There are people to quote biblical honor killing as a way to confirm their beliefs that Christians are also practitioners of this tradition as well as Muslims. However, whether this behaviour has any basis in either of the two Religions is a subject of major discussion.
The killings are said to occur when a person is killed, usually by a family or community member because they have disgraced themselves or those around them with their behaviour. The victims are mostly women who have acted in ways not condoned in their immediate culture. Men can also be victimised too, especially gay men.
Quite often the crimes involve some kind of disobedience such as alleged adultery. Women who try to escape arranged marriages are also targeted. Even behaviour such as dressing in a perceived permissive fashion or participating in liberation politics such as feminist or gay rights could be putting your life at risk.
People are killed in a variety of ways. The news is replete with stories of women who have been shot or stabbed to death. The perpetrators are most often, husbands, fathers or brothers of the victim. In historical times, public execution by stoning was common practice and unfortunately, persists till the modern day. Nowadays we do not see people burned at the stake or on a sacrificial alter as is often referred to in Bible stories.
While it is true that if you comb through texts such as Leviticus or Judges in the Bible you will sure come across references that amount to murder in the vengeance of dishonour. In actual fact you will find all sorts of references to ritual deaths in the form of burnt offering sacrifices and the such like as in the case of Abraham and his son Isaac. Still, this is not Christian as some will argue. Christians will say that the point of the coming of Jesus and his death on the cross was to be the final sacrifice on behalf of all sinners.
However, contrary to many beliefs, the practice is not Islamic either. The Quran has very strict rules about what is good and bad behaviour and some crimes do indeed attract capital punishment. However, the religion has its own legal system which is supposed to be followed. Therefore crimes are supposed to be brought before a judge and tried legally before sentence is meted out. People who kill their family members without going through this procedure have committed simple murder based on rage or insanity.
In the view of this writer, murder happens everywhere in the world. Murder against women by men is also almost global. The differences are to the cultural contexts of the deaths. In Middle Eastern and Asian cultures it may occur more frequently to murder women for behaviour that evokes jealousy and rage in men. However, in Western cultures, rape and murder of women exists in the form of serial killers etc. Even in African cultures murder takes on the form of ritual killings.
Biblical honor killing can be found if you comb the Bible well enough. However, that is not a justification for the behaviour or even a confirmation that the acts are Christian. We should stop looking for a basis for these things and see them for what they are: simple murder.
The killings are said to occur when a person is killed, usually by a family or community member because they have disgraced themselves or those around them with their behaviour. The victims are mostly women who have acted in ways not condoned in their immediate culture. Men can also be victimised too, especially gay men.
Quite often the crimes involve some kind of disobedience such as alleged adultery. Women who try to escape arranged marriages are also targeted. Even behaviour such as dressing in a perceived permissive fashion or participating in liberation politics such as feminist or gay rights could be putting your life at risk.
People are killed in a variety of ways. The news is replete with stories of women who have been shot or stabbed to death. The perpetrators are most often, husbands, fathers or brothers of the victim. In historical times, public execution by stoning was common practice and unfortunately, persists till the modern day. Nowadays we do not see people burned at the stake or on a sacrificial alter as is often referred to in Bible stories.
While it is true that if you comb through texts such as Leviticus or Judges in the Bible you will sure come across references that amount to murder in the vengeance of dishonour. In actual fact you will find all sorts of references to ritual deaths in the form of burnt offering sacrifices and the such like as in the case of Abraham and his son Isaac. Still, this is not Christian as some will argue. Christians will say that the point of the coming of Jesus and his death on the cross was to be the final sacrifice on behalf of all sinners.
However, contrary to many beliefs, the practice is not Islamic either. The Quran has very strict rules about what is good and bad behaviour and some crimes do indeed attract capital punishment. However, the religion has its own legal system which is supposed to be followed. Therefore crimes are supposed to be brought before a judge and tried legally before sentence is meted out. People who kill their family members without going through this procedure have committed simple murder based on rage or insanity.
In the view of this writer, murder happens everywhere in the world. Murder against women by men is also almost global. The differences are to the cultural contexts of the deaths. In Middle Eastern and Asian cultures it may occur more frequently to murder women for behaviour that evokes jealousy and rage in men. However, in Western cultures, rape and murder of women exists in the form of serial killers etc. Even in African cultures murder takes on the form of ritual killings.
Biblical honor killing can be found if you comb the Bible well enough. However, that is not a justification for the behaviour or even a confirmation that the acts are Christian. We should stop looking for a basis for these things and see them for what they are: simple murder.
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