Woman Beheaded in New York State; National Organization for Women - NYS Questions Media Blackout

[ensho]

http://nownys.org/pr_2009/pr_021609.html


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's 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!
--------------------------


push on the media

if the media are being 'cowards' not discussing race then they don't even 'see' muslim women

[Greyskye]

1. Blackout indeed. I hadn't heard a peep about this before now.

K&R.

[Captain Hilts]

12. Me either, and I read the NYDN every day. nt

[TheWraith]

19. No reason you'd hear about it in the New York Daily News, it's on my end of the state.

In a suburb of Buffalo. In any event, it's only considered a story because the couple were Muslims. Apparently she was divorcing him, he killed her, and then went to the police and confessed. It's been in all the local news and most national outlets.

[Captain Hilts]

22. They rarely miss a chance to trash Buffalo or Philly or laugh at Utica. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. ...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/02/17/2009-02-17_muslim_tv_mogul_muzzammil_hassans_allege.html

[Captain Hilts]

32. We're talking about the delay in reporting it. Not the news this week. nt

[barbtries]

18. there's a thread here on DU about it

days ago, not sure of the date

[Control-Z]

28. I actually did hear a sentence or two

about it on the radio. I expected to hear more on CNN or MSNBC. But, not a word, at least I didn't hear anything.

[Dorian Gray]

76. Neither have I

This should be prosecuted as an anti-female hate crime, and he should go to jail for the rest of his life without any chance of parole.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. So they're upset the media isn't scapegoating arab muslims?

Keep in mind, this Pappas woman is the same person who accused Barack Obama of gang-raping Hillary Clinton during the primaries.

[ensho]

4. what are you talking about???

nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. 1. The story was all over the news.

2. The case is just like any other domestic violence murder case. Taking special issue over the race and religion of the victim and perpetrator is exploitation, scapegoating, and bigotry.

3. Marcia Pappas is worthless piece of shit. If her past behaviour hasn't clued you in, her use of racially loaded terms like "terrorism" in this case certainly should.

[ensho]

11. unspin your brain and read the article again - this is dealing with the

term 'domestic'. and of course every female murder is about her sex, religion, and politics, plus the personal.

homicide cops would be remiss not to learn all of that about a murdered woman.

[RedCloud]

71. Except if a Christian kills her baby?

We didn't get to hear about tot mom's religion enough to bring out our anger against Christians, now did we?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

77. The article, and NOW's focus is the "domestic violence" issue. But DU will spin it as Muslim focused

as will the media (those who cover it, that is.)

We're fairly near Buffalo. It was on our local news --we dont have cable.

It seems rare that NOW speaks out on women's behalf. Is that because they don't do much? Or could it be they don't get coverage when they do?

Violence against women is so common, it's taken as a given and all the more interesting if the victim(s) are young and pretty. And of course, the issue is majorly up front and center for tv and movies (hawt female victims=ratings), but as a real social problem the issue of hate against women and the meaning of violence against women seems pretty ignored.

[TheWraith]

98. No, NOW-NYS's claim is that there's a double-standard for Muslims.

And FYI, Marcia Pappas of NOW-NYS is well known for being utterly unhinged and irrational. She's the one who claimed that the Kennedy family endorsing Obama in the primaries was equivalent to gang-raping all women everywhere.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

103. Thanks--yes, the focus was pointed out to me yesterday...but here's the quote I'm looking at

I usually have good reading comprehension.....

However, the OP contains this quote:
""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.""

I have to say, this quote doesn't contain any muslim slant. As far as I can see, this part focuses on the continuing pattern of taking domestic violence less seriously than violence against other kinds of victims.



Well I didn't know about Marcia Pappas.... do you have any quotes where she makes the Kennedy insinuation? (NOT being snarky here).

Great :( , if that's true...for the amount I ever hear about NOW, it seems they don't even exist.

[bdamomma]

3. I hadn't heard anything on the news about this either.

[L0oniX]

6. Anyone with "an order of protection" should be given a pistol for protection.

[madrchsod]

10. no...

[iverglas]

57. leakage from the gun dungeon

Sit very still and it will go away.

[Myrina]

7. Faux is covering it ...

... because he's a crazy Muslin running loose in 'Murka.

[madrchsod]

8. the story was in my hometown paper...

and it`s been on every major news outlets in the usa.

[sufrommich]

9. I think this should be the point:

"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?"

A beheading is an odd occurrence in America,it is strange that this crime received hardly any press.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. That's a contradictory statement.

"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?"

About 3 women are murdered in domestic violence every day, rarely does it make the national media like this case did.

So why the special attention in the case involving arab muslims.

[Spouting Horn]

29. You don't see the irony?

This man created a network ostensibly to show Muslims in a good light, yet he chops his wifes head off. It is classic irony.

"Honor killings" run rampant in Muslim society...and these murders are generally accepted by the overall population.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Yes, it's very ironic.

""Honor killings" run rampant in Muslim society...and these murders are generally accepted by the overall population."

