifically let's pray for a return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God made manifest in Christ Jesus. Amen!
--Livvy McDonald,
One Nation Under God
Such is the foundation for justice.
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