We have yet another horrific “honor killing” — this time in Pakistan. Muhammad Siddique became outraged when he learned that his wife, Shabana Bibi, 25, had not asked him for permission to leave the house to visit her sister so he and his father beat her, doused her with gasoline, and burned her alive. The only good news is that the authorities have arrested the father and son and charged them with murder as well as terrorism.
Once again, we have the inconceivable crime of two religious men who insisted that they were only being good Muslims by burning a woman alive. Not surprisingly, Siddique had been accused of spousal abuse for his entire three year marriage.
The arrest is a positive development since these honor killings are often quietly condemned in some areas.
Source: Yahoo
This is just horrific.
This brings to mind the boat of illegal immigrants from Libya, where Muslims murdered 12 Christians and threw them over the side because they said they were “unclean.” This also underscores why immigrants need to go through the legal process, be screened, and they need to assimilate to our culture and laws. Many do; some do not.
Lord knows it was a sad day, still mourned by notable historians, when Spinelli gave up teaching American Youth in favor of private investigation.
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Are you going to doubt the judgement of the official blog Historian regarding the cause of the deaths of millions – atheism?
I’m sure if Spinelli just hadn’t had an unfortunate accident while sharing a link twenty years ago, he would link to his many published peer reviewed research papers on the deaths of millions for their rejection of atheism. Those deaths had absolutely Nothing To Do with collectivism and resulting famine, anti-intellectualism, murderous paranoia, wars, dueling political rivals, the overthrow of previous regimes, or violent revolutions.
No Indeed! Murderous Atheism was on the March!
Wadewilliams – 1) peer reviewed is for those who are only going to have 50 people read their work. 2) Nick was speaking of atheistic Communists whose wars, paranoia and faulty agriculture programs brought about the deaths of some 100 millions. Agnostics have a much better record.
The Flag must be JT’s religion. Since we’ve killed thousands if not millions of civilians in this War on Terror (Muslims) and those aren’t noted for extremist elements, but rather for the taxpayer money lost that ends up being taken away from my kids’ suburban school district.
More Glenn Greenwald less Harold Koh and John Yoo please.
Our drones have burned plenty people alive.
In either case, both are abhorrent.
They select Islam to justify their atrocities, here the flag is selected.
It’s time to quarantine the middle east and maybe they will self distruct
Come on, Raf, lazy thinking…”how many people are killed because of religion?” How many people are killed because of reasons that have nothing to do with religion? Most of them!
Well said, RobM, Tinear, Isaac, Randyjet.
What part of that article indicated that his religion promotes that, teaches it or even condones it? Quite the opposite. In this country filled with domestic violence and domestic violence, the ONLY time religion is brought into our concern for it is if the are in a socially unacceptable religion in which any perpetrators of this suddenly become the norm. that Muslim culture and local law enforcement charged them with crimes.
FYI- most Pakistani women dont wear niqab. My experience in Pakistan is that they are fairly casual about headcovering but most are very modest, keeping their clothes loose with a scarf covering their chest.
Using niqab to represent all muslim women when few wear them is ignorant. This story is evidence that ignorance is not a good thing.
Yikes, Larry! 100 million kiled in the name of atheism, thanks to Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.
Nick, Those people were not killed in the name of atheism, but Stalinism. The anti-religious feature of communism was a by product, not a main feature of that. In fact, Stalin brought back religion during WWII, and when I was in the Soviet Union in 1984, there were plenty of churches in operation. The Maoists were just as bloody or LESS than their opponents. Pol Pot was quite acceptable to Reagan and the US since they funded him after the Vietnamese did the decent thing and got rid of him.
Dave
‘merely devout’? No, merely devoid, of what it means to be human, what separates us from animals, perhaps. Associate this behavior with humanity and somehow it establishes a toe hold of credibility. This sort of behavior must be given no credibility whatsoever. What these two did is so perverse it merits only that they be removed permanently from society and left as an example of how society views this ‘less than animalistic behavior’. There, animals are in a class above these ‘less than nothings’.
I was hoping that this blog would mention the fact that the Ukraine leaders observed Holocaust day by honoring the Ukrainians in WWII who were responsible for that crime. They are now being quite open and enthusiastic for their anti-Semitism besides giving such people more power. This blog started off by endorsing the armed coup that got rid of the legally elected head of the Ukraine, and I have yet to see any other posts on the Nazism and nepotism that the US officials have used to appropriate millions of US “aid” for themselves. At least US dollars did not support such crimes as this one of killing wives. We are just contributing to genocidal leaders and befriending them.
TinEar:
Religion is the source of our morality, haven’t you heard? Without it only evil will transpire, because we’re so dumb as a species that we can’t know or determine right from wrong. Only old fables presently accepted can tell us what’s right and thusly to mandate our behavior: like, I don’t know, stoning and burning women.
You say it’s the culture. And what is that culture based on. Secularism?
