In a curious series of events, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced this past week that it will not seek the death penalty for Faleh Almaleki. Last October, Mr. Almaleki, an Iraqi immigrant living in Glendale, Arizona, used his Jeep Cherokee to run over and kill his 20-year-old daughter, Noor Almaleki.
Mr. Almaleki told authorities he had killed his daughter because she had disgraced the family by not following traditional Muslim values. For example, Noor was living with her boyfriend out of wedlock and had an interest in becoming a model. Mr. Almaleki rejected his daughter’s Westernized lifestyle and made it his sacred obligation to commit an “honor killing” to preserve his family’s dignity.
Family honor is a central value for Arab and Muslim culture. There is little tolerance for shame and some elder family members can conclude that an honor killing is the only way to restore the family’s namesake. In most cases, honor killings are dispatched by fathers against their teenage daughters.
According to Dr. Phyllis Chesler, Professor of Women’s Studies at City University of New York, at least half of honor killings are executed in a brutal fashion. She explained, “The female victim is often raped, burned alive, stoned or beaten to death, cut at the throat, decapitated, stabbed numerous times, suffocated slowly, etc.”
Some observers dismiss honor killings as merely another shade of domestic violence. But Dr. Chesler accurately defined how honor killings are clearly distinguished from other violent acts. With honor killings, the “extended family and community valorize the [act]. They do not condemn the perpetrators in the name of Islam. Mainly, honor killings are seen as normative and…the murderer(s) experience themselves as ‘victims’…”
What is also startling is that this horrendous custom is not just limited to the Middle East or South Asia. Western Europe’s immigration and assimilation process has been a complete failure. Their expansive welfare state relies on a steady influx of new workers to support those in retirement. But birth rates are plummeting among traditional Europeans and the continent has opened its door to its neighbors in nearby North Africa and the Middle East.
European attitudes certainly share some of the blame for the continent’s assimilation shortcomings. The French, for example, refuse to accept immigrants as true and equal Frenchmen. Instead, immigrants are relegated to second-class status, causing a valid reason for agitation among the new population.
But at the same time, most Muslim immigrants choose not to assimilate. Instead, they prefer to congregate in suburban enclaves and retain many of the non-progressive customs practiced in their former homeland.
Honor killings are no exception. Over the last decade, Western Europe has witnessed an alarming increase in these violent rituals. Bruce Bawer, author of While Europe Slept, provides a sampling of British cases:
“In south London in 2002, a young woman who’d been raped was murdered by her family to restore its honor. The next year, in Birmingham, twenty-one-year-old Sahjda Bibi was stabbed twenty-two times in her wedding dress by a cousin for marrying a divorced man and not a relative. In the same year, a Yorkshire teenager was murdered by her father in Pakistan over a relationship the family hadn’t known about until her boyfriend dedicated a love song to her on Pakistani-language radio. In London in 2003, a lively sixteen-year-old London girl named Heshu Yones – who’d fallen in love with a Lebanese Christian boy and planned to run away with him – was stabbed eleven times by her father, who then slit her throat.”
The United States would be wise to take note of the ‘clash of civilizations’ taking place in Western Europe. Europeans have tried to look the other direction and pretend no problems exist. Some European leaders, meanwhile, have made statements that give doubt to freedom’s preservation. Dutch Justice Minister Donner remarked, “If, sometime in the future, two-thirds of Dutch citizens believe that Shariah, Islamic law, should be introduced in the Netherlands, then it must be allowed.”
This brand of cultural relativism put forth by Minister Donner suggests there is no legitimacy of democracy over theocracy. The late Cornell Prof. Allan Bloom described how relativism contradicts our Founders’ intentions. Prof. Bloom explained that “the Founders wished to achieve a national majority concerning the fundamental rights and then prevent that majority from using its power to overturn those fundamental rights.”
Mr. Bawer explained how the cultural relativists, such as Minister Donner, have pacified our sense of truth and moral clarity: “If we notice ourselves feeling uneasy about some aspect of the Islamic world, the multiculturalists instruct us to look in the mirror, as it were, and contemplate our own culture’s worst aspects. Do Muslims stone adulteresses? Well, we execute murderers. Does Iran imprison, torture, and execute gays? Well, what about Guantanamo?” And so forth.
The Arizona Republic took a page from the cultural relativist manifesto in the days following Noor Almaleki’s death. Reporter Lesley Wright wrote, “while [honor killings] are widely known to occur in the Middle East and South Asia, the slayings occur in many countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.” But what does geography matter?