Islamophobia runs rampant in American society... and this bigotry is generally accepted by the oeverall population.

[Spouting Horn]

45. What did I say that was untrue?

Honor killings are an age old Islamic tradition.

I'm afraid the facts are simply facts.

Accusing me of "Islamophobia" is just a way of shutting down honest discussion.

[Thothmes]

48. Are they an Islamic tradition or are the a tradition of the culture

that the event occurs in. When was the last time you heard of a "honor killing" in Turkey, the Phillipines, or Malaysia. There is nothing in the Koran that mandates "honor killings".

[Lost in CT]

96. I'm not sure stating actual facts is "Islamophobia"

I wish it wasn't true but it clearly seems as if it is.

[quickesst]

72. Ha ha...

Walking on eggshells. The first and foremost requirement for posting on DU where tunnel-vision ideology can sometimes dominate the discussion. There are lions in the tall grass, waiting to pounce at the first mis-step. Caution urged when navigating these waters. Thanks.
quickesst

[BlancheSplanchnik]

78. About 3 women are murdered in domestic violence every day, rarely does it make the national media

That's the issue of the original article---

violence against women is so common, it hardly rates a raised eyebrow anymore.

If the extreme carnage or bizarre irony of the muslim part weren't present, this would just be another domestic violence, nothin to see here.

[muriel_volestrangler]

82. No, the original article is claiming this particular case is being covered up

A patently false claim, since this has been heavily reported (for instance, 138 articles on it on Google News. That NOW statement said "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?" - but I agree with you, this has got more coverage than a murder of a woman by her husband would get. NOW, however, seems to have a secondary agenda of "The Media are afraid of offending Muslims", and NOW won't let the facts get in the way of a good rant.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

104. I see quite a bit of content that is NOT linked to race at all.....

Hi muriel, (gee I hate to dilute the seriousness of the subject, but I love your screen name--Hilarious!)


Anyway, I should have replied yesterday....

First, I WILL say, violence against women and the kind of weird acceptance we seem to have regarding it, and the tie in it has to entertainment, are pretty fraught issues for me, so I can't deny focusing selectively sometimes.

After rereading it, though, I see...well like I just said in the subject...

Here, let me copy the parts I was looking at,

""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.""

I have to say, this quote doesn't contain any race slant. As far as I can see, this part focuses on the continuing pattern of taking domestic violence less seriously than violence against other kinds of victims.

Also, the part that asks if she was shaking her order of protection in his face as he was attacking her.... I see no race reference there either. The outrage there is referring to the well known uselessness of Orders of Protection, which has also been the only help a woman at risk can get, until an actual crime is committed. Maybe that is beginning to change, bit by bit...

Anyway, I DO see the article bringing up the issue of domestic violence and the way it has historically been viewed in some lesser light. That's been the pattern anyway; I don't see any tiptoeing around race in the parts I quoted.

[muriel_volestrangler]

106. I'm not saying it's all about race, or religion

that's why I called it 'a secondary agenda' - I accept NOW's primary agenda is still women, and, in this case, violence against them. But I think, in this case, Pappas has decided to be outraged about the coverage, without actually checking to see what the coverage is.

The bit about the protection order sounds rather like a right wing talking point, to me - "what good is it a court ordering him to stay away from the house - only weapons will do that". The claim that the media are keeping quiet because this was a Muslim couple is clearly wrong (as we've shown, there have been over 100 articles about this, and, as any advocate of women like Pappas ought to know, that means it's been covered more than the average murder of a woman by an estranged husband); again, I think Pappas has succumbed to a rather right-wing desire to get a pop in at Islam and 'the PC media', without checking her facts.

"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." - this sounds like a right-wing call, again - I've seen nothing saying that the police were unwilling to arrest the husband for the murder, and 'make punishments fit crimes' sounds like a call for this man to be beheaded.

[ensho]

79. agree, american men cut women's bodies into pieces and its

unusual for american men to just cut off the head of women.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. OMG! The muslins are coming! The muslins are coming!!

p.s. to you - "Muslim" is not a "race". It's a religion. Arab is a race. And not all Arabs are Muslim, and not all Muslims are Arab.


I wonder when reporters will either stop using terms like "Muslim businessman" or "Jewish landlord" or "Hindu doctor", or else start using terms like "Christian homeowner" and "Christian football player" and so forth.


And the author of that article should be sent back to high school English to learn how to write. So many errors in it, it's embarrassing.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

24. You downplay the risks of Islam and Sharia are to the hardwon rights of women and others

[Rabrrrrrr]

26. I did? Where? When?

Because, seriously, if I've done that, then I am angry with myself for speaking out against my own beliefs. If you can point it out where I actually did that, I will correct myself.

Which is to say - you are wrong. I have done no such thing, not in the past, nor in the future.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. You exaggerate the role of Islam and Sharia on this case.

