Along with quips about camels and hummus, ‘honor killing’ is among the first phrases that average folk in the West associate with Islam. As intimated by the British court’s decision, this does not reflect the reality of the Shariah tradition. Violence committed against women for perceived compromises of family honor is a product of patriarchal societies suffering from economic underdevelopment. The phenomenon is found across religions and from Brazil to India. Ironically, those Arab countries with legal provisions that treat honor crimes more lightly than comparable offenses all draw these
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