To further whitewash the tragedy in Glendale, Ms. Wright found a willing participant in Arizona State University Prof. Tom Keil. Ms. Wright reported: “Tom Keil, who teaches the sociology of murder, even found [honor killing] deep in the isolated hills of Appalachian Kentucky.” In other words, Prof. Keil is suggesting that Bubba is equally likely to kill a family member to preserve his family’s honor…
Prof. Keil continued, “It’s a question of assimilation. You wouldn’t have an Italian-American family doing an honor killing today.” But were honor killings ever a problem of the Italian-American community? This empty comparison was a sleight of hand attempt to camouflage any real cultural differences between fundamentalist Islamic practices and modern Western values.
All of this brings us to the present. Mr. Almaleki is charged with first-degree murder and would be eligible for the death penalty if convicted. But Mr. Almaleki’s attorney, Billy Little, asked the judge for an open process by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to prevent the prosecution from wrongly seeking the death penalty because Mr. Almaleki is a Muslim.
Mr. Little wrote, “An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian [referring to County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ Christian faith] is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs.”
The Attorney’s Office responded that Mr. Little’s concerns had no factual basis. But the thinly-veiled intimidation from the defense proved successful. The Attorney’s Office filed a motion shortly thereafter announcing that the prosecution would not seek the death penalty for Mr. Almaleki. The Attorney’s Office said that cultural considerations played no part in the process but did not support its decision with any other plausible explanation.
This is an injustice to Noor Almaleki and countless other Muslim women that are victims of such violent customs. But who can fault the Attorney’s Office for its hesitation? Consider what has happened to those that have stood up for Muslim women. Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered by radical Islamists upset by his film, “Submission”, about the abuse of Muslim women.
A few months later, Denmark’s largest newspaper published twelve, rather tame, cartoon drawings of the Prophet Muhammed and thousands protested in Copenhagen. The newspaper editors and cartoonists received multiple death threats and the Grand Mufti of Al-Alzhar University in Cairo called the drawings “one of the most serious crimes ever committed.”
What has erupted in Denmark has clearly had a chilling effect on free speech and justice in the rest of the world. But the media and academics are partially to blame for not holding Mr. Almaleki accountable. Prof. Keil sympathized for Mr. Almaleki, stating, “It would take a great act of heroism on the father’s part to resist the shaming.” This grossly distorts reality and suggests that the daughter’s lifestyle was comparable to the father’s crime.
Political philosopher Leo Strauss rightly recognized that liberal democracy contains the seeds of its own destruction. And our collective response to the tragedy in Glendale illustrates Strauss’ accuracy.
Pictured: Noor Almaleki
Neil Rosekrans is a founder and partner of StateBrief.com. He has been a guest political commentator for the Arizona Law Channel, NBC's Sunday Square Off and The Terry Gilberg Show on KFYI. Neil earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and earned his MBA and Masters in Public Policy, with an emphasis in International Relations, from Pepperdine University.
Neil and his wife, Beth, live in Scottsdale, Arizona. 
There is no honor in killing.
There is absolutely no justification for this murder…not even cultural beliefs! There are times when the death pentalty is justified…this is one of those cases.
Neil, excellent piece. I refer you, and your readers, to the ACT! for America website (http://www.actforamerica.org) and to the STOP SHARIAH PROJECT. Shariah has come to Arizona. By not seeking the death penalty, we are putting in jeopardy the lives of other moderate Muslim women who are seeking a life other than one valued only in terms of Shariah Law. Think Taliban and recognize Shariah.
Thanks to the thousands of ACT activists in Arizona, we have been able to write the editors of the Arizona Republic about their inaccurate reporting of this case. They continually refer to it as “Iraqi custom.” It is simply not true: it is SHARIAH and it must not be tolerated in Arizona or anywhere else in America (last year’s beheading in Buffalo, for example). You are correct, Neil, we are heading down the path of EURABIA….and our current administration turns a blind eye.
Most Sincerely,
Lisa Benson
ACT! for America
Phoenix, Arizona
Shariah is being introduced to the world in a coordinated effort – even though it is not overtly apparent. There is documentation showing that they intend to use any means possible to make the world fall under Islamic Sharia law. “Incidents” like this “honor killing” are used to indoctrinate by putting a spin on them like “his Iraqi custom” or “he doesn’t understand western values” after living here how long? – SURE! Killing anyone is WRONG! Anywhere! And your own children???? This is a religion of death, not “peace”.
Islam is a total ideology, not just a religion. Islam is a method of controlling people in every aspect of life, right down to how to relieve yourself!
Women have less value than men and are expendable. Jews and Christians are the most hated.
Their intent is to control YOU! They will give you a choice, submit or die. If you don’t believe it, read the Koran yourself, or go online and find lots of documentation and video of their leaders saying (or screaming) that fact!
I am truly aghast! Appalled! This is human life that we’re talking about.