[marew]

40. You are absolutely right.

In a number of countries 'honor' killings are a culturally accepted practice which is so distressing. There are rarely any consequences for the perpetrators of the murders. Rather they are praised for doing what needed to be done. A teenager was killed for sitting in a car simply talking to a man she was not related to. A woman beheaded for going out alone. And on and on and on. These societies are thoroughly misogynistic. It only takes a bit of internet searching to find out how Sharia dehumanizes women. People should educate themselves before so easily dismissing this culture of violence against women.

[iverglas]

50. may I ask?

It only takes a bit of internet searching to find out how Sharia dehumanizes women.

Rather than leaving us searching blindly, can you tell us what you have found in those searches?

The specific citation from a specific Shari'a rule, that is.

[Chulanowa]

41. And you trivialize the murder of a thousand women every year

Over a thousand women are murdered by their husbands, boyfriends, and lovers every year. So which one gets you ripping your shit? Why, the one killed by her Muslim boyfriend.

The murder is horrific and he deserves to be crammed into a cell and the door welded shut. But the story has squat to do with Islam, much less Sharia. It's a crazy motherfucker who killed his wife. The fact that he's also Muslim is a non-story. It just adds a nice heap of extra outrage and hatred onto what's already a brutal murder and serves to sell more papers.

[omega minimo]

59. stop soft peddling the issue

[Rabrrrrrr]

66. Soft peddling what issue? That Muslims are in America - is that what you fear?

I'm sorry, but I don't find that much of an issue.

A woman being brutally murdered is an issue to be worried about.

Curious how in this case the religion of the perpetrator makes the news. But the news never says "Christian kidnapper so-and-so" or "Christian drug lord" or "Christian child molester".

[omega minimo]

88. picking up on your point

sorry, it's "soft pedal" "soft pedaling" from playing the piano -- soft peddling is meaningless...
:evilgrin:

"And the author of that article should be sent back to high school English to learn how to write. So many errors in it, it's embarrassing."



"A woman being brutally murdered is an issue to be worried about."

Agreed. And the OP's main point seemed to be comment on the way language and embedded civic attitudes affect how law enforcement handles this -- suggesting some change may be needed.

The word "domestic violence" perhaps downplays decapitation.

OP "The ridiculous juxtaposition of "domestic" and "beheading" in the same journalistic breath points up the inherent weakness of the whole "domestic violence" lexicon."




"Curious how in this case the religion of the perpetrator makes the news. But the news never says "Christian kidnapper so-and-so" or "Christian drug lord" or "Christian child molester".

It's not really, at least in the US where WASP is the dominant cultural POV, so not worth mentioning, invisible to itself, just like "white male privilege"

[bertman]

86. Arab is not a race. The racial divisions are Mongoloid, Negroid, Caucasoid. Sometimes Aboriginal.

So, if a white, male, of anglo-saxon descent sliced his wife's throat and carved an upside down cross onto her body, this would not be newsworthy?

That act would become the main focus of our corporate media for six weeks or more simply because it is out of the norm--as is a beheading-- and it would imply some form of religious or anti-religious theme--maybe devil worship or anti-christian behavior.

Your comment reminds me of the PC news bulletins we used to get locally when a rape or assault occurred in our community: the woman was assaulted by a male, approximately six feet tall, slight build, wearing a tan jacket and black pants. WOW. That's really helpful. Wouldn't it be much more informative and useful if the public knew the male was white, hispanic, black, or asian, in addition to the other physical characteristics? Yes, of course it would. But then we'd be profiling someone. And that's not politically correct. Bullshit.

If religious or cultural undertones are present in a murder or assault they should be made know.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. This is horrible, but it is NOT Islam

"honor killings" are cultural in nature. The Qur'an allows women to divorce husbands, and requires the man to support their children. This case should be treated as murder, plain and simple. And I would think the Erie County DA needs to look into why the restraining order was breached so easily--if this guy was that dangerous, they should have had someone guarding the lady, or given her an option of going to a safe house--heck, we have those here in rural Arkansas, so don't tell me New York State doesn't have them.

[ThomCat]

23. The attitude in Erie County (Western NY)

is often that the Police don't have the time or resources to Waste babysitting a woman because her boyfriend or husband is mad at her. So restraining orders are useless pieces of paper.

One of the many reasons I was very happy to finally leave Buffalo was because of how useless the police were. Imagine my disappointment to discover they're no better here. And probably no better in most places.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

35. Thanks for the information, ThomCat

Sadly, I think the police don't usually think of domestic violence as something high on their agenda. It was that way in Illinois ca 1959. My father was a con man, and had several warrants out for his arrest. The State's Attorney (Illinois talk for DA) convinced my mother to use me as bait -- even though he didn't pay child support, he always wanted to come visit me. The SA told my mom that if she cooperated, they'd nail him for back child support. Anyway, the trap was set. I was forced to see my father (who I loved despite his flaws--he was my dad, and I was 8 years old) and keep him in the house until the sheriff arrived with about half a dozen deputies. I still remember them surrounding the house and then coming in, guns drawn, to arrest him. He was out on bond in an hour, and we had to run and hide out for a couple of days. Of course, nothing came of the domestic issue of child support. And I was left with one of my last memories of my father, angry, surrounded by cops with guns drawn at him--and at me. To this day, I'm nervous around cops and guns, and don't really trust them.

