Every so often, I hear someone claim that honor killings have nothing to do with Islam. While it’s true that the practice is actually older than the religion (it is, after all, the “new kid on the block” compared to the other two Abrahamic Religions), it seems as though this barbaric ritual has found fertile ground in this religion. While the practice has its roots in much older Arab patriarchal societies that tried desperately to control women’s reproductive rights, it’s now become a kind of punishment for any perceived infraction of their twisted morality.

Take the story of 17 year old Rand Abdel-Qader as an example: this young women had the misfortune of falling in love with a British soldier stationed in Basra, and when the family found out about the infatuation (the innocence of which cannot be overstated), they teamed up to strangle her to death and left her body in an unmarked shallow grave. Her father’s only regret now is that he did not murder his daughter while she was still an innocent child:

‘Death was the least she deserved,’ said Abdel-Qader. ‘I don’t regret it. I had the support of all my friends who are fathers, like me, and know what she did was unacceptable to any Muslim that honours his religion,’ he said.
‘I have only two boys from now on. That girl was a mistake in my life. I know God is blessing me for what I did,’ he said, his voice swelling with pride. ‘My sons are by my side, and they were men enough to help me finish the life of someone who just brought shame to ours.’

If you’re hoping for some kind of happy ending to this story (like this shitty father being incarcerated for murder), then I’m sorry to inform you that the cops were congratulating him for having the balls to kill his own child. The worst they’ve done is fire him from his job, although the local government official did give him money to lay low in Jordan for a while. Isn’t it nice to know you have the support of your community when you’re an infanticidal, religious douche bag?