Iraqi Christian Woman And Brother Murdered In Basra
Christianity in Iraq?
Basra…yep.
BAGHDAD: The bodies of a Christian woman and her brother were found in a garbage dump, police and church officials said Tuesday in the southern city of Basra, where women have grown increasingly fearful of religious vigilantes blamed for the deaths of at least 40 women.
Gunmen in an unlicensed white SUV with darkened windows first grabbed the brother — 31-year-old Osama Marzouq — and forced him to call his sister, 41-year-old Maison, and ask her to leave work and meet him on Sunday, the officials said. Their bullet-riddled bodies were discovered Monday, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisal.
Basra’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Jalil Khalaf, has said patrols of motorbikes or unlicensed cars with tinted windows are accosting women not wearing traditional dress and head scarves, known as the hijab.
A 21-year-old history student at Basra College of Arts said women are harassed both at the school and in the streets.
“Islam and the Prophet Muhammad didn’t order the killing of the women if they do not wear the hijab,” she told The Associated Press. “My family is a secular one, but respects Islam’s instructions. Now I’m forced to wear the hijab when I leave my house, and my mother and sister have to as well.”
She said she was stopped once by two fellow students and ordered to cover her hair and stop wearing makeup “otherwise it’s better for me not to attend class.”
Another woman, a 43-year old Christian housewife, said her family was driven from the city where they had lived for years, and fled to a Christian neighborhood of Baghdad.
“It started last May when gunmen stopped me and my husband as we were walking and asked me about my clothes and why I did not wear the hijab,” she said. “Then we were beaten when I told them that we are Christians, and they threatened to kill me if I would not respect Islam in this city.”
The women refused to let their names be used, fearing they would be targeted.
Throughout Iraq, many women wear a headscarf and others wear a full face veil, although secular women are often unveiled. In recent years, armed Islamic extremists in some parts of the country have sometimes forced women to cover their heads or face punishment. Christian women have even been forced to wear headscarves in many areas, including Baghdad.
In an interview Sunday, Khalaf said 40 bodies have been found this year in garbage dumps with bullet holes, decapitated or otherwise mutilated with a sheet of paper nearby saying, “she was killed for adultery,” or “she was killed for violating Islamic teachings.”
The officials Tuesday said no notes were found with the bodies of the woman and her brother. Basra is Iraq’s second-largest city, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
(IHT)
Al Qaeda terrorist types like to stick signs on their victims eh?
How bout we tattoo the following to the forehead of every jihadi we kill:
You were killed for being an idiot and a pimple on the ass of humanity…
December 11th, 2007 at 11:35 pmIf the sane of the world don’t stand up as a whole and put down this death cult called Isalm once and for all, then this is just another day. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you….
December 12th, 2007 at 8:58 amI guess the Brits really didn’t finish the job in Basra after all. Never thought I see the day when the english would not finish what they started.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:00 amCridhe Saorsa -
Churchill died many years ago and Good Old Maggie (Thatcher) is so far out of the public eye that no one remembers where their core values are anymore. Guess they have returned to the pre WWII days.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:09 am“Religion of Peace”. I still don’t get it nor do I buy that line of garbage. How about “Sex Cult - Choose Your Virgin or Goat”? Let me know what you all think, maybe we can start an on-line poll.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:26 pm