[TheWraith]

42. To be fair, the police DON'T have the time to ride herd on people this way.

The police get a huge number of domestic disturbance calls--not just about couples fighting--and only a tiny percentage would ever escalate even to simple violence. The police typically don't have the resources to try and sift out the cases where there is a risk of escalation unless there's obvious signs for alarm. While people think of the police as a protective force, the fact is that 9 times out of ten, they can only deal with crimes after the fact.

[omega minimo]

60. "simple violence"

:puke:

"The police get a huge number of domestic disturbance calls--not just about couples fighting--and only a tiny percentage would ever escalate even to simple violence."

[ensho]

80. yes, the marjority of work the cops do is domestic violence

think about that - the marjority of the work they do is on domestic violence.


violence on women

so the cops spend the most time trying to stop men from being violent to a woman or catching him after he did it.

boy, that costs a pretty penny

somebody better get to today's and tomorrow's male teens. they are in desperate need.

today's and tomorrow's girls and women would appreciate it.

[TheWraith]

97. I think you misunderstood.

What I said is that the majority of police calls are domestic disputes. Not domestic violence, which only a small percentage of those calls turn into. A typical domestic call is a couple or family members engaged in a screaming fit. Sometimes it's the neighbors that call, sometimes it's one of the participants. It's not just man-woman situations either, they get tons of calls about families and even just roommates. However, since almost none of these cases escalate into something that would be considered an assault charge, the police don't have the time to play therapist to the emotionally unstable part of the populace. The police only want to be involved in situations where there are actual crimes or likely to be actual crimes.

Most police time is actually spent patrolling, or else handling the most common sorts of crimes, which are property crimes: burglary, larceny, car theft, etcetera.

[Uncle Joe]

34. I agree, I'm also wondering if there a connection between the corporate media's lack of coverage

and Rush Limbaugh using this in one of his propaganda rants, where he tried to tie Democrats; as if they had anything to this atrocity as a form of misdirection. Limbaugh knows good and well, the vast majority of the corporate media are owned by his ilk.

"RL: This is... it's about power, it's about control. These people genuinely look out over this country from their lofty perches. They don't like what they see. Otherwise...

Caller: So they can go somewhere else! Like, I don't understand, why do they have to stay here? Like, leave us alone!

RL: At this point, at this point Gretchen, I don't care about the why. They're not going to leave. They're trying to control it. At this point, the only thing is they must be stopped!

Caller: I agree...

RL: Within the confines of our Constitution, and the political arena of ideas, they must be stopped. I don't care why they see this country the way they see it. I don't care why a murderer does it. I don't care why a rapist does it. I don't care why this Muslim guy offed his wife's head. The NOW gang is out there saying 'oh, that's not domestic violence, that's just, uh, that's just...' what do they call it? 'Culturally honor killing. Or this woman was going to divorce him, that's against the law. That's his diversity.' I don't care, I don't care why anymore. If I figure it out, I'll be glad to tell you because it's interesting to know, but it doesn't matter in terms of defeating them.

The defense seems obvious. The remark came in the context of trying to understand the motives of Democrats who have disdain for America. "Who cares what drives a murderer, rapist or Democrat," Rush seemed to be saying, "just stop them from doing what they're doing." But, on the heels of Wednesday's New York Post cartoon, one has to wonder what's going on with all the lurid political analogies."

[Blue_Tires]

16. i've seen ZERO coverage of this, outside of local news:

and i thought this was the kind of stuff national media loved...the same NIGHT of his arrest, he's giving TV interviews from his holding cell explaining how he had to 'save' his son's soul from the devil...evidently the way you do this is by taking his head off with a kitchen knife...

==================
==================

Private service to be held for slain Va. Beach boy

VIRGINIA BEACH

The 5-year-old boy killed by his father this week will be remembered in a private funeral service for his sense of humor and his love for “Herbie the Love Bug” and “Thomas the Train.”

The life of Joshua D. Hagerman ended Tuesday when, according to police, Joseph Hagerman III decapitated him inside his home on Sugar Creek Drive.

Police found the boy’s body shortly before noon Tuesday after they responded to a stabbing call inside the house. His mother, Shirley Ruffy Hagerman, had told dispatchers that her husband assaulted her and killed their son, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Joseph Hagerman III was arrested after officers found him running on Lynnhaven Parkway and Riverbend Road in blood-soaked clothing. He was charged with first-degree murder and felonious assault. His wife was hospitalized with severe wounds to her hands during the attack.

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/private-service-be-held-slain-va-beach-boy

[barbtries]

21. omigawd

i had not heard about this story. poor baby! :cry:

[femrap]

17. k and r

Thank you NOW for screaming about this atrocity.

[Uzybone]

20. It was on CNN quite a bit earlier this week

Its still one murder, a horrible one indeed. But there was a Chinese woman beheaded by her ex last month in Va Tech, I barely saw that covered. Should this get more coverage because its a Muslim who did the crime?

