Monday, August 3, 2009

Stop calling it honor killing

Last week Jawdat al- Najar grabbed a thick iron chain -- I guess a machete or a gun wasn't handy -- and beat his daughter, a 27 year old woman to death. Mind you, she was also the mother of five of Jawdat's grandchildren.

What could enrage him to such a fit of savagery?

Apparently, Fadia, his daughter, was speaking on the telephone with....a man.

Police arrested the man and his three sons, who later went on to explain that the she had to be killed to "preserve the honor of the family."

I may not be up on all the nuances of Arab culture, but I do know something about language. And in order for you to preserve something, Mr. al-Najar, particularly something like honor,
you would have to have it in the first place.

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