KINGSTON, ONT.—This is Canada. They won’t be “hoisted onto the gallows.” But they’re going to prison for life.
Mohammad Shafia: Guilty on four counts of first-degree murder.
Tooba Mohammad Yahya: Guilty on four counts of first-degree murder.
Hamed Shafia: Guilty on four counts of first degree murder.
On Sunday afternoon, after 15 hours of deliberation, the jury of five men and seven women returned with their verdict.
This news has spread quickly, the BBC has this story already and the Beeeb, pays little attention to Canadian matters. They really hardly care at all about Canadian events.
Can't tell you how relieved I am that these sentences were passed down on the three of them. What they did to their own family members was disgusting - there was no honour in it and there never could be.
As much as I'm delighted the three accused are going to spend a good long time in jail (hopefully with the crusty old patriarch himself dying behind bars one day soon), I am struck by the loss of four innocent women, three of whom who were really just beginning their lives. The utter senseless of these deaths saddens me.
The murders were motivated by the religious beliefs of the perpetrators. You or I or anyone else may have a different interpretation of what Islam teaches, but that's not relevant to what the perpetrators of this crime believed.
It is also perfectly fair to say that Islam does not teach that flying planes in to skyscrapers or blowing yourself up in a crowed market is a good thing to do, but that does not change the fact that the people who do these things are religiously motivated.
The point is, when people are raised to believe crazy things, they'll often do crazy stuff.
Thus I contend that getting some of the crazy out of our culture would be a good thing.
It is this kind of thinking that leads to racial profiling... there are lunatic fringes in every aspect of society... that SOME people are Muslim who carry out these acts does not mean it was religiously motivated as if they actually followed the tenets of their religion they would not do such things, they are simply deluded people who happen to belong to a certain religion and in their delusion blame or attribute their acts to the religion. They exist (or come from) in a culture of hate and violence, not in a religion that promotes these things.
To attribute religion as the cause is to misappropriate the source cause and leads to prejudice and worse.
I dunno. Nature abhors a vacuum. Get some crazy out of culture thanks to religious zealotry and some other crazy behaviour will rise to the occasion. Overwrought nationalism or racism, for example.
This is a product of patriarchial culture, not this particular religion. It is a problem in India with intercast relationships. There were instances in Italy either during or just after WWII with local girls fraternizing with troops. In general where males are deemed to reign supreme, there will be instances of them taking absolute and fatal power.
There is also a cultural element of mass conformity. they had a call in on CBC at lunch. They talked of an incident where the local community did not like how a father was handling his daughters and were putting pressure on him to " take care of it ".
I think an important message has been well sent. first it was a jury and not a judge. Second it was fairly even - 7 women, 5 men. Third, it did not take them long to send the message.
This is a product of patriarchial culture, not this particular religion. It is a problem in India with intercast relationships. There were instances in Italy either during or just after WWII with local girls fraternizing with troops. In general where males are deemed to reign supreme, there will be instances of them taking absolute and fatal power.
There is also a cultural element of mass conformity. they had a call in on CBC at lunch. They talked of an incident where the local community did not like how a father was handling his daughters and were putting pressure on him to " take care of it ".
I think an important message has been well sent. first it was a jury and not a judge. Second it was fairly even - 7 women, 5 men. Third, it did not take them long to send the message.
I realize that. Just wondering how it came to this. Was it the part about him seeing aspects of this in academia? That could be pushing I'd agree, but it wasn't as if he said, that's the way all academia is.
Thank you, Sinc. I do tire when I hear/read of all academics being painted with the same brush. We are as different/caring/understanding/obtuse/pedantic/emphahetic/foolish/loving/understanding/hateful as any other group of people. Paix, mon ami.
Well-educated, rational and empathetic does not necessarily mean without religion.
But I don't think academia has a surfeit of such people. Well-educated, sure. Rational and empathetic, not necessarily.
It's interesting to me that bryanc sees academia as so lofty, when my fiance's biggest complaints are about the politics and how irrational all of that is.
Rationality is a manner of deriving conclusions. It's a description of a thought process. When we describe a person as rational, we typically mean that they show an ability and/or a preference for this type of thought process.
Having a preference for this type of thought process does not necessarily preclude religious belief.
Anyone feel a touch sorry for the 21-year old who was brainwashed in this culture and subsequently "forced" to follow or face ostracization/victimization?
Not at all condoning the act, just trying to perhaps see it from his perspective.
This reminds me of the librarian magazine in which they all congratulate themselves for being librarians--the salt of the earth.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Canadian Mac Forums at ehMac
1.5M posts
40.3K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to Canadian Mac owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about collections, iOS, models, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!