He hoped the network would balance negative portrayals of Muslims

[Onkel Neal]

The founder of an Islamic television station in upstate New York aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has confessed to beheading his wife, authorities said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/16/buffalo.beheading/index.html

Man, that's going to hurt his credibility.

[A Very Super Market]

Well. This doesn't help at all. What the bugger was he thinking? And beheading her?

[Spike88]

Jeez. She looked like a man. No wonder he did it. Morbid jokes aside this will just give more criticism to the Muslims.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by Spike88

Jeez. She looked like a man.

OMG totallly looks like Micheal Jackson

[Aramike]

...many would have considered this guy a "Mainstream Muslim"...

Food for thought.

[SandyCaesar]

Originally Posted by Aramike

...many would have considered this guy a "Mainstream Muslim"...

Food for thought.

Yeah, that can't be good for Islam's reputation. All it takes is an already-suspicious public and one crazy idiot for that religion's name to be blackened forever.

[Spike88]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

OMG totallly looks like Micheal Jackson

Seriously. Maybe it was Michael.

[Happy Times]

Its usually the so called moderate muslims that get in these news for "honor" killings.
Wifes or daughters divorcing, resisting forced marriages etc, there are disproportionate number of muslim women in battered womens shelters.

[Rockstar]

Any bets he is aquitted or given atleast a very lean sentence because it is permissable under shri'a law?

[Happy Times]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Any bets he is aquitted or given atleast a very lean sentence because it is permissable under shri'a law?

Europe maybe but not US, you still expect that the local laws and customs are respected.

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/16/buffalo.beheading/index.html

Man, that's going to hurt his credibility.

I saw that this morning, and was going to post it, but hadn't had a chance to log on here until just now.

I guess the above story could be classified as "ePiC fAiL", huh?

"Yeah, keep up that great PR for us....thanks a bunch."

[em2nought]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/16/buffalo.beheading/index.html

Man, that's going to hurt his credibility.

Luckily this guy wasn't announced as a cabinet appointment.

[Platapus]

Another interpretation on whether Honour Killings are a part of Islam. These two sources say no.

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...=1119503543392

In response to the question:

Respected scholars, As-Salamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatuh. What does Islam say about honor killings? Does Islam really have a concept of honor killings, most of the victims here are females; so does Islam really order to kill females in the name of honor?

Wa`alykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh.

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear sister in Islam, we do really appreciate your question, which shows how far you are interested in getting yourself well-acquainted with the sound teachings of Islam. May Allah bless your efforts in pursuit of knowledge and may He keep us all firm in the straight path!

Sister, it’s a well-known fact that Islam maintains the protection of life and does not sanction any violation against it. In the Glorious Qur’an, 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)

`Abdullah ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "The blood of a Muslim may not be legally spilt other than in one of three [instances]: the married person who commits adultery; a life for a life; and one who forsakes his religion and abandons the community." (Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Focusing more on your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

“There is no such concept in Islam that is called “honor killing”. Islam holds every soul in high esteem and does not allow any transgression upon it. It does not allow people to take the law in their own hands and administer justice, because doing so will be leading to chaos and lawlessness. Therefore, based on this, Islam does not permit such killings.

First of all, in order to sanction killing, it must be through a binding verdict issued by an authoritative law court. Individuals themselves have no authority either to judge cases or pass judgments. Therefore, a Muslim should not sanction such killing because doing so will be leading to the rule of the law of the jungle. A civilized society cannot be run by such laws.”

Shedding more light on it, Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, states:

“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.

It goes without saying that people are not entitled to take the law in their own hands, for it’s the responsibility of the Muslim State and its concerned bodies to maintain peace, security, etc., and to prevent chaos and disorder from creeping into the Muslim society.”

Moreover, the eminent Muslim scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti, member of the North American Fiqh Council, adds:

“In Islam, there is no place for unjustifiable killing. Even in case of capital punishment, only the government can apply the law through the judicial procedures. No one has the authority to execute the law other than the officers who are in charge.

Honor killing could be a wrong cultural tradition. It is unjust and inhumane action. The murderer of that type deserves punishment.”

Sister, if you are still in need of more information, don't hesitate to contact us. Do keep in touch. May Allah guide us all to the straight path!

and
http://www.worldandi.com/newhome/pub.../may/clpub.asp

The article is too long to quote here but it is written by James Emery who is an anthropologist and journalist. Information for his article was obtained through interviews and research conducted in North America, West Asia, and the Middle East.

In the article he also emphasis that Honour Killings are not "authorized" in the Qura'n nor in Islam

[SandyCaesar]

Looking through all that, I'm even going to take a page out of Frederick Forsyth's book and assert that the ultraconservative Muslims who do things like this aren't "fundamentalists" at all by its strict definition. Fundamentalist implies going back to its roots, and at its roots Islam is fundamentally not that different from the rest of the great religions of the world: thou shalt not sin, thou shalt honor Allah, etc. Put it this way: could the Christian crazies who bomb and kill in the name of Christ really be considered true to the core beliefs of Christianity?

Instead, crazy "Islamics" like that are comparable to the fanatics of any religion who take one point from it out of context, pervert it to their own meaning, and then parade it as the will of their God(s). What happened, I think, was that the religion sprung up in what was (and still is) one of the most conflicted regions in the world, and spread with such rapidity--as did Christianity--so that it wasn't long before it was being perverted left and right to the advantage of the various belligerents. Once that happened, religious fervor and manipulators did the rest. You can't really say that "honor killing"--which I believe was established as a tribal custom long before Islam existed--is really condoned by the same man who preached what is essentially the same set of core values as Moses and Jesus did before him. True, there are many, many differences, but "Thou shalt not murder" is central to all three religions.

[Aramike]

True, there are many, many differences, but "Thou shalt not murder" is central to all three religions.

...and yet "murder" is defined differently between the religions...

See, this is something that frustrates the daylights out of me ... why do people simply refuse to call a "Duck" a "Duck" when it comes to religion (especially Islam)?

The Koran explicitly allows for Jihad and the killing of so-called unbelievers and yet, whenever that fact is brought to light, Islamic-apologists (more accurately, anti-Christians who look for any reason to disparage Christianity) come out of the wood work. Seriously, it must be okay to encourage suicide bombings because, a few hundred years ago, the Crusades occurred, right?

I am not a member of any religion or religious belief system. However, having studied the tenets of Christianity and Islam, it is quite clear that Islam is the more modernly-violent religion. Unlike Christianity, so-called "extremist" Islamic views are supported by the inferred Islamic "mainstream".

Like it or not, this is the truth,. Just because it doesn't fit in your little box of "all religions are equally horrible", doesn't change the facts.

Maybe, just maybe, when people stop "spinning" reality and simply accept things for what they are we will be able to have an honest and open dialogue about the world's problems...