[marshall]

25. They're stepping lightly because of the religious/cultural implications

Many merging and conflicting issues at play here.

[omega minimo]

61. Yes, it's a challenge to male rule

[TheWraith]

27. Mmm, I love the smell of xenophobia in the morning.

Oh wait, actually I don't. Because unless NOW-NYS is issuing a press release like this every time a woman gets murdered by a husband she's divorcing, then the only way to justify this florid bloviation is because the pair are both Arab Muslims, and she was beheaded. (Contrary to their characterization of it as an "honor killing," the pair were pretty westernized, and there's no evidence of premeditation.)

Also contrary to their claims, it's been in all the local media and most national outlets. This is just Marcia Pappas blowing her top again, and exploiting racist stereotypes to do so.

[omega minimo]

62. you completely missed the point, let iverglas elucidate for you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5097751&mesg_id=5100796


"The ridiculous juxtaposition of "domestic" and "beheading" in the same journalistic breath points up the inherent weakness of the whole "domestic violence" lexicon."

[TheWraith]

99. No, I didn't. I got the point better than you did. nt

[omega minimo]

102. prove it

[Sultana]

83. I thought they were Pakistanis

[TheWraith]

100. He was Pakistani born, I think she was from Houston.

He emigrated at 14, both were western-educated.

[sweetpotato]

36. You don't hear about it because it doesn't fit the "story"

The "story" is that those kinds of killings only occur in those nasty, Islamic countries. Nothing like that happens here, for gosh sakes.
This is America - we're number 1!!11!1

[Control-Z]

37. Until partners are treated like strangers

and punished like the real criminals they are, women will continue to suffer and many more will die. And I'm not just talking about physical violence, but also psychological and financial abuse.

If a stranger cheated or scammed a woman financially, she would have protections and rights under the criminal and/or civil court systems. With a spouse, she just ends up responsible for "their" debt.

And I honestly think that woman should be able to sue their spouses for cheating, under certain circumstances, and for abandonment. Actually, there is a long list of abuses that I think should be punishable. There are just so many ways that a guy can stick to a woman, and they will as long as they keep getting away with it.

Short of death, though, I think psychological abuse is the most complex and damaging. There are virtually no protections in place for women who are or have been psychologically abused and tortured. In California courts women have to take responsibility for irreconcilable differences. Doesn't matter what he's done to her, the fact that she doesn't like it and wants to get away from it makes her an equal partner in the making of the problems. And that really sucks, imo.

It's disgraceful that America 2009 still makes allowances for men to do pretty much anything they want to to their partners.

[iverglas]

56. we actually need to do more than that

Until partners are treated like strangers and punished like the real criminals they are, women will continue to suffer and many more will die.

We need to recognize that violence committed by intimate partners is worse than stranger violence. Its effects on the individual and the family and the society are worse than any random assault by a stranger.

The Criminal Code of Canada recognizes this by identifying this relationship as an aggravating factor in sentencing:

718.2 A court that imposes a sentence shall also take into consideration the following principles:

(a) a sentence should be increased or reduced to account for any relevant aggravating or mitigating circumstances relating to the offence or the offender, and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,

... (ii) evidence that the offender, in committing the offence, abused the offender’s spouse or common-law partner, ...

(That may not be clear, but that factor is an aggravating and not a mitigating circumstance)

I don't know whether this practice has been adopted in the US or not.

Joe Biden, much as I love 'im, is pants on reproductive rights. But he's the prime mover behind the Violence Against Women Act, I gather. Hopefully that focus will be carried over into the new administration.

[Bluerthanblue]

38. if he'd shot her or stabbed her or run her over with a car it would still

be as terrible and as wrong.

You don't have to be 'muslim' to murder your partner. I'm troubled that there seems to be a need to assign a degree of 'terrible-ness' to the ways people are killed. Beheading may elicit a visceral response in our society- but it's no more lethal than any of the other methods people have used and continue to use.

This story is tragic. Every death at the hands of a loved one is. The ethnic background,the label "honor killing", or the method used, don't make it any more so.

i'm speaking with prejudice- as a survivor.



(edited to remove an extra 'death')

[4lbs]

43. What about the one earlier this week where this guy lost his job and strangled both his wife and son

to death before killing himself?

That's equally heinous as both the beheadings. However, maybe more so, because a child was also killed.

[CrispyQ]

39. CNN had something on it - yesterday or the day before.

But I haven't seen it again. Unlike other stories that are on all day & for days on end.

[pampango]

44. I imagine it's a tough call for a genuine journalist.

I heard and read about this last week, but not since.

As a journalist, which I am not, if you play the story up, you run the risk of stoking anti-Muslim hysteria and portraying a stereotype of Muslims. If you underplay the story, you could be accused of ignoring a gruesome case of domestic violence with the added aspect of hypocrisy, since the husband was something of a public example of a non-stereotypical Muslim husband.

At times I think I could be a good journalist, getting the truth and exposing hypocrisy and vested interest. Handling a case like this must be a challenge, though.

