Actually you trotted out a couple of blurbs (with no link) that I immediately asked "where's any reference to 'honor killings'?" and you had no answer.
>> The notions of honour and shame and their use as justification for violence and killing is not unique to any one culture or religion.
45 Indeed, honour and honour-based violence are reflected in historical events in many countries, and in many works of literature.
For instance, duelling was a key practice through which claims of masculine honour were made, maintained and understood in Western societies.
46 In France, Le Cid told the story of a man insulted by a slap across the face, who asked his son to defend his honour in a duel. In Canada, duelling continued into the late 1800s.
47
In Britain, for example, the fifth wife of Henry VIII was beheaded based on allegations of adultery. In British literature, Shakespeare's Desdemona was killed over allegations of infidelity, and Romeo and Juliet tracked an ancient family feud over honour. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table centred on notions of honour. The premise of the Three Musketeers was the King's guards avenging the betrayal of the king by Cardinal Richelieu.
Similar notions can be traced in Latin American societies. In Brazil and parts of Latin America, machismo is often described as a code of honour. In the early times of Peru, the laws of the Incas permitted husbands to starve their wives to death as punishment for committing an adulterous act. Aztec laws resulted in death by stoning or strangulation for female adultery during the early times of Mexico.
48
Several great wars started over honour. Likely the clearest of these was the
Trojan War, which began over the honour of Helen. Her father required that all her suitors defend his choice for her marriage, thereby setting all of Greece against Troy.
In Ancient Roman times, the senior male within a household retained the right to kill a related woman if she was engaged in pre-marital or extra-marital relations.
49 According to Blackstone, the Roman law justified homicide "when committed in defence of the chastity either of oneself or relations".
50
Honour-based violence
51 can be between men only, and sometimes involves women as collaborators. However, it appears to be perpetrated almost exclusively by men against women and children whom they consider to "belong" to them. It generally appears in the following sets of circumstances:
- Adultery
- Pre-marital sex or having a child out of wedlock (although honour may be restored through a "shotgun wedding")
- Disobeying parents, or
- Patriotism/Personal Insult/Defaulting on Monetary Debts (typically between men).
Honour is expressed in many other terms, including "vengeance," "avenging," "saving face," etc. However, it is notable that honour-based killings in most Arab and South Asian countries are perpetrated against daughters, sisters or nieces and not against wives. The reason may relate to the distinction between dishonouring as "collective" injury as opposed to dishonouring as "individual" injury.
52 In community-based honour systems, a husband's feelings of jealousy, which could be classified as individual hurt pride or honour, are not generally viewed as sufficient grounds for murder. However, the transgressions of a wife can cause a collective injury to her family of origin, which is ultimately responsible for punishing her.
53
... In many Arab countries, the practice of honour killing dates back to pre-Islamic times when Arab settlers occupied a region adjacent to Sindh, known as Baluchistan (in Pakistan).
57 These Arab settlers had patriarchal traditions such as live burials of newly born daughters.
Such traditions trace back to the earliest historic times of Ancient Babylon, where the predominant view was that a woman's virginity belonged to her family.58
There is no mention of honour killing in the Quran or Hadiths. Honour killing, in Islamic definitions, refers specifically to extra-legal punishment by the family against a woman, and
is forbidden by the Sharia (Islamic law). Religious authorities disagree with extra punishments such as honour killing and prohibit it, so
the practice of it is a cultural and not a religious issue. However, since Islam has influence over vast numbers of Muslims in many countries and from many cultures,
some use Islam to justify honour killing even though there is no support for honour killing in Islam.
... In Indonesia, generally believed to be the country with the largest Muslim population, honour killings are
unknown, as is the case in parts of West Africa with majority-Muslim populations and in many other Islamic countries such as Bangladesh. According to Sheikh Atiyyah Saqr, former head of the al-Azhar University Fatwa Committee:
Like all other religions, Islam strictly prohibits murder and killing without legal justification. Allah, Most High, says, "Whoso slayeth a believer of set purpose, his reward is Hell for ever. Allah is wroth against him and He hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom." (An-Nisa': 93) The so-called "honor killing" is based on ignorance and disregard of morals and laws, which cannot be abolished except by disciplinary punishments.
60
... Traditional misinterpretations of religion have played a role in developing a
patriarchal culture that places an emphasis on female chastity and male superiority. The power dynamics of patriarchy reduce women to their reproductive potential, and in the process deny them agency as human beings.
Women are considered to have monetary value and to be the property of male family members. Therefore, men control much of the lives of women, including
social relationships. The preservation of a woman's chastity and fidelity, through segregation and control, becomes the responsibility of the men to whom she "belongs." A female's illicit relationship goes against the
socio-cultural framework in Pakistan, causing family honour to be tarnished. A man's ability to protect his family's honour is judged by society. As a result, he must demonstrate his power to safeguard his family's honour by killing those who damaged it.
The concept of women as property and honour remains deeply entrenched in the
socio-cultural fabric of many countries. As a result, many individuals, including women, support this ritual. This may also be the reason why in some regions of countries where the concept of honour is predominant, legal authorities often ignore the daily occurrences of women being killed by their families.
... (Conclusion)
The twin notions of "honour" and of "shame" and their use as justifications for violence and homicide can be found in many cultures. Honour killings have historical roots in many regions of the world including Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia. In some Arab and South Asian states, where modern-day incidences of honour killings are more predominant, the practice of honour killings likely originates from ancient Arab culture, with its roots from Pakistan.
However, honour killings are not associated with particular religions or religious practice: they have been recorded across Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities.
Etc etc etc...
