Beheading in Orchard Park, NY: Another American Dishonor Killing?
In a hideous irony, the Pakistan-born founder and CEO of Bridges TV--launched in the USA in 2004 to portray Muslims in a more favorable light--was charged with second-degree murder in the grisly beheading death of his wife on Thursday, February 12th, in Orchard Park, NY.
Aasiya Hassan, age 37 and the mother of four, had dared to file for divorce from her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, age 44. There was an order of protection to ensure that he was out of the family home by February 6th.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media have been deafeningly silent about this crime. The Buffalo News has reported it (http://www.buffalonews.com/494/story/578644.html), but, so far, it's primarily the blogosphere that has picked up on it (e.g., http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Founder_of_Buffalo_N.Y._Muslim_cable_0214.html and http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/damian_thompson/blog/2009/02/14/founder_of_positive_muslim_tv_channel_charged_with_beheading_wife). It's unclear why the alleged perpetrator hasn't been charged with first-degree murder. There better be a good reason.
Why, oh why, aren't more people standing up for these victims? Beheadings in the 21st century? No. Just no.
About Ellen
Ellen R. Sheeley is the author of Reclaiming Honor in Jordan: A National Public Opinion Survey on "Honor" Killings and a contributor to the anthology Nothing But Red.
In 2003, she journeyed to Jordan, where she learned of the needs for empirical...
Connections
Causes Ellen Sheeley Supports
For All Women Foundation
Ellen’s Favorite Books
I vacillate between Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" and Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes." I've read both multiple times and relate perhaps too well to...
Thank you for you effort.
Ellen, Apparently it is not in our media's speaking points to focus on violence perpetrated by Muslim. And in part, this U.S. reluctance is from fear. I see you as extremely heroic.
Dennis, you are always so
Dennis, you are always so unfailingly supportive. Thanks.
I agree with you that one of the major reasons these crimes tend to be swept under the rug when they occur outside countries where they are indigenous is because of fear. . .fear of being labeled Islamophobic, fear of bodily harm, fear of unwittingly eliciting an irrational response similar to that created by the prophet cartoons.
However, I take small comfort in knowing such perpetrators won't be cut slack in our courts, nor will they be treated as heroes in their communities. There just isn't an appetite for this in the West, even if much of the media fails to do its job.
I had to google this to find
I had to google this to find the article. This morning, I've just finished reading both my Sunday papers, the local and the regional, and not one word on this. WHY is this not seen as important? (And yes, I will send that question to the editors of both papers.)
Susan
Thank you for commenting,
Thank you for commenting, Susan. But, especially, thank you for taking action. That is really what's needed to begin to change this situation.
Unfortunately, life is seen as very cheap by some people. And, whether we like it or not, the lives of women and girls continue to be undervalued in much of the world.
A few days later, and there's still not much in the news about this crime.
Beheading? It´s even more
Beheading? It´s even more brutal than some other forms of killing.Symbolically,it´s the total anihilation of spirit, like condemning someone´s soul to eternal doom. How can you do that to the mother of your children? By what the piece of news says, he didn´t even try to hide.
Hi, Luciana. Thanks for
Hi, Luciana. Thanks for commenting.
Dishonor killings are almost always incredibly brutal and violent. And the perpetrators often turn themselves in to the authorities, though this is less common in the West, where punishment will ensue. But in the countries where these crimes are indigenous--and Pakistan is believed to have the highest number of dishonor killings in the world--people like Mr. Hassan tend to be viewed as heroic for having cleansed the family honor. So they are proud to report their deed.
You are right. . .beheading is unbelievably savage. Personally, I can't even get too far along in the thought process of what it must be like to be on either end of a beheading without automatically chasing that thought away. And then to do it to someone you know, someone you've borne children with. Gah!
Hope the children are in compassionate hands right now. They have effectively lost both parents.
NOW NYS is out there denoucing Honor Killing and Media Silence
It is my understanding that there are those who think NOW has been silent on this situation. Not true. Here is is the press release that I sent out earlier today.
Woman Beheaded in New York State-National Organization for Women-NYS Questions Media Blackout
News from NOW-NYS
For more information contact: Marcia Pappas, 518-452-3944
Woman Beheaded in New York State
National Organization for Women-NYS Questions Media Blackout
ALBANY, NY (02/16/2009; 1237)(readMedia)-- On February 12, 2009, in Orchard Park, Buffalo, NY, forty-four year-old Muzzamil Hassan, a prominent Muslim businessman, was arrested for having allegedly beheaded his wife, thirty-seven year-old Aasiya Z. Hassan. What was Aasiya's crime? Why, Aasiya was having Muzzamil served with divorce papers. And apparently, on February 6, Aasiya obtained an order of protection which had forced her violent husband out of their home.
