KENT, Ohio (TDB) -- The current issue of Kent State University's alumni magazine has a major write up about Nowal Ammar, a Muslim woman and professor of Justice Studies who says her religion is not violent though many Islamic nations are wracked by violence. The article appeared while another faculty member is under fire for suspected ties to violent jihadists.
Ammar is an expert on honor killings, a barbaric practice. Women are put to death by fathers or brothers in places like Pakistan and Jordan if they lose their virginity outside marriage. Rape is no excuse. The woman dies and the male attacker often remains unharmed. Sexual assault means the female has been defiled and her family's honor soiled.
KSU is the home of another Muslim faculty member, Julio Pino, who has drawn the interest of Pho's Akron Pages and The Plain Dealer. The school portrays Ammar as a heroine who advocates for immigrant women's rights and deplores a practice -- honor killing -- that she says predates her own Muslim faith.
"Islam is not a violent religion. Sadly, though, Muslims have used violence for political reasons. While a number of countries with Muslim majorities are suffering from poverty, war and occupation, the use of violence is not a justifiable means to the just and deserving causes in many Muslim communities."
KSU's report says the actual number of women killed in honor killings is unknown, but that in Jordan -- an Islamic nation -- honor killings could account for one-third of all violent deaths. Pakistan has had more than 2,000 since 1998. The KSU article says:
"Honor killings also have occurred in Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Ecuador, Italy, Sweden and the United States. However, these killings often remain a private, family affair, so an accurate picture of the practice and its frequency does not exist."
Strange coincidence that KSU has two profs making news at the same time about Islam?
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