Du'a Khalil Aswad

Articles

Religious Ignorance and Hatred Destroy Love ...Once again.

By D. Jones

On April 7th, 2007, 17 year old Du'a Khalil Aswad was murdered in the Kurdish town of Bashika, near Mosul, Iraq. Du’a Khalil was stoned to death because she was believed to have converted to Islam in order to marry a young Sunni Muslim man with whom she fell in love. The killing itself was considered an honor killing. Human Rights Watch defines honor killings as "acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family." Most often, these killings are never brought to trial because the societies in which they occur consider these private matters concerning only the families affected. The reasons for honor killings can range anywhere from adultery to staying out past a curfew with almost all cases involving women. Honor killings were legal in Iraq until 2002.

It is reported that over 1000 men were involved in the stoning including members of her family. Four of her family members have been arrested. The stoning itself was filmed and posted on the internet via camera phones. Can anyone else detect the severe irony in this situation? These people are so set in ancient beliefs that they would stone a young woman to death in the open streets, all the while filming it with the latest in cell phone technology and posting it on the internet. Imagine, esoteric ignorance broadcast through the use of state-of-the-art technology.

Du'a Khalil was a member of the Kurdish religious sect, the Yazidis. The Yazidis are not Islamic, Christian or Judaic (although many blogs about this story indicate that Americans don’t know the difference.) Instead, the Yazidis are a pre-Islamic religion that takes ideas and beliefs from all three of the major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Yazidis believe that they are direct descendants of Adam and are not allowed to marry or interact with people outside of their religion. This group has been persecuted for centuries by Christians and Muslims because they are thought to be Satan worshipers. However, the Yazidis themselves do not believe in the Devil but rather that evil is an emotion originating and caused by humans.

What exactly was this girl’s crime? Was she convicted of a terrorist act? Was she an evil dictator killing her own people? No. Instead she experienced one of the greatest emotions a human can feel. She simply fell in love. Unfortunately for her it was with a person of the "wrong religion." It's difficult to imagine knowing the potential consequences of such a forbidden relationship and yet being driven to your own demise by a feeling of love you could not deny. Romeo and Juliet come to mind but this is not Shakespeare. This is real life and these barbaric honor killings are still happening as we speak. It is estimated that 5,000 women are victims of honor killings each year.

Violence in religion is nothing new. All one needs to do is browse the pages of most religious books to find, for example, the Bible and the Koran filled with violent and inhumane acts. For over 2000 years, archaic religious customs have oppressed and dictated the lives of billions of people. What is most unsettling to me is that religion has blinded these people from understanding the true nature of love. How is it that if everything is the result of some creative entity, why would love, forgiveness and understanding be created if we aren't supposed to use them? In a society where all outcomes are "Gods will", why would she be allowed to fall in love in the first place if her death was just part of a pre-determined plan? It is truly unfortunate that a young woman like Du'a Khalil had to spend her life in a religious society that is entirely deluded and desensitized to the unforgiving brutality they take part in and continue to support. Where is the honor in killing a person of your own flesh and blood?

As horrible and tragic as this is, Du’a Khalil’s story should still have a silver lining. The message should be clear to the youth of her country and the rest of the world where people are oppressed by religion. Love will not lose out to fear and injustice. I can only hope that Du’a Khalil’s gruesome murder will help to bring this savage behavior to light and demand the world's attention. Her story has the power to spread and inspire hope for the young people of this and the coming generations. There is hope to no longer be afraid, to stand up against a hate-filled history of religious violence and intolerance. After 17 years of life, Du'a Khalil had the courage to see past the indoctrination she had been raised in for the sake of following her heart. How many people must die before we realize that love is really all that matters?