NOW New York State is horrified that Erie County DA, Frank A. SeditaII, has referred to this ghastly crime as "the worst form of domestic violence possible." The ridiculous juxtaposition of "domestic" and "beheading" in the same journalistic breath points up the inherent weakness of the whole "domestic violence" lexicon.
What is "domestic" about this violence? NOW NYS President Marcia Pappas says "it is high time we stop regarding assaults and murders as a lover's quarrels gone bad. We further demand of lawmakers that punishments fit crimes. We of NOW decry the selective enforcement of assault laws and call for judicial enforcement of our mandatory arrest policy, even when the axe-wielder is known by his victim."
And why is this horrendous story not all over the news? Is a Muslim woman's life not worth a five-minute report? This was, apparently, a terroristic version of "honor killing," a murder rooted in cultural notions about women's subordination to men. Are we now so respectful of the Muslim religion that we soft-peddle atrocities committed in it's name? Millions of women in this country are maimed and killed by their husbands or partners. Had this awful murder been perpetrated by a African American, a Latino, a Jew, or a Catholic, the story would be flooding the airwaves. What is this deafening silence?
And exactly what do orders of protection do? Was Aasiya desperately waving the order of protection in Muzzamil's face when he slashed at her throat? Was it still clutched in her hand as her head hit the floor?
You of the press, please shine a light on this most dreadful of murders. In a bizarre twist of fate it comes out that Muzzamil Hassan is founder of a television network called Bridges TV, whose purpose it was to portray Muslims in a positive light. This a huge story. Please tell it!
Marcia A. Pappas, President
National Organization for Women-NYS
1500 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12205
Phone: 518-452-3944
Fax: 518-452-3861
Presidents Email: NewYorkStateNOW@aol.com
General Email: Info@nownys.org
www.nownys.org
Thanks, Marcia. It's very
Thanks, Marcia. It's very clear where you stand on this, and it's heartening to see you use the phrase "honor killing" in your press release.
Is there more that NOW and the larger women's/human rights groups can do for these women? There are some obvious triggers to dishonor killings, but I don't think most people in Western society (through no fault of their own) have much awareness about these crimes, let alone are trained to recognize the early warning signals and know how to intervene.
Also, what about the women in the countries where these crimes are indigenous? Is NOW able/willing to work towards personal status and dishonor killing legal reform, build some shelters, etc. for those women? If their own countries won't do more to help them, can NOW work with the at-risk people so that they can find refuge in a safer country?
Preferred narratives
The media have preferred narratives. Muslim businessman seeking to improve public view of Muslims sets up TV station. That is a preferred narrative, so gets a run.
Same businessperson beheads his estranged wife (beheading being a form of killing with specifically Muslim connotations going back to the life of the Prophet). Not a preferred narrative.
Why is something a preferred narrative? Lots of reasons. Simplicity. Convenience. Status. There may be some cowardice involved in not running the story but a lot of it may be a simple as being awkward at the next dinner party with colleagues because not being nasty about [insert "mascot" group here] is part of what makes you a "good person".
Of course, what this does over the longer term to the standing of journalists and the mainstream media. Another story.
Thanks for commenting,
Thanks for commenting, Michael. You make some valid points.
By the way, I noticed you're from Melbourne. Did you by any chance know my late friend, Pamela Bone? She edited and wrote columns and leaders for The Age. I miss her terribly.
Pamela Bone
I never met Pamela, but I admired her courage in dealing with her dreadful disease and in standing up against religious fanaticism and for women and the value of freedom even when it was unfashionable.
I can vouch that she was
I can vouch that she was just a great human being. . .and among the bravest people I know. I blogged about her passing here:
http://www.redroom.com/blog/ellen-r-sheeley/bloggers-block
Doesn't do her justice, though.
I haven't been able to delete her telephone number from my mobile, nor her e-mail address from my e-mail account. I've saved all her correspondence to me, the book she autographed and sent me, the leather purse she gave me, the photos of our brief time together. Once in a while, when I miss her, I Google her name and read her columns.
Oooh, I'm getting maudlin. . .she'd hate that. It may not have revealed itself in her columns, but she was a very witty woman, too. Always good for a giggle.