[mrbarber]

46. I wonder if DU would be so quick to call religious discrimination..

..if the perpetrator had been a devout Christian who founded a television station to show Christians in a "positive light".

Judging by previous posts regarding anything negative having to do with anyone calling themselves Christian, I very much doubt it.

[iverglas]

47. "domestic violence"

I agree with comments that it is time the term was abandoned. Like a lot of terms, it carries overtones that may not be intentional, but are real.

The term now commonly used -- by the WHO, the US govt and the Canadian govt, e.g. -- is "intimate partner violence".

A specific term is useful, because the characteristics of the phenomenon are specific to it. Women are more at risk of violence from intimate partners, current and former, than from anyone else. The people who commit and are victims of intimate partner violence, their relationship, and the circumstances in which it is committed are all different in important ways from other instances of violence, and all of those factors have to be considered in addressing the problem.

The term also highlights the utterly atrocious and almost incomprehensible nature of the phenomenon: violence committed against someone whom one doesn't merely share living arrangements with, but against someone with whom one has an intimate relationship. The contradiction is brought to the forefront by the term.


As for the substance of the news release, I'm at a bit of a loss.

The comments about "domestic violence", both the words and the acts, are of course quite right.

The highlighting of the religion of the man who did this? Well, who can resist a little irony, a little exposure of hypocrisy? I think NOW should have.

How can marginalizing Muslims be in the interests of Muslim women who are victims of violence in their homes? They are Muslims; Islam is their religion. How will it help them to seek or be provided with protection to make their religion an issue?

Women with certain cultural backgrounds may be more in need of better access to that kind of protection than others. One reason is because they are already marginalized; they may not have supports within their families and their various cultural / religious / neighbourhood communities that other women have, and they may not have the access to supports in the broader society that women have because of language and cultural barriers. It is entirely reasonable to devise protection strategies tailored to their needs.

But making their religion an issue in the abuse they suffer, in the public's eyes and in their own understanding of how that abuse is defined in the broader society, i.e. as a problem caused by their religion, is hardly going to break down the barriers that isolate them from information and resources and supports and protections.

Ethnocentricity and cultural insensitivity on the part of middle-class white women was a charge leveled against the women's movement three decades ago. There seem to be some lessons that still need learning.

[NoPasaran]

49. It was on CNN.com a few days ago

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/16/buffalo.beheading/index.html

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The founder of an upstate New York TV station aimed at countering Muslim stereotypes has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, who was beheaded, authorities said.

[conturnedpro09]

51. The wife deserves the country's attention

...and the man deserves the nation's outrage. And yes, the fact that he's an American Muslim who committed this act in an open liberal democracy for extreme religious reasons is a central part of the story. Truth before sensitivity. I'd say that same if he were any other religion.

[iverglas]

52. "fact"?

And yes, the fact that he's an American Muslim who committed this act in an open liberal democracy **for extreme religious reasons** is a central part of the story.

Whence cometh this "fact"?

You seem to know a whole lot more than I do.

I guess if it's a fact, it would be different from somebody in an open liberal democracy shooting his wife because he's a misogynistic asshole. Somehow.

Pig who lives in "an open liberal democracy", in which women are routinely battered and terrorized and killed by their intimate partners, kills his wife because he feels like it?

Move along, no news here.

Muslim who kills his wife because, you say, of his religion?

Well, er, off with his head.

[Cleita]

54. It seems she's not as important as Chandra or Natalie were or the various missing

white girls found murdered after hours and hours and hours and days and days and weeks and months of the media beating these stories into the ground in the past. Every woman who has had violence done to her or who has been murdered deserves to have their story told, but to have it hardly told at all is a crime.

[Number23]

53. KnR. And not because this is a Muslim issue but because it is a violence against women issue.

While I'm sick of anything being done by Muslims/Arabs being treated differently than those done by members of other religions, there is no doubt that this should be something everyone should know and be talking about.

[pampango]

67. It's also a "hypocrisy" issue (though least of all). If a "family values" repub

is caught soliciting or has an affair, aside from the legality or morality of the act, we rightly castigate him for hypocrisy for not living according to his professed beliefs.

" Muzzammil "Mo" Hassan and his wife, Aasiya Hassan, founded Bridges TV, a cable channel dedicated to breaking down stereotypes against Muslims. He is now charged with her beheading."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100939340#commentBlock

I don't believe that Mr. Hassan has furthered his goal of "breaking down stereotypes against Muslims".

[Sheltiemama]

55. What blackout?

I put this story in my paper in Tennessee on tuesday for Wednesday's edition. I saw it on television early in the week, too. There has been no media blackout.

[Seeking Serenity]

58. I've visited the NOW website for the past several days since the story broke

and I haven't seen them mention it once.

Here's their page of latest news:

http://www.now.org/news/whatsnew.html

They do mention some woman name Riannon that I've never heard of before being attacked, but nothing on this story.

[MadBadger]

63. I'm glad its not all over the news

The media would take the story and turn it into an anti-Islam thing.

