[FoRK] 16 year old girl "Peace and Love"d to Death over Hijab

[Tom Higgins]

File this under "tut tut". Dig the way the clerics on the one hand say
killing is wrong yet on the other say preservation of their way is
vitally important.  "He also spoke out against moving away from
religion." We cannot let culture supersede religion," he said. "If we
stay away from the teachings of Islam, we will pay for it.""  The
clerics also go on to say not having your kids follow the religion is
to have failed..

Its a mixed message at best and a deadly mental trap at worst. Killing
is wrong but unless you get your kids indoctrinated lock stock and
barrel you are a failure to the faith, so yea the pressure is on...and
thus in the name of gods edicts another dead body hits the floor.

It is nice to see that some followers of the religion of peace and
love think killing is wrong, I just wish it would be a practice that
flowed to the rest of the followers cause by the facts of the matter
the body count is decidedly running against that thought..

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2007/12/13/muslim-leaders-denounce-aqsa-parvez-murder-as-un-islamic.aspx


Muslim leaders denounce Parvez murder but defend importance of hijab
Posted: December 13, 2007, 8:22 PM by Ronald Nurwisah
City, Crime

Mississauga, Ont. -- Muslim leaders yesterday denounced as un-Islamic
the murder of a Toronto-area teenager who had clashed with her family,
but said some parents would view themselves as having failed in their
duty if their child chose not to wear the hijab.

The comments came at a tense news conference at the Islamic Society of
North America Canada headquarters in Mississauga, held three days
after the alleged strangling death of 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez. Her
father, Mohammad Parvez, is accused of killing her, and friends say
the family had argued over the girl's refusal to wear the hijab, or
traditional Muslim head scarf.

While stressing the sanctity of human life, denouncing the crime and
describing it as a case of domestic abuse, religious leaders yesterday
insisted on the hijab's importance to such parents as Aqsa's, even if
a daughter rejects it.

"They were believing that part of their culture was hijab, and it is
their duty to convince their kids that this is part of their culture,"
said Mohammad Al-Nadvi, who sits on the Canadian Council of Imams,
adding that if the daughter opts out, then they feel they have failed.

Still, Imam Al-Nadvi said that judging from the information he
received, the hijab was only one of the issues.

"This girl, she refused to stay at home," he said. "There were
feelings that she is going in some wrong direction …  going with some
other boy or some other thing."
After he made those comments, two women in hijabs interrupted him and
started to disagree, before abruptly leaving the gym where the
conference was being held.
In an interview afterward, the women -- a mother and daughter -- said
they had taken Aqsa into their home on various occasions, but would
not offer any more information.

The convener of the event, Sheikh Alaa Elsayed, said that one of the
keys to getting daughters to wear the hijab is teaching them about
religion at a young age. The other, he said, is "a proper spouse."

In his introductory remarks filled with religious references, Arabic
flourishes and abundant blessings, Sheik Elsayed stressed that parents
should teach the benefits of the religious clothing. "We have to be
successful teachers," he said, adding later in the dialogue that
parents should encourage daughters "to do the right thing."

Still, he said, words and deeds were more important than clothing.

Citing the Koran, Sheik Elsayed said it is forbidden to hit anyone,
adding that taking away a human life is an act against all humanity.
"No religion condones such an act," he said.

He also spoke out against moving away from religion." We cannot let
culture supersede religion," he said. "If we stay away from the
teachings of Islam, we will pay for it."

After the meeting, several Muslims had conflicted feelings about the
message given to the media.

"I don't know how important the hijab is," said the centre's director,
M.D. Khalid. "My wife didn't wear it until we had children, and then
they went to Islamic school and she felt she should set a role in the
family."

Aqsa's brother Mohammad Shan Parvez told reporters on Wednesday that
what happened to his sister "is not [about] culture." He said his
mother was sick with grief.

"She cannot control, because her daughter died, so she's [feeling]
bad," said Mr. Parvez, shortly after he saw his 57-year-old father
make a brief court appearance in an orange prison jumpsuit. Another
brother has been charged with obstructing police in their
investigation.
Joseph Ciraco, lawyer for the father, said on Wednesday that family
members "are torn."

"I mean, you've got a sister that's gone and your father and brother
are in jail. I don't think it's a big surprise that they're distraught
and trying to cope as best they can."

Police have not speculated on a motive for the killing, but indicated
on Wednesday that the girl died of a "neck compression."

Police were called to Mr. Parvez's Mississauga, Ont., home minutes
before 8 a.m. on Monday by a man who told 911 operators he had killed
his daughter. Paramedics found the girl lying motionless on the floor
of her bedroom. The paramedics detected a faint pulse and rushed her
to hospital, where she died several hours later.

Friends have said Aqsa left her home about a week before the attack
because she had been fighting with her father and brothers about her
refusal to wear the hijab and other traditional clothing. The teenager
often would change into Western clothes when she got to her high
school, then put the hijab back on before she went home, friends said.

Investigators later charged her father, a taxicab driver from
Pakistan, with murder. Mr. Ciraco said his client likely will face a
charge of second-degree murder, although that has not been finalized."