Victim of Father’s Rage

Islamic Lunacy Remains Unchecked

thelastcrusade.org

A 20-year-old Muslim woman from Peoria, Arizona has died of injuries sustained in what prosecutors label an “honor killing.”

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, of Glendale, Arizona stands accused of running over his daughter, Noor Almaleki, and another woman in his Jeep Cherokee because he was distraught that his daughter had become “too Westernized.”

Noor Almaleki died Monday of injuries she received during the Oct. 20 attack.

Peoria police said charges against Almaleki, who is in a Maricopa County jail on two counts of aggravated assault, will be upgraded, though a spokesman wasn’t sure of the exact charges.

Social experts say honor killings are an accepted practice in Iraqi tribal society, where family members feel they must kill a woman who shames them by not adhering to traditional Muslim or Iraqi values.

Family members said Almaleki was outraged after his daughter married a man in Iraq but returned to Arizona to live with a boyfriend and his mother in Surprise.

The other victim, 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf, is the boyfriend’s mother.

Police said Almaleki fled the country after the attack, driving to Mexico, and taking a plane to London. He was detained by British authorities and extradited to Atlanta last week.

Speaking before a Maricopa County judge over the weekend, Arizona state prosecutor Stephanie Low said Almaleki has admitted purposefully running down his daughter.

“By his own admission, this was an intentional act and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family,” Ms. Low said. “This was an attempt at an honor killing.”

Almaleki did not address the accusations and spoke only to ask the judge about getting a court-appointed attorney.

Ms. Low said additional family members are suspected of assisting Almaleki in his escape.

“We can’t be naive and ignore that there’s a cultural aspect to this and there may be people who would support him, including his family, but also others who share his beliefs,” she said.

Citing Almaleki’s flight, Ms. Low asked the judge to take special precautions to prevent him from running again. Bail was set at $5 million.

Calls to Almaleki’s family members were not returned Monday.

No one knows how many honor killings have taken place in the United States in recent years. Many of the killings are written off as incidents of domestic violence.

The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 young women fall victim to patricide every year for failing to comply of Islamic standards of subservience.

The practice is most common in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, and Turkey.