I was the first American in our family. Born two months after my parents immigrated, my parents settled within the city limits. My father grew up on a farm in Switzerland. My Dad knew the rich smell of alpine frisbees (cow pies). Living in the city, we had rabbits, ducks and other animals. Dad, who never lived in the city before loved the land and tried to bring it home to us so that his children could experience it.
Believe it or not, we had police come to our door and we got letters from the city complaining about our “farm animals”. Yes, after coming to this land of opportunity, my father had to learn to live the way Americans do – cow pies or not! My father moved from one Western Civilization to another Western Civilization! He still had to learn what was right and wrong in our new homeland.
Now, whether our family lost ducks and rabbits because of dogs coming onto our property and killing them (it happened more than once) or a human life is snuffed out are two very different things.
Back to the issue at hand. Don’t you think that the County Attorney’s office should prosecute everyone with the same rule book in hand, and the same balance balance of justice in hand? If the Baseline killer gets the death penalty for murder 1, then why should Almaleki be treated differently?
If Almaleki wants to claim that executing a family member is required by his ancient religion, I would like to remind both Almaleki and the State Prosecutor what G-d said 4,000 years ago – Thou shalt not kill, then eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth. And, IF someone murders another, then his life should be required of him. This all happened long before Islam existed.
I call on the courts to mete our justice with an even hand. Our lawmakers and courts should stand up and not be intimidated by those who refuse to live by the law of the land.
mxl
Excellent article. I would like to add just couple of clarifications about Islamic law, Sharia. 1)We need to be clear that we are not talking about just “Muslim values”. We are talking about Islamic law which entails the death penalty for their breach. 2)Islamic Sharia law, based on the Koran and the sayings of Muhammad, is considered sacred. 3)Sharia law requires the death penalty for apostasy. 4) The case of Nur AlMaleki is really a case of apostasy which occurs when an adult Moslem (i.e. past the age of puberty)wilfully violates Islamic law. 5)In this case, Nur AlMaleki refused to go along with her arranged marriage, and she lived with her boyfriend. Both of these are breaches of Islamic law. 6) This willful breach of Islamic law brought shame on her father and family in the Islamic community. 7)Sharia law does not prohibit parents or grandparent from killing their offspring. In fact, Sharia law specifically exempts parents and grandparents from the death penalty if they do kill their offspring.
Anyone interested in learning more about Islam should definitely check out: http://www.jihadwatch.com.
If you have a question about Islam, send an email to: understandingislam@cox.net.
If you are concerned enough that you want to do something about the threat from radical Islam, then please visit: http://www.actforamerica.org.
ACT for America Arizona, Carl, was instrumental in writing the letters to the county prosecutor’s office, due to your diligence. Our activists are alert and on the ball, as evidenced by the four out of six comments left on this site, as well as the myriad of op eds written to the AZ Republic. Thank you, State Brief, for this forum as anytime we can open discussion, we help educate our citizens and mobilize America to fight back against the infiltration of radical Muslim into our community.
Lisa Benson
ACT! for America
http://www.actforamerica.org
Political correctness gone wild, a Muslim officer kills 17 on a military base, an Arizona a father acts on a barbaric custom of honor killing, but they are Muslim we must not offend them.
Almaleki is an Iraqi immigrant and moves here to Arizona. He kills his daughter because it’s considered on “Honor” killing to save the family’s name. Though it may be legitimate under Islamic or Sharia Law, that is NOT the law of the land, as I last knew it, in Arizona or anywhere else here in the Unites States of America. This should just prove to everybody, the whole world in fact, just how dangerous this so called “multiculturalism” is. I have personally known people of Islamic faith here in the States and they were more Americanized. That’s why they came here to begin with. It seems as if we’re headed in the wrong direction here. How many Courts of Law will we need here in America so that we can consider political fairness to all? This is outrageous to kill anyone under these circumstances. That’s the way most Americans think anyway. Is this going to be America’s new legal system? Under Sharia Law for all? This man should have never moved here in the first place unless he was going to live by the law of the land, just as most people do. The unique thing about America is that we’ve always had “multiculturism” in a sense. We have people who were originally from the European countries, people from South America, Mexico, our American Indian, etc. Men fought hard and died to create a country of freedom under our unique “Constitution”, something no one else has. We have had people move here from other countries, just for that reason alone. This man should leave our Country and as far as I’m concerned, he should take his “Sharia Law” with him back to where it belongs, but not here. So, tell me? What kind of jury are they going to choose for this man? How can anyone make any sense of this case unless you, too, live under Sharia Law?
i may not have supposed this had been neat quite a few years ago but its funny precisely how years varies the manner in which you understand numerous ideas, thank you with regard to the piece of writing it is really good to read anything intelligent once in a while in lieu of the customary rubbish mascarading as blogs and forums on the internet, cheers
I linked to my favorite political cartoon