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Sparkle (2)
I’ve been thinking about Aasiya Hassan non-stop for two days.
All I know about her is this: She was a Pakistani-American, a mother of two small children, a Muslim, a co-owner of a television station, and the victim of a horrific murder at the hands of her abusive husband. He was convicted yesterday of second degree manslaughter. According to the news reports, Mrs. Hassan had filed for divorce and her husband killed her a week later.
Actually, he did more than kill her.
He beheaded her.
It’s important to mention that this Muslim Pakistani American man who had lived here for twenty five years and subsequently beheaded his wife for trying to leave him owned a television station called Bridges, which, dear-GOD-could-this-be-more-ironic, was aimed at “dismissing anti-Islamic” stereotypes.
Now there are discussions surrounding the subject of Islam and honor killings and how the two are related.
Sites such as JihadWatch, who I will NOT link to, imply that there is an obvious connection between this woman’s murder and her religion. Academics who are clearly influenced by their politics are pointing at this incident, and saying, “See? This is what happens to Muslim women… even in America.” They choose to ignore subtexts, differences, ethnicity, personality, history, psychiatry, the nuance of domestic abuse, and then they lay it flat in front of Islam. If a Christian woman beats her son to death, then she’s crazy. A Muslim man kills his wife, though, and, well, you know… he’s Muslim.
On the other side of the argument, there are more Islam friendly arguments that suggest that this behavior was wholly un-Islamic, and that critics are once again confusing culture with religion.
Most American Muslims balk at the phrase “honor killing.” We engage in long explanations of the impact of tribal cultures on Islam as it is practiced and how the expression of this custom has more to do with ignorance than with divine revelations. For example, since divorce is permitted in Islam, we argue Aasiya Hassan had committed no crime against God, and there was no loss of “Islamic honor” in this case. Even if there had been, her husband’s murder of her would not have been justified within the majority of interpretations of accepted Islamic jurisprudence. Frankly, there is no academically credible argument that can adequately conflate the tragic murder of this specific woman with Islam.
Still, I suppose you could call this an honor killing.
Muzzammil Hassan may have felt that his honor was being blemished by his wife’s decision not to tolerate his abuse any longer. He may have felt dishonored when he was served with a restraining order by the police. He may have felt dishonored when he had to come to their shared office at the television station to pick up his clothes. He may have believed that severing his wife’s head from her body would somehow restore his honor.
Hassan had been divorced twice before. He was also divorced for the same reasons that Aasiya Hassan was divorcing him: “Cruel and inhuman treatment.” That’s legalese code for he probably violently beat his wife.
Having grown up in a Pakistani household, I will tell you that shame and honor are a huge part of our heritage, and that the brunt of that value falls most heavily upon the head of the women in a family. A family’s reputation is often directly proportional to how its women behave. Women who misbehave shame their brothers and fathers by showing the world that the men in their family are inept and lack leadership. This is an indisputable fact within my heritage. Still, when I wore certain clothes of which my father disapproved or came home past an acceptable time at night, I was not chastised with words from the Quran.
It was always about the community. What would the community think? What would the community say? I suspect in the case of many “honor killings,” it never is really about God. It’s about honor and shame. It’s about power and control. It’s about reputation and holding on fiercely to the esteem of one’s community.
It is rarely about God.
I wonder about the community of which Muzzammil Hassan was a member. I wonder about their reactions as he went through
