Honor Killing in Chicago

On Jan. 23rd, 2024, 63-year-old Palestinian-Muslim resident Maher Kassem was arrested by the police for murdering his wife Majeda Kassem as well as his three adult daughters.  Police report this to be a clear case of domestic violence while Maher is on record stating that he felt his family didn't appreciate him and treat him in the manner that he deserved to be treated.  "The defendant was recorded volunteering things about having just retired, and that 'She treats me like a [expletive] dog," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Scott Clark. "'I worked 40 years.' and 'I worked all my life to give my family a better home, and they treat me like  [expletive].'"  A family member of Majeda Kassem said there was constant verbal abuse going on in the home - adding that Kassem's wife contemplated leaving, but stayed for the sake of her children.

Maher Kassem

Maher Kassem & His Three Daughters

Muslim-American activists claim that this horrific murder has is a cultural issue and has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, that it is instead all about "power, control, & gender inequality."  However, when you read the teachings that Muhammad gave about women and how they are to relate to men, you find that Islam in truth sanctions gender inequality.  Here are a few examples of such verses:

Surah 4:11- (Inheritance) "The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females"

Surah 2:282- (Court testimony) "And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not found then a man and two women." 

Surah 4:3- (Wife-to-husband ratio) "Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four"  At one point, Muhammad had 11 wives at one time, and stated Allah gave him and only him, permission to have more than four at one time.   

Surah 2:223-"Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will.  Wives are to be sexually available to their husbands at all times.

Surah 33:59-"Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them..." Men determine how women dress.

Surah 24:4-And those who accuse chaste women and then do not produce four witnesses - lash them with eighty lashes and do not accept from them testimony ever after. And those are the defiantly disobedient.

The Qur'an  goes even further and openly permits husbands to beat their wives if the they are disobedient:

Surah 4:34-“Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], beat them.

These verses clearly illustrate that men and women cannot be viewed as equals under Islamic theology.  Verses 2:233, 33:59, & 4:34 illustrate that men are to have total control over the women of their household, and these verse are reinforced by numerous Islamic Hadith:

Bukhari Volume 1, Book 2, Number 28:
The Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. 

Al-Tirmidhi 3272: 
"When Allah's Messenger was asked which woman was best he replied, 'The one who pleases (her husband) when he looks at her, obeys him when he gives a command, and does not go against his wishes regarding her person or property by doing anything of which he disapproves'."

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 81:
The Prophet said: "The stipulations most entitled to be abided by are those with which you are given the right to enjoy the (women's) private parts.

Muslim Book 009, Number 3493:       
A husband may divorce his wife by saying “I divorce you” three times, but a wife cannot do this.

Bukhari Volume 3, Book 48, Number 826:

The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind."

Bukhari Volume 9, Book 88, Number 219:
"Never will succeed a nation as makes a woman their ruler."

These verses helped create an Islamic society in which it is viewed in the overwhelming majority of Islamic communities, even those communities in the West, men are to have complete dominance over women.  In nations like Pakistan, 90% of Pakistani women reported having been beaten for a number of reasons (Cooking unsatisfactory meals, or giving birth to a daughter).  In Chad, the nation tried to outlaw wife-beating, but Islamic clerics opposed this, deeming the bill to be un-Islamic.  In the Book "Reliance of the Traveler," which is basically the Sharia Law Handbook, it clearly states that a father cannot be punished for killing his offspring (Link to Video).  Muslim women, even in the West, are often forced into abusive marriages against their will and some are even sold into marriage like a piece of prized livestock.  

Many women are trapped, and they cannot escape.  Honor killings and beatings are employed in the Muslim world to keep women in their place.  A member of the U.S. military who served in Afghanistan informed me that when he asked an elder what he preferred (Russian control, U.S. control, or the Taliban) the elder said “The Taliban.  At least when they were in control there was order and the women knew their place.”  It is not uncommon for this type of violence to follow Muslim immigrants here to the U.S. as honor killings in the West are increasingly common.  Yet each time, they insist it has nothing to do with Islam.  However, when we read the teachings of Islam, we in truth find that it has quite a lot to do with Islam.  

Sources:

The Holy Qur'an

Hadith of Sahih Bukhari

Hadith of Sahih Muslim

Gabriel, Bridget.  Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.  New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2006.

Gabriel, Bridget.  They Must be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam & How We Can Do It.  New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2009.

Gabriel, Mark.  Jesus and Muhammad: Profound Differences and Surprising Similarities.  Lake Mary, FL: FrontLine, 2004.

King, Jeff.  Islam Uncensored.  2011.

Placko, Dan.  Tinley Park Murders: New Details Revealed in Court After Man Allegedly Kills His Family."  Fox 32.  Jan. 23rd, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/tinley-park-murders-new-details-revealed-man-kills-family.

Rostampour, Maryam & Marziyeh Amirizadeh.  Captive in Iran.  Atlanta: Tyndale Momentum, 2013.

Terry, Jermont.  "Authorities Release 911 Call Made by Man Accused of Killing Wife, Daughters in Chicago Suburb."  CBS News.  Jan. 26th, 2024.  Accessed from https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/911-man-accused-killing-wife-daughters-tinley-park/

The Glazov Gang.  "Sharia Hunting the Survivor to the West."  Filmed [Nov. 2017].  YouTube Video, 33:27.  Posted [Nov. 2017].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=42&v=Ufv0lym6peE.

The Glazov Gang.  "The Unknown: Islam's 25 Scars on my Body."  Filmed [April 2016].  YouTube Video, 4:31.  Posted [April 2016].  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmrmtp5Z8qM.

“What Does Islam Teach About a Woman’s Place.”  The Religion of Peace.  2018.  Accessed from https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/men-in-charge-of-women.aspx.

“What Does Islam Teach About a Woman’s Worth.”  The Religion of Peace.  2018.  Accessed from https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/women-worth-less.aspx.