Canada, US imams issue fatwa declaring honour killings, domestic violence 'un-Islamic'

Tuscaloosa Times (ANI) Sunday 5th February, 2012

Imams across Canada and the United States have issued a moral ruling condemning honour killings, domestic violence and misogyny as "un-Islamic."

Thirty-four imams belonging to the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, including a handful of American members, signed the fatwa to counter misinterpretations of the Koran.

While it has no legal teeth, the fatwa is "morally binding" for all Muslims, a Calgary-based imam who founded the council, Syed Soharwardy said.

"So if anybody is thinking that honour killing is allowed in Islam, or domestic violence is okay or misogyny is okay, we are saying no, you are dead wrong," The Globe and the Mail quoted Soharwardy, as saying.

The rare ruling comes after the delivery of the verdict in the Shafia murder trial, in which a Montreal couple and their son were convicted of killing four female relatives.

Mohammad Shafia, his son Hamed and his wife Tooba Yahya were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13, and Rona Amir Mohammad, 52.

The trial captured worldwide attention and cast a shadow over Canada's Muslim community, prompting many religious and community leaders to oppose domestic violence.

"What happened in the Shafia home ... The crime was not committed because Islam says so. The crime was committed because that is the way they understood what they think is right," he said. (ANI)