Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Pakistan: Man murders sister because she married a Christian who converted to Islam

(Lahore) 24-year-old Mubeen Rajhu wasn't happy when his younger sister, 18-year-old Tasleem, married the man of her dreams. It seems that even though her husband Jehangir had converted from Christianity to Islam (Islam forbids women from marrying non-Muslims.), everybody in the area saw her only for bringing shame on her family. It seems that at the mill where Mubeen worked he would get ribbed by his fellow workers for the fact his sister had married a Christian.
'Can't you do anything? What is the matter with you? You are not a man. It would be better to kill your sister. It is better than letting her have this relationship,'
He in turn asked his fellow workers to stop taunting him or else he would kill himself. But he didn't.

Mubeen Rajhu
Which is why on the 14th of August this year, Mubeen walked in on his mother and his sister at home and shot her dead. In custody, Mubeen is proud of what he did, his father is proud of what his son did. After Mubeen killed Tasleem, the elder Rajhu went to the police and filed a complaint. In Pakistan, parents often do so not to see the killer punished but to lay the legal groundwork so they can forgive the culprit. He expresses his thoughts:
“My family is destroyed. Everything is destroyed only because of this shameful girl. Even after death I am destroyed because of her."
While he is angry, his son is locked away, no longer earns money which he used to hand over to his father. The neighbours are glad of what Mubeen did:
"I am proud of this man that he has done the right thing, to kill her, we cannot allow anyone to marry outside our religion. He did the right thing."
Pakistani cleric Dr. Raghib Hussain said there is no provision in Islam that allows a Muslim to marry a Christian but the man's conversion to Islam should have been accepted. Still, Naeemi said Tasleem deserved to be punished by 100 lashes.

Police Photos of Tasleem
Pakistan's Superintendent of Police Tariq Mastoi said that the state has charged Mubeen Rajhu, who killed his sister, Tasleem. But often when so-called honour killings come to court, the complainants step back from claims of honour and say it was murder, and in Pakistan, the family of a murder victim can forgive the accused.

Meanwhile, the victim's newly converted Islamic husband Jehangir has had to go into hiding because people have taken to shooting up his home.