London: Honor Crimes Up 40% Due to Rising Fundamentalism

London's Mail Online has an article on the large increase in honor crimes and a source from the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation attributing the problem to the increase in fundamentalism. There has been a 40% figure ncrease comparing 2007-8 to 2008-9. But the increase has continued and the last six months of 2009 (through October) shows a 100% increase!

Police have seen 'honour' crime surge by 40 per cent due to rising fundamentalism, new figures show.
Honour-based violence, including crimes like murder, rape and kidnap has rocketed in London during the past year.
Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent.
A report into the scale of the problem by Scotland Yard found there were 161 honour-based incidents recorded in 2007-8, of which 93 were criminal offences.
But in 2008/9 the number of incidents had risen to 256, with 132 being criminal offences.
The latest figures indicate that the trend is continuing, with 211 incidents reported in the last six months until October, of which 129 were offences - more than double the number in the same period last year.

And the local women's group has seen a 400% increase:

Police define honour crimes as offences motivated by a desire to protect the honour of a family or community.
Diana Nammi, of the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, said the group is now dealing with four times more complaints relating to honour than two years ago.
She said: 'More women are coming forward. They are becoming more aware of their rights in the UK, that there is help available and they feel confident enough to report matters to the police.
'But I also think cases and violence are increasing.
'One reason is the rise in fundamentalism. The problem is increasing in communities around the UK.
'We are seeing a rise not only in honour killings, but also in female genital mutilation and polygamy.'
She added: 'The rise in Sharia courts is another indication of more fundamental beliefs.
'There must be more support from the Government to organisations who are working to combat this problem.'
The Metropolitan Police also records incidents where no offences has been committed, such as complaints by women that they are under pressure to enter into forced marriages.

There are really three reasons for the increase in the police statistics: the rise in fundamentalism, more women coming forward and a new awareness within the police:

Earlier this year, police were issued with new guidance telling them to assume honour crimes have been committed in more circumstances.
Senior officers anticipated that the move would drive up figures as in many cases only limited information is available or a potential victim refuses to help police.
Detective Chief Inspector Gerry Campbell, of the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The description of this type of crime is misplaced. There is no honour in these crimes.'
Mr Campbell said the Met had improved its intelligence systems to better identify such crimes.
He said: 'Ten years ago our knowledge was almost absent but we have worked hard and our knowledge has improved substantially.'

Read it all here.

Hat Tip: Jihad Watch

Islamic Terrorists Rape to Create Suicide Bombers

Two news stories today are reporting Islamic terrorists use of rape and the fear of being the victim of an honor killing to motivate suicide bombers. The Sun reports Al Queda operatives in Algeria have been raping young men:

The intense social stigma and fear of more gay sex attacks leaves Muslims prepared to die.

The warped new tactic was revealed by a reformed Algerian militant. Abu Baçir El Assimi said: “The sexual act on young recruits aged between 16 to 19 was a means to urge them to commit suicide operations.”

A 22-year-old had suffered sexual injuries before being shot dead on a suicide mission in Tademaït, Algeria, three weeks ago. Samples taken from his body are being analysed in a bid to identify his torturer.

And the US military discovered two years ago that al-Qaeda were dishonouring women in Iraq to turn them into suicide bombers. A terror leader would marry, then let another man rape his wife.

It was also revealed yesterday how a 51-year-old woman militant had recruited more than 80 women as suicide bombers.

Samira Jassim, who calls herself “the mother of believers”, targeted the weak and troubled. Arrested after a tip-off, she admitted orchestrating 28 successful bombings.

The Times reports this regarding the Iraqi women mentioned above:

The arrest of a woman suspected of grooming rape victims to become female suicide bombers in Iraq has dealt a blow to the network of extremists that orchestrates such attacks, a senior Iraqi official said yesterday.

Samira Ahmed Jassim, 51, is accused of recruiting more than 80 women to become human bombs, including 28 who actually carried out attacks.

She has apparently confessed to helping to organise the rape of young Iraqi women.

She would then play on the shame associated with victims of rape in Iraqi society to convince the women to become suicide bombers as their only means of escape.

NPR Spins to Cover Up Muslim Honor Killing in Atlanta

NPR did a story on Chaudry Rashid, a Man Accused Of Killing Daughter For Family Honor today. The story doesn't mention the name of the murdered woman, Sandeela Kanwal, until the tenth paragraph. (Well, her first name is mentioned in paragraph eight.) And the story avoids mentioning the woman's extramarital affair which would support the honor killing hypothesis. Even worse, the story ended with a long section making the argument that it was not an honor killing and unrelated to Islam or ethnicity:

For Muslims in Atlanta, the attention was the last thing they needed.

Shahid Malik is a local representative of Atlanta's Pakistani population and one of the very few willing to speak about the Rashid case.

"This thing hurt the Muslim community, Pakistani community," he says.

He says that the killing has nothing to do with Islam, but that Rashid has little education and comes from a small village in Pakistan where tribal traditions are strong.

"I think in their mind, use the name honor killing, they give less punishment," he says. "But that is wrong because law is changed. This is American law."

Malik says years ago, Pakistan used to punish honor killings with only seven years' imprisonment. Now, he says, the sentence is greater. But he says Kanwal's murder doesn't fit in that category of crimes.

"Whatever this case is or not, this is not an honor killing," he says. "It is not based on Pakistani law. Chaudry Rashid loved his daughter."

Begner hopes the state doesn't make this about Islam or ethnicity. This death could have happened, he says, in any culture, with any family.

But I remembered some of the details of the case, and noticed one of the key facts supporting the honor killing hypothesis was that the woman killed was having an affair. So I did an archive search and found this from the July 11, 2008 Atlanta Jpournal Constitution:

Sandeela Kanwal, 25, of Jonesboro argued with her father as they drove home from her job at Wal-Mart Sunday night, according to the arrest warrant. He was angry about her extramarital affair and her desire for a divorce from a husband she didn't love. Kanwal married Majid Latif in an arranged marriage in the Punjab province of Pakistan in 2002.

When Kanwal said she would not reconsider ending her six-year marriage —- she filed divorce papers this month —- Rashid became enraged. He took a bungee cord he had carried from the car into the house and strangled his daughter in her bedroom. The warrant says he put the cord in his pocket so his daughter didn't see it.

Remember that in Islam, people who have committed adultery are punished by death according to some Hadith. That's Shariah Law. And Honor Killing is when the men of the family implement the punishment privately so that the family will not be "shamed".

Hat Tip Women Against Shariah