He just wanted to change Islam’s image

What the West has learned from the followers of Islam

Over the years the West has been given a very grim view of Islam and its teachings. For example, it is understood martyrdom is as a path to being blessed by Allah.  It is stated so in the Qur’an:

Whosoever obeys Allah and the Messenger will be in the company of those whom Allah has blessed – the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous: What excellent companions they will be![69] This is the real grace from Allah and sufficient is Allah’s infinite knowledge.[70] 4:[69-70]

After many decades, the West has grown accustomed to reading about random acts of violence, suicide bombings occurring  in open markets, restaurants and hotels.  The West has seen kidnappings of innocent people who have been taken as hostage by radical Muslims.  The hostage is then tried, judged and convicted as infidels and then beheaded; sometimes recorded on video and then posted on the internet for the world to see. In so doing, the Muslims praise Allah, the Merciful, under the name of Islam, the religion of enlightenment.

Lesser educated Muslims sometimes claim that the root word of Islam is al-Salaam,which is peace in Arabic.  The root word for Islam is al-Silm, which means submission or surrender. There is no controversy about this among Islamic scholars.

A Muslim-American tries to change Islam’s image

Muzzammil Hassan, 44, living near Orchard Park, N.Y., near Buffalo, was growing tired of seeing these and other anti-Islam stereotypes and associated terms such as ‘Muslim extremist, militant, terrorist, or insurgent’.   Muzzammil founded Bridges TV in November 2004 to counter anti-Islam stereotypes. Hassan touted the network as the “first-ever full-time home for American Muslims,” according to a press release

“Every day on television we are barraged by stories of a ‘Muslim extremist, militant, terrorist, or insurgent,’” Hassan said in the 2004 release. “But thestories that are missing are the countless stories of Muslim tolerance, progress, diversity, service and excellence that Bridges TV hopes to tell.”

According to a Web site for Bridges TV, Aasiya Hassan, 37, “came up with the idea” for the network. The Web site, which shows an undated photo of the couple, identifies her maiden name as Aasiya Zubair.

The murder of Aasiya

Aasiya Z. Hassan was found dead on Thursday at the offices of Bridges TV in Orchard Park, N.Y., near Buffalo. Her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, has been charged with second-degree murder.

The estranged wife of the Muslim television executive feared for her life after filing for divorce last month from her abusive husband, her attorney said and was then found beheaded Thursday in his upstate New York television studio.

“She was very much aware of the potential ramification her filing for divorce might have,” said attorney Elizabeth DiPirro, whose law firm, Hogan Willig, represented Aasiya Hassan in the divorce proceeding. “But she wanted to proceed despite the potential for it to erupt.”

DiPirro said the couple had “physical confrontations off and on” for their entire eight-year marriage that had recently escalated to death threats. The grounds for divorce were “cruel and inhuman treatment,” DiPirro said, referring to mulitple prior incidents of abuse. She declined to elaborate.

“We were worried about the situation becoming volatile,” DiPirro said.

The couple had two children, ages 4 and 6, DiPirro said. Muzzammil Hassan also has two children, ages 17 and 18, from a previous marriage.

DiPirro said Aasiya was a brave mother who sought a better life for her young children.

“She was a very brave woman who was extremely devoted to her children and had come to this decision after a long, thoughtful process and was determined to change her life for herself and her children,” DiPirro said.

Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said authorities continue to search for the murder weapon.

Asked if the slaying is being investigated as an honor killing, Benz replied, “It’s safe to say we’re investigating all the angles we can, all the possibilities in conjunction with the district attorney’s office. We’re looking at whatever we might come across.”

Benz said officers were called to the couple’s home on Feb. 6, when Aasiya Hassan had obtained an order of protection barring her husband from the home. “He was served with divorce papers that day at the [television studio],” Benz said. “He came back to the residence and was pounding on doors and broke one window. He left the premises that night.”

Benz said Hassan’s body was found on an office floor at the Orchard Park television station. He declined to discuss further details of the killing other than to say investigators believe Muzzammil Hassan acted alone.

“At this point, that’s what we believe,” Benz said.

Hassan, who was arraigned Thursday, remains jailed at the Erie County Holding Center. No bail had been set and an attorney for Hassan was not listed, according to a jail spokeswoman. Hassan has a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Benz said.

Dr. Khalid Qazi, a friend of the couple and president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, said the channel had been under financial strain.

“I cannot believe it. I know them both well,” Qazi told the Buffalo News. “I cannot get a handle on this.”

Samira Khatib, a friend of the couple, said Aasiya Hassan encouraged her husband to launch the cable channel.

“They were really more than married – they encouraged each other in everything,” Khatib told the Buffalo News. “She was such a lovely person.”

