Murders not about Islam but a very old practice that still haunts us

Daughters grow up and fathers famously resist it. I know that I did, particularly when it came to clothing.

One day, my 14-year-old daughter walked through the living room wearing a pair of blue jeans that were frayed, torn and tattered. The jeans were new, but made to look old. They were not indecent; they just looked bad.

Sarcastically, I asked my daughter. “I hope you did not pay money for those worn-out pants.”

Never missing a step, she replied, “No Dad. You did.”

Fathers and adolescent daughters disagreeing about clothing is nothing new. It has been happening since human beings began wearing clothing. I am certain Neanderthal fathers fretted over the minimal amount of animal skins their daughters wore. There is nothing new there.

Then what happened in the Shafia family? This week, Mohammed Shafia, his son Hamed, and his wife, Tooba Yahya, were sentenced to life in prison for murder. On June 30, 2009, Shafia sisters Zainab Shafia, 19, Sahar Shafia, 17, and Geeti Shafia, 13, as well as Rona Amir Mohammed, 50, were found dead inside a car that was discovered underwater in the Rideau Canal of Ontario, Canada.

Friends and family members report that Mohammed Shafia had tremendous conflicts with his daughters over their boyfriends, activities and clothing. At times, the home was in such turmoil that the younger daughter, Geeti, called social services.

Earlier, the oldest daughter, Zainab had suddenly left home to marry a man her parents hated. However, she returned home and had the marriage annulled.

Acquaintances claim that Sahar was in constant conflict with her father because she wore clothing he considered to be too revealing. The youngest daughter’s big offense was idolizing her older sisters.

Rona Amir Mohammed was Shafia’s first wife. Unable to have children by Rona, Shafia later married Tooba. Rona was passed off as a cousin.

Their own words convicted the three members of the Shafia family. In a wire tap, Mohammad Shafia can be heard saying, "God curse their generation, they were filthy and rotten children," and "To hell with them and their boyfriends, may the devil defecate on their graves."

What happened? Some have called these atrocities honor killings, contending that Shafia was following a strict interpretation of Islam.

However, Montreal Imam Khalil Tabatabai claims that Shafia wasn't even a practicing Muslim. Had Shafia sought advice and religious guidance, he would have been told that honor killings have no place in Islam.

It would be easy to blame the Shafia family tragedy on Islam and the Quran. Yet, even in the Bible there are at least three references to what could be called honor killings. When we read the Bible, we are reading very old writings that require intelligent interpretation. The same is true for the Quran.

The Shafia murders had nothing to do with Islam or with honor. They were about control and domination. Men dominating women is a very old and very wrong practice.

Dr. Mark Ross is the pastor of Marion Baptist Church. To learn more about MBC, visit http://www.marionbaptistchurchva.com/.