[BrklynLiberal]

64. Bill Maher is talking about this on his show tonight...making a big issue of it.

[lithiumbomb]

65. what blackout?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/18/ny.beheading/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,495945,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/nyregion/18behead.html?bl&ex=1235106000&en=8b9eb32a5d94c23a&ei=5087%0A
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29189095/

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=wife+beheading&btnG=Search+News

[greenbird]

68. I'm in the area it happened

and I noticed that it didn't get any coverage at all; it happened about the same time as the plan crash in Clarence Center, which is also nearby. The local news covered the crash 24/7. I was shocked that the beheading thing wasn't being covered locally, and chalked it up to the crash. Now I wonder.

[dcindian]

69. Huh? It was all over the news that day.

wow talk about revisionism.

[RedCloud]

70. This part of the report is racist: Is a Muslim woman's life...

I am abhorred as anyone about this, but I cannot let them use this to fund more kill Arab movements.

We didn't hear how Christian tot mom killed her baby and threw her in the swamp. Why not? Is it because we are not at war with Christians? What are they saying here? That because this happened to Muslims we are silent about it? Far from it. The article draws attention to their faith, but fails to note that in other crimes we do not bring out the faith issue because it does not suit the needs of the war machine.

Also I heard about this story because at other forums the Far Right took the bait and presented it as newsworthy with the banner "Muslim beheads wife"...

Notice how in a Red State this "raw meat" is thrown into several forums as well as making the news with the faith hatred leading the way, not the savage killer of estranged wife...

http://www.stltoday.com/websearch?query=Muslim+beheads+wife&stltype=stltoday&submit=GO&site=STLtoday&ch=&subch=

[marew]

73. What people do not seem to understand

is violence towards women is sanctioned in some Arab countries. That is what is so disturbing. It is part of the culture in some places. Legalized misogony exists in some parts of the world.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/honor_killings_islam_misogyny/

[Sultana]

84. Creeps also find passages in the Quran to justify violence toward women

Thanx for the link


:cry:

[Marie26]

85. A question

For anybody, really. Is it true that a verse in the Quran that states: "And for those women whose ill-will you have reason to fear, admonish them (first); then leave them alone in bed; then beat them."? Because if that's true, then it seems like it's not just twisting the text, but something that's actually advocated. Not to say that an act like this would ever be sanctioned, but it seems like some level of violence against women was acceptable.

[Sultana]

89. Could be

Islam and peace don't go hand in hand (regardless of what some say).

[FunkyLeprechaun]

74. Something like this happened where I live in MN (near Rochester)

They found two bodies which were headless and handless in plastic bags. They were a woman and a 5 year old boy.

It was later found out to be the wife and nephew of a Muslim man who has fled to the Middle East with their son. The country in the Middle East (don't remember which one) has since refused to extradite him to Minnesota.

I'm not sure how the case is going but I was disgusted with the country harbouring a brutal murderer like him. The Rochester Police also believe he has killed the mother of the 5 year old boy.

EDIT- She was of Bangladeshi origin and her name was Sophia Tareq and her nephew's name was Taef.

[tom_paine]

75. People just aren't yet used to media in an Inverted Totalitarianism.

They still think America is a Free Country.

Sad and naive.

When the victim is a member of an Outgroup, they are as invisible as the subtle and not totalistic nature of Inverted Totalitarianism will allow, America being the first and newest of this awful new version of suffocating totalitarianism, with less much less physical violence - at least in the early and middle stages.

Outgroups are censored. Only Wholesome White Christian Attractive Women need apply for Corporate Toady M$M coverage.

It is as simple as if they were Jews seeking M$M coverage for atrocities in Nazi Germany, except that the nature of Inverted Totalitarianism (as opposed to Hitler's Classic Totalitarianism) requires Plausible Deniability such that maybe the murder was whipped real fast once or twuce across the crawler.

SEE? We didn't ignore the victim?

:rofl:

Life in an Inverted Totalitarianism is always amusing.

[omega minimo]

91. That's almost it

"When the victim is a member of an Outgroup, they are as invisible as the subtle and not totalistic nature of Inverted Totalitarianism will allow, America being the first and newest of this awful new version of suffocating totalitarianism, with less much less physical violence - at least in the early and middle stages."

Please note that Women have been that Outgroup for quite a long time. The OP comments on how obsolete the lingo and institutional responses regarding violence perpetrated against that Outgroup are.


"Outgroups are censored. Only Wholesome White Christian Attractive Women need apply for Corporate Toady M$M coverage."

The Corporate Toady M$M utilizes Barbie as a cliche brand to sell its product, grab eyeballs, stir the shit, etc.

They don't give a shit about the individual women who may be "Wholesome White Christian Attractive Women" stooges used to push media stories.

So, it's real unfortunate when someplace like DU gets all hot to burn the blonde Barbie brand victim of the hour at the stake.

Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.

That includes women who are white, blonde, "wholesome" and/or happen to be exploited by media for completely cynical, "Corporate Toady" "Totalitarian" reasons.

