We often hear about so called "honor killings" so the fact that a young woman fears her Muslim family will murder her for becoming a Christian shouldn't be taken lightly. People who commit honor killings seem to have a deeply felt belief that, by killing the person who has somehow dishonored them, their honor is restored. What they don't take into account is that no-one has the right to take another's life, no matter what personal insult is perceived. Surely the Muslim religion doesn't condone murdering your own child but people tend to rationalize they have the right to do wrong.
Some non Muslims will look upon this case as further proof that Muslims are barbarians, mostly because that religion is little understood by the rest of us. All we can do to prevent these primitive practices from happening is to make certain immigrants know they must follow the laws of our country regardless of their religion. We should also pay close attention to precedent and protect anyone threatened with honor killing.
The young girl is not spouting nonsense because there are solid grounds for her fears. If the courts ignore the truth that some communities in the country, because of religious or social conditioning, accept the concept of honor killing then they should be held responsible if this girl loses her life.
I wonder how long it will take for human beings of all religions to learn that one's life is one's own and not to be taken away for any reason. One of the reasons I've refrained from following any religious course is that they seem to talk out of both sides of their mouth, preaching good while committing sins. Can there possibly be a clause in any religion that preaches respect and sanctity of life EXCEPT if you don't approve of someone's actions?
The girl in this case is 17 years old and should be allowed by her family to choose her own religion. Their disapproval can be understood but "honor killing" will never be understood or accepted by a decent society.
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