India: Muslim woman murdered by her sister and brother-in-law after marrying a Hindu man

Islamic marriage laws are based on supremacist assumptions. The idea is that the Muslim community will always grow at the expense of the non-Muslim community, and that because that is a good outcome, any means, including deception, may be pursued in order to attain it. Also, pressure is brought on Hindu women to convert because of the Qur’an: “And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite to the fire, but Allah invites to paradise and to forgiveness, by His permission. And he makes clear his verses to the people that perhaps they may remember.” (Qur’an 2:221)

And what happens if a Muslim woman marries a Hindu man anyway? That’s when the offender may be liable to an honor killing. There is abundant evidence that the idea of killing someone to cleanse the family honor is considered acceptable in some areas of the Islamic world.

In the Qur’an, a mysterious figure, known as Khidr in Islamic tradition, kills a boy in an apparently random and gratuitous attack. He then explains: “And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy.” (18:80-81)

And according to Islamic law, “retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right.” However, “not subject to retaliation” is “a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring’s offspring.” (Reliance of the Traveller o1.1-2).

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but “the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour ‘provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.’” And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that “Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values.”

“Kerala Muslim woman stabbed by sister and brother-in-law after marrying a Hindu youth: Read details,” OpIndia, April 19, 2021:

In another case of religious intolerance, the relatives of a Muslim woman, hailing from Kerala, have reportedly hacked the former for marrying a Hindu youth, after getting romantically involved with him. The incident took place when the Muslim girl went to visit her parents at Kalanjoor in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. She was reportedly attacked by her own sister and brother-in-law, who were displeased by the interfaith marriage.

The Muslim woman from Kerala, who injured her arms in the attack was admitted to a hospital in Ranni. The police have registered a case against the accused duo and confirmed that they would record the victim’s statement soon. The police are yet to ascertain whether the assault was for property or is it a case of an ‘honour attack’.

According to the police, the couple had fallen in love and married each other on the 8th of last month. The duo was living at the Hindu youth’s place which was close to the girl’s parent’s house. On the day of the incident, the girl had gone to pay a visit to her parents. Her sister and brother-in-law were also present there. According to reports, an altercation between them regarding the distribution of their maternal property led to the assault.

Reportedly, the victim’s sister resented sharing the ancestral property with her sister. She fought with her sister and in a fit of rage, attacked her with a sharp weapon, leaving her badly injured.

The police has opined that though there were no ‘significant objections’ to the marriage, the events that followed seems to suggest otherwise.