“Bridges TV is deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of Aasiya [Zubair] Hassan and subsequent arrest of Muzzammil Hassan,” a statement posted late Monday read. “Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the families of the victim. We request that their right to privacy be respected.”

Murder an Islamic Honor Killing ?

An honor killing is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, when the murderers (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community, normally by (a) utilizing dress codes unacceptable to certain people or (b) engaging in certain sexual acts. These killings result from the perception that defense of honor justifies killing a person whose behavior dishonours their clan or family.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III left no doubt that he believes Muzzammil Hassan killed his wife. Hassan will appear for a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Orchard Park. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to life in prison.

“He’s a pretty vicious and remorseless bastard,” Sedita told FOXNews.com Tuesday. “Whether he was motivated by some kind of interpretation of his religious or cultural views, we don’t know. We’ll look into everything in the case.”

Asked if the murder is being probed as an honor killing, Benz replied, “We’ve been told that there’s no place for that kind of action in their faith, but I wouldn’t say that there’s anything that’s being completely ruled out at this point.”

But psychologists and some American Muslims said the slaying has all the markings of an honor killing.

“The fierce and gruesome nature of this murder signals it’s an honor killing,” said Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York. “What she did was worthy of capital punishment in his eyes.”

Following multiple episodes of domestic violence, Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce on Feb. 6 and obtained an order of protection that barred her husband from their home, according to attorney Elizabeth DiPirro, whose law firm, Hogan Willig, represented Aasiya Hassan in the divorce proceeding.

Chesler, who wrote “Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?” for Middle East Quarterly, said some Muslim men consider divorce a dishonor on their family.

“This is not permitted in their culture,” said Chesler, whose study analyzed more than 50 reports of honor killings in North America and Europe. “This is, from a cultural point of view, an honor killing.”

Chesler said honor killings typically are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes and largely involve teenage daughters, young women and, to a lesser extent, wives.

But Chesler said the “extremely gruesome nature” of the crime closely matches the characteristics of an honor killing.

“Leaving the body parts displayed the way he did, like a terrorist would do, that’s very peculiar, it’s very public,” Chesler said. “He wanted to show that even though his business venture may have been failing, that he was in control of his wife.”

Chesler called on U.S. and Canadian immigration authorities to inform potential Muslim immigrants and new Muslim citizens that it’s illegal to abuse women in the two countries.

“As long as Islamist advocacy groups continue to obfuscate the problem, and government and police officials accept their inaccurate versions of reality, women will continue to be killed for honor in the West, such murder may even accelerate,” Chesler wrote. “Unchecked by Western law, their blood will be on society’s hands.”

M. Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, agreed with Chesler.

“It certainly has all the markings of [an honor killing],” Jasser told FOXNews.com. “She expressed through the legal system that she was being abused, and at the moment she asked for divorce, she’s not only murdered — she’s decapitated.”

Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan founded Bridges TV in November 2004 to counter anti-Islam stereotypes, touting the network as the “first-ever full-time home for American Muslims,” according to a 2004 press release.

Jasser said he was concerned that Aasiya Hassan suffered such a barbaric death after she and her husband were seen as a couple focused on bettering the “Islamic image” in the United States.

“The most dangerous aspect of this case is to simply say it’s domestic violence,” Jasser said.

In a 1,300-word statement, Islamic Society of North America Vice President Imam Mohammed Hagmagid Ali said the organization was “shocked and saddened” by the killing.

“This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored,” the statement read. “It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community.”

Ali called on imams and community leaders to take a “strong stand” against domestic violence, and he denounced the link of shame and divorce among Muslims.

“Women who seek divorce from their spouses because of physical abuse should get full support from the community and should not be viewed as someone who has brought shame to herself or her family,” the statement continued. “The shame is on the person who committed the act of violence or abuse. Our community needs to take a strong stand against abusive spouses.”

Meanwhile, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, a producer and host for Bridges TV who worked alongside the Hassans, said “now is not the time” to debate the cultural and religious context of the murder that appears to be an honor killing inspired by Aasiya Hassan’s desire to divorce her husband.

“There will be time for that later,” Hirschfield said in a statement obtained by FOXNews.com. “I will only say to those who leap to the conclusion that this kind of thing is intrinsic to Islam, ask yourselves if you think that drunkenness is intrinsic to Irish Catholics, or cheating in business is to Jews?”

ED:

Honor killing?  You bet.  Intrinsic to Islam?  Of course it is.   Is the Rabbi trying to sell us on the idea the two are not related?  Duh.

I wonder what the Rabbi would say about the holocaust being intrinsic to Nazi fascism.

~ by Ben on February 18, 2009.