AND that exploitation perpetuates women as Subgroup.

[tom_paine]

92. Very true. All of it.

One interesting thing, though. As Inverted Totalitarianism clamps down upon us and we get ready to "play the Nazis" (I think it's our turn, this time) in the upcoming Great War that is going to follow our Greater Depression...

...the difficulties of our own single issues are going to be subsumed in the overall freight train of Bushevism or Rushpublicanism or whatever you want to call it, that is coming.

Can Obama turn it around? Not from where I am sitting, but there is always a chance and I wish him all the best.

I agree with you completely on issues of feminism, but to the Bushies/Nazis, we are all Liberals/"Jews", so to speak.

Not sure what I am trying to say. I'm not disagreeing with you. It's just that the early evidence of the Obama Era shows that the Bushies are very likely to pick up right where they left off, as if they were never gone, in 4 or 8 years.

Corporate M$M continues to pretty much begin all discussions from Bushiganda as Conventional Wisdom, and we can no more beat that than the German Social Democrats or the British Democrats, once the Nazis and Afrikaeners had brought their gleichschaltung/media control programs past a certain point, right under clueless liberal noses.

[omega minimo]

93. Back atcha

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=5078834


If there is an "upcoming Great War that is going to follow our Greater Depression..." and ...the difficulties of our own single issues are going to be subsumed in the overall freight train of Bushevism or Rushpublicanism or whatever you want to call it, that is coming..."

the common issue -- as it seems it's been in other such times -- that subsumes the single ones and hits us hard may be (one that shows the commonality of our single issues): fear/respect of The Other.

It's always a challenge. The defensiveness on some of the threads, the rigid stance, seems devoid of the awareness that we all do this, we all "profile" each other, we all have our "suppositions" and attitudes. If we can give ourselves and others a break, we will understand they aren't always TRUE!! :spray:

The frightening scenario you present would offer many more literary, cinematic opportunities to be SURPRISED by common humanity in time that seem to pit everyone against everyone.

Or as Hugh de Montague presents dystopically, we'll revert to tribe/bands and sticks and stones.



"It's just that the early evidence of the Obama Era shows that the Bushies are very likely to pick up right where they left off, as if they were never gone, in 4 or 8 years."

Good evidence of that is how they've hung onto the dead corpse of Reaganism and unregulated markets EVEN AS THAT IS WHAT'S KILLING THE NATION. Oh and they're doing the same thing in the state of California -- holding the budget and the state hostage, all the Refucklicans until ONE cast the vote that passed the budget.

And how do they get away with it?

"Corporate M$M continues to pretty much begin all discussions from Bushiganda as Conventional Wisdom, and we can no more beat that than the German Social Democrats or the British Democrats, once the Nazis and Afrikaeners had brought their gleichschaltung/media control programs past a certain point, right under clueless liberal noses."


Ketchup is not a vegetable. Ollie North is not a hero. 2+2=4

:yourock:

[tom_paine]

94. I so hope I am wrong. Because if I am right, there's no stopping it now.

Thanks for the kind words.

I have to be wrong.

Don't I?

[omega minimo]

101. Since you asked

We cocreated this mess and we can cocreate something else.

If we dare.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

105. I'm bookmarking this thread, for you and tom_paine's subthread alone!!

yes, we can co-create something different. I resonated with this....

I loved this remark of yours, "The frightening scenario you present would offer many more literary, cinematic opportunities to be SURPRISED by common humanity in time that seem to pit everyone against everyone."

I am always going on about media, in its varied forms, and the social potency of its messages (individual potency too--'course society is composed of individuals, so....)
So when you mentioned a change in perspective lit. and cinema, I resonated with that too. I believe that how we see ourselves is part of a circle in which media shows us how we are seen. Change the messages, change the consequences.

change the messengers too

[fascisthunter]

81. sickening, but I do take issue with "muslim" being used to identify the killer

what was the purpose for it? This will only stir up animosity towards a group of people.

[mackerel]

87. CNN covered it.

[Stevenmarc]

90. I would take issue too, unfortunatly

Muzzammil Hassan made it a point of being publicly known as Muslim by creating a television station that aimed to counteract negative stereotypes of Muslims in America and then proceeds to deal with divorce with an honor killing.

[dustbunnie]

107. To expose hypocrisy. Same as when someone like Haggard denounces gay people -

then is caught doing drugs and having fun times with a gay man for sale. People are arrested for sexual solicitation in public bathrooms all the time but we never hear about it because they're nobodies. When a family values politician gets caught doing it, it's big news, and in those cases, their supposed Christian values come under attack. Men kill their wives every day, but here a prominent individual promoted and profited from espousing "peace and understanding" between two cultures, then couldn't find a smidgen of either for his own family. It's definitely news.

[ProgressIn2008]

95. I brought it up at work and coworker was stunned -- she hadn't heard a word

It's a finishing touch on how we trivialize violence against women. This was a horrific, barbaric honor killing and it should not be met with silence.