Originally published by Communities Digital News
SAN DIEGO, May 28, 2014 —When a woman falls in love and gets married, her story is often considered a blessing with a fairy tale type, happily-ever-after ending.
Unfortunately, such dreams can become nightmares in Lahore, Pakistan.
A pregnant woman, Farzana Parveen, was stoned to death right outside a courthouse, courtesy of her very own father and other relatives. Their reason: This was an honor killing. Farzana dared to marry a man of her choosing instead of submitting to the tradition of a family arranged marriage.
After an engagement of several years, Parveen, 25, tied the knot with her lover and preferred husband Mohammad Iqbal, 45, against her family’s vehement protests.
Parveen was deliberately killed while on her way to court where she had planned to answer charges of abduction filed by her family on behalf of Iqbal.
Parveen’s father has been arrested and charged with murder.
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Speaking for the police, investigator Rana Mujahid promised to find and arrest everyone else connected to the “heinous crime.”
Arranged marriages are common with conservative Pakistanis. Each year, literally hundreds of women meet with a fate similar to Farzana Parveen. The term used for justification is the same that Parveen’s father used, “honor killing.”
Although the stoning method is rare today, Tuesday’s impromptu execution did happen in broad daylight in front of a crowd that merely watched.
According to her lawyer, Farzana Parveen’s father and brothers had been waiting for her outside the court building. They were joined by other members of the extended family, around 20 in all. As Farzana and her husband approached the main gate, shots were fired into the air as her enthusiastic relatives tried to pull her away from Iqbal.
While trying to fight back, Parveen was barraged with bricks from a construction site close by, all according to a report from Iqbal and the police investigator Mujahid.
The police also reported that Parveen’s father surrendered after the attack. He was not shy about admitting what happened.
“I killed my daughter as she had insulted all of our family by marrying a man without our consent, and I have no regret over it.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports approximately 869 women met their doom through honor killings in the year 2013.
This incident is about as horrific and terrifying as they come. If ever there were a human rights issue to rally behind, the plight of Farzana Parveen should be a shout to awaken every sleeping soul.
But don’t expect too much air time from our mainstream media. Yes, it will be mentioned. No, it will not be dwelled upon.
For one thing, too much attention to Muslim atrocities against women would draw focus from what Democrat pundits dub the “true war on women” namely, Republicans who are guilty of refusing to lose sleep if college students such as Sandra Fluke have to pay for their own birth control.
But the bigger obstacle is today’s irrational, politically correct fear of being labeled an “Islamaphobe” should we dare to point out that “the religion of peace” is not always all that peaceful.
It will be promptly pointed out that not everybody in Pakistan condones these honor killings. Indeed, the Pakistani government is both seeking out and punishing Parveen’s perpetrators!
Meanwhile other elephants in the room such as the Pakistani government’s sheltering of Osama bin Laden for many years will be glossed over.
People have also forgotten, Asia Bibi, a Christian woman and mother of five, who was condemned by a Pakistani court for blaspheming the prophet Mohammad back in 2010. She still sits in prison awaiting appeal.
And how much freedom do women (or men) have to dissent with Islam in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen?
For that matter, how free were the very first Muslims to veer from the path of Mohammad himself whose recitations (recorded in the Koran) said things such as “Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you”?
But why read the Koran when we can instead listen to CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) protest the National September 11 Memorial Museum for mentioning in a video presentation on al-Qaeda, that “Islamist extremism” and “jihadism” motivated the 9/11 terrorists.
According to CAIR, this was “academically controversial terminology.” CAIR also called it “generalizing” and complained about the way the video would “conflate Islam and terrorism and carry the risk of misinforming museum visitors, particularly those unfamiliar with Islam.”
How interesting, when even the distinction between “Islam” and “Islamist extremism” is not considered fair by the self proclaimed, moderate CAIR.
We get it. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Any thinking person knows this. But thinking people should also question the narrative of CAIR and their politically correct surrogates: Is this really a “religion of peace” occasionally hijacked by one or two nutcase terrorists? Or is it time to admit that the problem with Islam is far more systemic than people want to admit? Those who witness honor killings or sit in prison awaiting a verdict for speaking against Islam probably know the answer.
This is Bob Siegel, making the obvious, obvious.
Bob Siegel is a radio talk show host and columnist. Information about his radio show can be found at bobsiegel.net.
The Associated Press, USA Today and CNS News contributed to the hard news portions of this article.
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