'Honour' Killings

[Westbrick]

Let's see where we agree and where we disagree.

We agree on the fact that honour killings are terrible things. We agree that something should be done. But we disagree on how. You believe that the Western World has the power to change the Arab World's opinion through diplomacy. I am telling you that what you suggest is 150~200% impossible since it is religion driven and as we all know, religion drives wars (Crusades is a nice obvious example).

I call you an idealist because you still believe that diplomacy works when talking to religious fanatics. Hint: It doesn't.

Not entirely right. I believe that the Western world has the problem to help the problem in the East, not necessarily cure it. The people to target, by the way, aren't the religious fanatics, because, as you point out, they're beyond convincing. It's the people in power, who can provide protective care etc., who should be targeted diplomatically.

[Wen Yang]

Not entirely right. I believe that the Western world has the problem to help the problem in the East, not necessarily cure it. The people to target, by the way, aren't the religious fanatics, because, as you point out, they're beyond convincing. It's the people in power, who can provide protective care etc., who should be targeted diplomatically.

Except that, more often than not, The people in power are ALSO part of the "Religious Fanatic" group.

[Life]

Except that, more often than not, The people in power are ALSO part of the "Religious Fanatic" group.

Yeah. That. Thanks for pointing that out.

[Wen Yang]

Yeah. That. Thanks for pointing that out.

You're welcome. My country isn't as crazy as your neighbors... but we have our spells every now and then as well.

[CrashGordon94]

Except that, more often than not, The people in power are ALSO part of the "Religious Fanatic" group.

Did you really have to revive this thing to say that?

[Life]

Did you really have to revive this thing to say that?

Yes Crash. He did.

Wen makes an excellent point, judging that he also lives in a country where honour killings actually exist on a daily basis.

[Wen Yang]

Well, not really daily, but you hear about it happening every few months.

The reaction to it tends to differ.

In some parts (the more fanatical ones) nothing happens. If you even hear anything about it.

In other parts you sometimes get a mob that pulls some street justice on the rapist, and oftentimes, on the one doing the honor-killing.

Idiocy in the name of religion happens everywhere, and not just by one religion, just saying.

[nflchamp]

I read this topic because it was interesting and I'd like to add a point.

We all find honor killings abhorrent because we believe they go against basic human rights to life. However, and I know someone was bringing this point up before, these human rights are ideas of the west. In "The East" there could easily be a different idea to what basic human rights there are. We think that a right to life is one of the most important - if not the most important - rights we have by simply being human. "The East" doesn't have to think that though. Protecting one's honor could be considered the most important human right with life being lower in the list. So, no matter how insane we think it is, the man killing a victim of rape could be considered permitted to do so because of his human rights. He is not violating another person's rights, he is practicing his own by protecting his (and likely that of the rape victim's) honor.

Now, being a western thinker, I think that such an idea is just a cultural phenomenon that could be so pervasive as to be misinterpreted by "Eastern" thinkers as a human right. It's such a thing that changes once that part of the culture is questioned hard enough.

Final note: East is quoted because I don't think the idea is prevalent enough to be blanketed over the entire part of the world. It is simply an easy to use identifier.