It's the ird, stupid

Jede Frau wird mit Ird geboren. Durch sexuelle Handlungen, die die Gemeinschaft als unpassend empfindet, verliert sie es. Männer haben kein Ird, doch ihre Ehre wird durch das Ird der Frauen der Familie bestimmt. Falls eine Frau ihr Ird verliert, können die männlichen Mitglieder ihrer Familie ihre eigene Ehre wieder herstellen, indem sie die Frau ermorden. Ehre gewinnt oder verliert man allerdings nur dann, wenn sich die Informationen über den Zustand der Familie durch Klatsch verbreiten. Nichts ist unehrenhaft, solange niemand davon erfährt. Im folgenden Fall verliert das 19-jähriges irakisches Mädchen Rand aus Basra ihr Ird, weil sie eine freundschaftliche Beziehung mit Paul, einem amerikanischen Soldaten eingeht:

Indeed, her 'relationship' with Paul, which began when she worked as a volunteer helping displaced families and he was distributing water, appears to have consisted of snatched conversations over less than four months. But the young, impressionable Rand fell in love with him, confiding her feelings and daydreams to Zeinab, 19. It was her first youthful infatuation and it would be her last.

Die Ehre ihre Familie verschwindet, nachdem das Paar in der Öffentlichkeit beobachtet wurde. Am gleichen Tag wird sie von ihrem Vater Abdel-Qadar und ihren beiden Brüdern Hassan und Haydar ermordet. Ihr Mutter Leila versucht sie daran zu hindern:

She died on 16 March after her father discovered she had been seen in public talking to Paul, considered to be the enemy, the invader and a Christian. Though her horrified mother, Leila Hussein, called Rand's two brothers, Hassan, 23, and Haydar, 21, to restrain Abdel-Qader as he choked her with his foot on her throat, they joined in. Her shrouded corpse was then tossed into a makeshift grave without ceremony as her uncles spat on it in disgust.

Die Freunde der Familie billigen den Mord, der soziale Status der Familie bleibt erhalten, denn die Ehre ist gerettet:

'Death was the least she deserved,' said Abdel-Qader. 'I don't regret it. I had the support of all my friends who are fathers, like me, and know what she did was unacceptable to any Muslim that honours his religion,' he said.

Diese Meinung teilen auch die Behörden:

Abdel-Qader, 46, a government employee, was initially arrested but released after two hours. Astonishingly, he said, police congratulated him on what he had done. 'They are men and know what honour is,' he said.
...
Abdel-Qader, a Shia, says he was released from the police station 'because everyone knows that honour killings sometimes are impossible not to commit'. Chillingly, he said: 'The officers were by my side during all the time I was there, congratulating me on what I had done.'

Sein Arbeitgeber, die Gesundheitsbehörde in Basra, hat ihn allerdings beurlaubt -- wegen schlechter Publicity:

Sources have indicated that Abdel-Qader, who works in the health department, has been asked to leave because of the bad publicity, yet he will continue to draw a salary.

And it has been alleged by one senior unnamed official in the Basra governorate that he has received financial support by a local politician to enable him to 'disappear' to Jordan for a few weeks, 'until the story has been forgotten' - the usual practice in the 30-plus cases of 'honour' killings that have been registered since January alone.

Rands Mutter ist damit nicht einverstanden:

'She was killed by animals. Every night when go to bed I remember the face of Rand calling for help while her father and brothers ended her life,' she said, tears streaming down her face.

Nach der Ermordung ihrer Tochter verließ sie ihren Gatten:

She also still bears the scars of the severe beating he inflicted on her, breaking her arm in the process, when she told him she was going. 'They cannot accept me leaving him. When I first left I went to a cousin's home, but every day they were delivering notes to my door saying I was a prostitute and deserved the same death as Rand,' she said.

Weiterführende Links:
http://www.meforum.org/article/50
http://shrinkwrapped.blogs.com/blog/2008/04/the-arab-mind-2.html

http://www.redroom.com/author/ellen-r-sheeley