Honor Crimes In Islam

History is full of horrible crimes stories and more will be added in the future. While some dare to believe in a world without crime, there always will be crimes of one kind or another and of variable atrocity. During the twenty-first century, more and more crimes have been committed in the world, many of them on behalf of religion. Although, several killings have occurred, notably with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, due to divergences in regards to religious beliefs, this paper will focus on crimes in relation to Islam. Mostly ever since the tragic event of September 11th, Islam, notably due to the organizations associated to it, has been quite fingered and marginalized. It is hard to believe that a religion, which is by definition, ‘the

Indeed, ‘Ghairat (what is sacred and inviolable) is Izzat (honor, dignity) and this comes with money and property. And if Izzat is violated – then it is justified to kill and die for honor (Shah, (1998) cited in (Hossain 2005: 239). This shows the importance of honor in Islam as well as the fact that women are viewed as men’s property. Honor crimes represent a complex issue. ‘(Those) are actions that remove from a collectively of stain and dishonor, both gendered and locally defined, through the use of emotional, social and physical coercion over a person whose actual or imputed actions have brought that dishonor’ (Hossain, 2005:50) In most Muslim regions, it is believed that a man’s masculinity is bolstered by his honor. If his honor is soiled, the man can do whatever it takes to restore it. He can go as far as killing, or hurting someone. This someone is more likely to be a woman, because ‘Honor is generally seen as residing in the bodies of women’ (Hossain 2005). As women are seen as a vault containing the honor of the family, their chastity is very important. A woman’s chastity represents respect and can never be restored once compromised. It is said that ‘an unchaste woman is worst than a murderer, she affects not just one victim, but her family and her tribe(Jehel, 1999). This shows the importance of honor through woman in Islam. Should a woman display her beauty (implied any part of her body), the honor of men in

Although the notion of honor’s crime is not mentioned in the Quran or Hadith (which is a collection of words and deeds of Muhammad and his companions, comments about the Quran or of rules of conduct), to which refer fundamentalist Muslims who follow these texts to the letter, and the type of education which gives widespread in Muslim countries. It is the logical consequence of misogyny in Islam and a certain type of "education" (Dr. Ali Sina). In Islam, women are seen as sexual beings, as any part of the body of the woman is considered erotic. Verse 24: 31 of the Quran says that Muslim women should not make eye contact, nor should they reveal their beauty to men who are not from their family:

‘And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity, and not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and to draw their veils over their bosoms; and not display their ornaments except to their husbands, or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands, or their son, or the son of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers son, or the son of their sisters, or their women, or their slaves, or male servants, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex.’ (Quran 24: