The poet Al-Mutanabbi “died Sept. 23, 965”, says:
“High honour does not remain unharmed.. Until blood is shed at its sides!”
In this context, Al-Mutanabbi is not speaking about himself, nor is he expressing an unusual opinion in the Arab cultural mindset. Rather, he is faithfully conveying one of the foundational Arab values that highlight the deep-rooted connection between the Arab’s sense of honour and violence.
For Al-Mutanabbi, honour remains tainted until blood is shed to protect it. Thus, the equation becomes:
Protecting honour = Spilling blood.
Although hundreds of years separate us from Al-Mutanabbi’s era, this violent and backward perspective still resonates in our present time.
A Japanese writer, who spent more than forty years among Arabs, learning their language, exploring their customs, and translating some of their literary works into Japanese, noticed this as well.
“Nobuaki Notohara”, in his book “The Arabs: A Japanese Perspective,” which he wrote himself in Arabic and was published by Al-Jamal Publications in Germany, page 55, says:
“The Arabs suffer from an honour complex. They fear what they call disgrace. This feeling is as old as the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula. The consciousness of honour and the consciousness of disgrace take different forms in Arab behaviour, ranging from external appearances to matters concerning dignity itself.”
And he adds: “The concept of honour and shame dominates the concept of trust in wide areas of Arab life.”
And I also quote from his book:
“Solving a problem or overcoming a crime does not involve creating a new problem or committing a new crime… Crime is a significant test of human justice, consciousness, and responsibility, as well as a test of dignity, honour and conscience all at once.”
Laws in most Arab countries grant lenient penalties to perpetrators who commit a crime “in a fit of intense anger,” with the punishment often amounting to only a few years or months in prison.
“Honour killing is societally and legally protected. Article 17 of the Egyptian law grants judges the right to mitigate the sentence and reduce the crime to a misdemeanour.”
In one case, “the judge said the victim deviated from customs and traditions.”
The ruling authorities reinforce the culture of honour-driven killings instead of combating it. Therefore, issues of femicide should be addressed within a comprehensive cultural and legal framework. Additionally, judges are sometimes influenced by their own environments, which is why we advocate for human rights and gender-based training and adherence to international conventions.
The legal leniency towards perpetrators of honour crimes extends to most Arab countries. For instance, Jordanian law states that “the penalty shall not exceed three years and shall not be less than one year.” In Syria, Article 548 stipulates imprisonment for 5 to 7 years.
Notably, societies “governed by oppressive political regimes may endure the absence of basic human rights and political liberties but are the most stringent and harsh when it comes to ‘cleansing dishonour,’ due to the fear of humiliation or the social stigma that may affect the individual or the family.”
The dominance of defending honour is not limited to justifying the murder of female family members. It extends to justifying actions to protect the honour of the neighbourhood, the street, and the residential building, imposing similar guardianship on single or divorced women living alone outside the family home and without a husband.
Often, mere suspicion or the launching of an unsubstantiated accusation is enough to lead to collective violence under the pretext of preserving honour. An example of this is the famous incident known as the “Lady of the Peace District” in Cairo.
The issue of virginity remains a significant concern in the Arab and Islamic world, with many exclusively linking virginity to honour.
Honour crimes still hold high numbers in Arab and Muslim societies, and countless seminars, lectures, and books have discussed this topic. I did not intend to write about this overly discussed subject, but the transfer of these ignorances to liberal Western societies through recent waves of migration posed a challenge and a determination for me.
The Swedish government also took note after several incidents and followed suit by implementing new measures against violence and honour crimes against women starting from July 1, 2024.
Today, the Swedish government announced new measures called the “lämna-program” to combat male violence against women and honour-based violence against girls and women within families with the same strength as combating gang crimes.
The government presented today the plan and actions that will be implemented to combat domestic violence against women and persecution related to honour, which often occurs within families of immigrant backgrounds — including criminalising so-called “virginity tests”.
Investigations are also underway to ban marriage between relatives.
The new measures are scheduled to be enforced from July 1, 2024, introducing new rules that enhance protection for women who have experienced violence, including expanding the possibility of terminating a rental agreement for someone who perpetrates violence against a family member, according to Minister of Health “Acko Ankarberg Johansson” at the press conference.
The astonishing rise in hymen reconstruction surgeries indicates that morality is superficial. What a disgrace for a girl to be married off to a young man after undergoing a procedure to restore her virginity! Isn’t this the greatest affront to the concepts of dignity, honesty, and love that should unite a woman and a man? Isn’t the obsession with a mere hymen as an absolute value a hidden incitement to commodify the body while maintaining “virginity” because the girl feels that her entire personality, culture, and being are not appreciated or respected unless she is a “virgin”?
This generates hostile feelings towards society and men in many women, as one young university woman told me. This mindset made her resentful: “Why is a man allowed to have sex without being subjected to any moral judgment, while the same is not allowed for a woman?” She admitted to having random sexual relationships to spite this mentality that reduces her to just a hymen, as she wants to be respected as a person who doesn’t lie, cheat, or undergo hymen reconstruction surgery, but she sees the reality contrary to her desire for respect as a human being.
What a disgrace that China produces a cheap, artificial hymen specifically for the backward Arab and Islamic world.
What a hypocritical and shameful family life is built on lies when a girl undergoes a hymen reconstruction surgery to deceive her life partner and husband into believing she is a “virgin!” Isn’t this behaviour the pinnacle of deceit, immorality, and lack of honour? The responsibility for this behaviour does not lie solely with the girl but with a whole arsenal of rigid and decayed social mentalities that prevent a woman from feeling that her dignity and honour lie in her conduct, morals, honesty, and the purity of her spirit and body, but rather in her “virginity” alone.
Advocates of traditional and backward thinking always propagate a massive rumour passed down through generations that Westerners lack honour or that it is non-existent among them, citing the sexual freedom that Westerners enjoy.
They claim that Arabs and Muslims alone among the peoples of the earth possess this “treasure” and “priceless wealth,” while others who possess the world and everything in it have no honour at all!
Honour among Arabs and Muslims is a simplistic and naive concept fraught with contradictions, as it is closely tied to the notion of “hymen.”
Muhammad transferred the Arab concept of honour to the “houris of paradise/a maiden women,” who revert instantly to “virgin girls” after sexual intercourse immediately, so that the next Muslim can enjoy a “fresh, first-choice houri” anew!
On the contrary, while Arabs and Muslims consider the hymen to be the epitome of honour, modern Western civilisation views poverty as disgraceful because it is a human tragedy that must be combated and eradicated.
For this reason, Westerners have revered work and production as the sole means to fight poverty and to provide sufficient funding for healthcare and social services. Laws and systems have evolved among Westerners to assist their people in combating this scourge that has afflicted humanity for thousands of years.
Note; that poverty is not considered a stigma in Arab-Islamic culture.
Arabs and Muslims may cite a statement attributed to “Ali ibn Abi Talib” or sometimes attributed to “Umar ibn al-Khattab”:
“If poverty were a man, I would have slain him.”
However, this statement, which lacks realistic meaning, has not resolved their crises and is devoid of any intellectual authority or associated values, concepts, and solutions, due to the numerous contradictions within Arab-Islamic culture. This is because “poverty and wealth” are matters decreed by Allah, who distributes sustenance as He wills (Quran 24:38 “And Allah provides without measure to whom He wills”).
According to Islamic thought, even fertility and infertility are matters decreed by Allah (Quran 42:50 “And causes whomever He pleases to be barren”).
In the ethics and values of modern Western civilisation, poverty is a disgrace to the state, high unemployment rates are a disgrace to the state, a sick person unable to afford medicine is a disgrace to the state, low productivity is a disgrace to the state, and underdevelopment and failure to contribute to human progress are significant shames.
Meanwhile, owners of “hymens” compete with millions to worship stones and idols in Mecca, while their lands remain uncultivated.
“Honour in work,” say the Japanese. In contrast, Arabs and Muslims are more concerned with religion and its ritual formalities above all else.
Lie, but continue to pray..
Steal, but continue to pray…
Commit rape, but continue to pray..
Invent excuses to evade work, just continue praying..
Close the streets and sidewalks to passersby with your prayers…
Cheating, lying, and the moral and ethical collapse among the majority of Muslims can be replaced by “praying and seeking forgiveness for sins,” where “Allah is forgiving and merciful!”
No law, no accountability, no duties, no respect for human dignity.
Societies that grant freedom of thought and belief to individuals are honourable societies; they embody all dignity.
Societies that consider the presence of the poor a disgrace are more honourable than gang-ruled fiefdoms killing their surfeit, while the majority suffer from dire poverty.
Suppressing protesters with live ammunition is a flaw and disgrace in Western ethics.
True honour is not in a “hymen” that can be restored through a trivial surgical procedure or purchased online from China.
Real honour lies in honesty, integrity, values of freedom, security, peace, and full equality between women and men, and in protecting children.
In our era, honour is the human rights framework that must also become part of educational curricula.
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