Honor Crimes: When Family Murders Are Justified
One of the most heartbreaking phenomena in the Muslim world is the practice of "honor killing"—the murder of family members, usually women and girls, who are perceived to have brought shame upon their family. While not explicitly commanded in the Quran, honor killings are deeply rooted in Islamic culture and receive implicit support from Islamic law and tradition. Thousands of women are murdered each year by their own families, often with minimal legal consequences for the killers.
The Scope of the Problem
The United Nations estimates that 5,000 honor killings occur annually worldwide, though the actual number is likely much higher as many are disguised as accidents or suicides. These murders happen predominantly in Muslim-majority countries and among Muslim communities in the West:
- Pakistan: Approximately 1,000 honor killings reported annually, likely an undercount
- Jordan: 15-20 honor killings per year in a small population, indicating high per-capita rates
- Turkey: Hundreds of honor killings annually, often in rural areas
- Iraq, Syria, Iran: Regular honor killings, often with light sentences for perpetrators
- Palestinian Territories: Honor killings are acknowledged as a significant problem
- Western Countries: Honor killings occur in Muslim immigrant communities in Europe, North America, and Australia
What Triggers Honor Killings
Women and girls are murdered for a wide range of perceived offenses against family honor:
- Refusing an arranged marriage
- Seeking divorce
- Being raped (the victim is seen as having dishonored the family)
- Premarital relationships or pregnancy
- Adultery or suspicion of adultery
- Dressing "immodestly"
- Dating or associating with men without permission
- Wanting to marry someone the family disapproves of
- Converting from Islam
- Being too "Westernized"
- Simply being independent or disobedient
In many cases, the woman is killed based on rumors or suspicions, not proven facts. Even when innocent, a woman can be murdered because the rumor itself has damaged family honor.
The Islamic Connection
Muslim apologists often claim honor killing is "cultural, not Islamic." But this distinction collapses under examination. While honor killing predates Islam in some regions, Islamic teaching provides theological support for the practice:
1. Male Authority and Female Submission:
"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], strike them. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them."
Quran 4:34
This verse establishes male authority over women and permits physical discipline. It creates a framework where women's disobedience is a serious offense against divine order.
2. Severe Punishments for Sexual Offenses:
Islam prescribes death by stoning for adultery and 100 lashes for fornication. This extreme response to sexual matters creates a culture where family honor is tied to female sexual purity, and loss of that purity is seen as deserving severe punishment.
3. Women's Testimony Worth Half:
"And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her."
Quran 2:282
When women's testimony is worth half that of men, it becomes harder for women to defend themselves against accusations, making them more vulnerable to honor-based violence.
4. Reduced Blood Money:
In Islamic law, the blood money (diyya) paid for killing a woman is half that for killing a man. This explicitly devalues women's lives in monetary terms.
5. Family Forgiveness for Murder:
Islamic law allows the family of a murder victim to forgive the killer, often in exchange for blood money. In honor killings, the family is often complicit—they are the murderers. This means there is no one to demand justice, and the killer often faces minimal punishment.
"O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered... But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct."
Quran 2:178
When the father kills his daughter for dishonoring the family, the rest of the family typically forgives him. The legal mechanism intended for justice becomes a loophole for murder.
Examples from Hadith
The hadith literature contains troubling passages that, while not directly commanding honor killing, create an environment where such killings are understood:
"There was a man from the Ansar who was called Basrah, and he had a daughter called Ruhm. A man from the tribe proposed to her, but Basrah refused to give her to him. Later that man committed adultery with her, and she became pregnant. Her father Basrah struck her until she died."
Various hadith collections
While this hadith is used in different contexts, the casual mention of a father killing his daughter for sexual impropriety, without it being treated as a particularly shocking event, reveals the cultural acceptance of such violence.
"It was narrated from 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah said: 'The blood of a Muslim who bears witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, cannot be shed except in three cases: A life for a life; a married person who commits adultery; and one who leaves his religion and separates from the main body of the Muslims.'"
Sunan Ibn Majah 3:20:2535
While this hadith addresses when Muslims can be executed under Islamic law, it establishes that adultery is a capital offense. In honor killing cases, families act as judge, jury, and executioner, seeing themselves as enforcing Islamic standards.
The Legal Framework
Many Muslim-majority countries have legal provisions that effectively protect honor killers:
Pakistan: Until 2016, Pakistani law explicitly allowed reduced sentences for honor killings when the victim's family forgave the killer—which they often did, since they were the killers. Even after legal reforms, loopholes remain, and conviction rates stay low.