Anti-religious people aren’t routinely (predictably?) burning and stoning women either, because our imaginary philosopher in the sky tells us to. So settle down with perpetuating the stale false equivalency.
Issac:
Don’t knock animals. We’re all animals and our kin are rather amazing. Simply call those religious lunatics what they are: merely devout.
This has more to do with evil than religion. Religion is the vehicle that supports this sort of behavior in evil people. To address it any other way applies some credibility. It is there, has always been there, that is why more advanced societies rule by common and civil laws, laws that evolve and are not dispensed by some fairy tale that in of itself is merely a device to obtain and hold power. History proves this out. Nazis were a group of evil people that attached themselves to the fears, aspirations, and racism of enough people to achieve the depths of depravity that still stands as the greatest example of human perversion. Christianity equaled any perverse religion during its evolution out of what makes for an advanced society. Now Islam holds within whatever it offers people the world’s greatest evils.
These animals, and they are nothing more than animals, should be charged with murder and terrorism. Murder of the worst sort and terrorism because their actions terrorize those women that would dare to visit their family. Even if the woman was going to meet another man the evil is the same. Explaining one’s actions through emotions, religions, or whatever, does not exonerate such miserable acts of depravity. Hang them in the village square, an antiquated execution for a backwards people.
This is more a function of culture than religion. When was the last time you heard of this happening in Bosnia, a European Muslim country, or Indonesia, an Asian Muslim country? People pick and choose among religious doctrines to support the actions they already believe in, just as anti-religious people look at a set of facts to support their views, rather than assessing the situation objectively.
RobM:
It’s likely these men were indoctrinated since childhood. I doubt they were born monsters.
Religion makes monsters of men.
Good point on the second paragraph. Is it their religion that turned these people into monsters? Or were they monsters to begin with, but backed up by a system that gave the go ahead for such atrocities?
Any normal person would not set another alight with the intention of killing them. Even a child of about 10 would already be aware that this is not the done thing. Yet there are people who feel it is their entitlement to beat their wives, even set them ablaze.
South Africa had the same problem recently in the form of “xenophobia”. People going under the guise that “they want jobs” and the foreign workers are taking their jobs.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2015/04/19/kill-thy-neighbour-alex-attack-brings-home-sa-s-shame1
GRAPHIC PICTURES, the person in them died
These are just street thugs looking for an excuse to kill someone. Maybe if they made A4 colour prints of the 10 Sunday Times pictures and included then with their CV under the notion “we will kill for this job”. Would any employer would want to hire them?
So in my opinion, certain religions (especially those that are influenced by a local culture) may nurture a certain undesirable tendency (like wifebeating),
The real problem has to do with the person themselves, who merely taking advantage of a societal norm. Be it religion, or a current trend. There are psychopaths hiding behind the veil of religion, revolution or whatever excuse.
Another example, but not because of religion or anything external. He did it just because he could get away with it.
http://www.lawlibrary.co.za/notice/updates/2013/issue_18/recentjudgments_ecp.htm
Its like the dodos in New Zealand, they had no fear of people and just walked up to them. Sadly their misplaced trust ended up in their extinction. People killed them simply because they could, and that makes me sick
Because of their religious beliefs, these men felt justified in doing this. I am glad that they are being prosecuted. Lets see if they get convicted.
Religious beliefs that translate into horrible actions of violence should be punished. No one should think that religious privilege gives you the right to harm or interfere with another persons life.
Religious privilege is a dangerous thing no matter how small or trivial it may be viewed because it leads people to believe that they can do what every they want to others because god tells them to.
We need to end religious privilege. Unfortunately, religious Privilege is on the rise in this country. 31 years in jail for a miscarriage is pretty horrific and that is state sponsored exercise of a religious belief.
They should receive the same punishment. Burned to death. Unless the laws are upheld the ancient beliefs will continue. Both men in a cage, doused with accelerant and torched. I bet they couldn’t stand and face it like the Jordanian pilot
I am a religious man and can understand that religion can cause adherents to sometimes follow certain strictures blindly.
What I don’t understand is how a purported human being can kill their spouse in such a heinous manner. How does one become capable of such cruelty?? Are all religious men from this region capable of cruel murder?
Are marriages in that region such shams that a husband can turn on his wife so quickly that one day they are raising a family and the next he is lighting her on fire? Can it be that leaving the house without permission is so bad that it is viewed as adultery? Is it a communal necessity? Do they believe that they are accomplishing their G-d’s will? Does it say in the Koran that one should commit murder if their wives leave the house without permission… at best it probably says that a husband should bring his wife to a group of scholars or holy men to pass judgment. (Im just trying to understand their motivations).
While the cruelty and senseless murder is horrible it is also enlightening as to how these people live and how their marriages function. Not only did this woman die a horrible death, but she endured a horrid existence where she was a walk to her sister’s away from being tortured and immolated.
I don’t know about the terrorism charge, but a murder charge is just fine.
Yikes. How many people are killed because of religion? Insane!