Jordan: Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code granted leniency to men who killed female relatives caught in adultery. Though amended, honor killers still often receive light sentences of 6 months to 2 years.
Syria: Article 548 allowed a man who killed his wife or female relative for adultery to receive a reduced sentence of as little as 2 years.
Iraq: Article 409 permitted a husband to kill his wife and her lover if caught in the act of adultery, with minimal punishment.
Iran: While technically illegal, honor killings often result in light sentences, especially if the killer claims religious motivation.
These legal frameworks reflect Islamic principles of male authority, blood money, and family forgiveness. The laws effectively communicate that a woman's life is worth less than family honor.
Real Cases
The statistics are abstractions. The reality is individual women murdered by those who should protect them:
Qandeel Baloch (Pakistan, 2016): A social media star, she was strangled by her brother for "bringing dishonor" through her online posts. Her brother showed no remorse, saying, "I am proud of what I did."
Aqsa Parvez (Canada, 2007): A 16-year-old girl was strangled by her father and brother in Ontario for refusing to wear hijab. This case shocked Canadians but highlighted that honor killing happens in Western countries.
Du'a Khalil Aswad (Iraq, 2007): A 17-year-old Yazidi girl was stoned to death by a mob that included her own family members for dating a Muslim boy. The killing was filmed on cell phones; videos show hundreds watching and participating while police stood by.
Shafilea Ahmed (UK, 2003): A 17-year-old British-Pakistani girl was murdered by her parents for being "too Westernized." They suffocated her with a plastic bag. Her body was found five months later.
Amina and Sarah Said (USA, 2008): Two teenage sisters were shot to death by their father in Texas on New Year's Day. He had threatened to kill them for dating non-Muslim boys. He fled and remained at large for 12 years before capture.
In each case, the victims were young women trying to have some control over their own lives. Their murders were premeditated, often involving multiple family members, and carried out in the name of honor.
The Psychological Reality
Honor killing reveals a profound distortion of human relationships. Family—the most basic human support system—becomes a source of mortal danger. Mothers sometimes participate in or remain silent about plans to kill their daughters. Brothers murder sisters. Fathers kill the daughters they once held as babies.
This is possible because Islamic teaching elevates honor above love, reputation above life, and male authority above female personhood. When a woman's value is derived entirely from her obedience and sexual purity, she becomes disposable if she "fails" in these areas.
Biblical Contrast
The biblical view of human life, honor, and family stands in stark contrast:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:27
Both men and women are created in God's image. This grants inherent dignity and worth to every person, regardless of gender. A woman's value is not derived from her family's honor but from being an image-bearer of God.
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
Ephesians 6:4
Fathers are commanded to nurture and teach their children, not to murder them for perceived dishonor.
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
Ephesians 5:25
The biblical model of male headship involves self-sacrificial love, not authoritarian control. A husband should be willing to die for his wife, not kill her for dishonoring him.
When confronted with a woman caught in adultery—the very situation that often triggers honor killings—Jesus' response was mercy:
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"
John 8:3-11
Jesus didn't deny that adultery was sin. But He offered mercy, protection, and the possibility of transformation. He stood between the woman and those who would kill her for dishonor. This is the heart of Christianity: God stands between sinners and judgment, offering grace and new life.
True Honor
The concept of "honor" in honor killing is fundamentally broken. True honor cannot be built on fear, control, and murder. True honor comes from treating every person—especially the vulnerable—with dignity and respect.
In Christianity, honor is redefined:
"Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."
1 Peter 2:17
Honor is owed to everyone, not just to the family patriarch. And a family's reputation should come from their love, service, and faithfulness to God—not from their ability to control women through fear and violence.
Questions to Consider
- If Islam truly values women, why does it create legal frameworks that protect honor killers?
- How can a religion claim to be merciful when thousands of women are murdered annually in its name?
- Why does "honor" in Islamic culture so often require female blood?
- If honor killing is "cultural, not Islamic," why does it occur predominantly in Muslim communities?
- What does it say about a legal system that allows families to forgive murderers who are family members?
- Can a religion that devalues women's testimony and blood money truly claim gender equality?
- Which approach better reflects divine justice—Jesus protecting the adulterous woman from those who would kill her, or Islamic culture that permits family murder?
- If you were a young woman in a strict Muslim family, would you feel safe or afraid?