Ten months after their deaths, the FBI finally described Yaser Abdul Said’s murder of his two daughters as an “honor killing.” I wrote about it HERE. Fox News also did. However, within ten-twelve days, the FBI deleted this description from their Most Wanted poster. Once again, Fox News wrote about it. Most kindly, Fox’s journalist, Maxim Lott, interviewed me for both articles.
At the time of the deletion, several people told me that the “FBI had flip-flopped” and that “I should take them on and take them down.” Oh yeah. Instead, I sat down and thought it through.
It is entirely possible–but not likely–that the FBI simply caved in to Islamist political pressure. The local Dallas chapter of CAIR was not happy about the honor killing designation and the CAIR representative, Mustafaa Carroll, was quite vocal about it. Thus, perhaps the FBI did not want to deal with lawsuits about their singling out Muslims-only for certain crimes. Perhaps Islamists or politically correct civil libertarians within the bureau insisted that this was too sensitive an area, a real political minefield. But I don’t think this was the only or even the primary motive for the deletion.
The original poster did not say “Muslim honor killer;” other groups, Hindus and Sikhs, for example, also engage in the honor killing of their women. It is also possible that the FBI did not want to deal with numerous media requests for their position on “honor killings,” a complicated crime with which our laws have yet to deal.
So here’s what I think: If indeed Yaser Abdul Said is still hiding in the United States–and is being sheltered by other Muslims–imagine it from their point of view. If they are strangers, not blood relatives, would they be more or less likely to turn him in if they learned he was a common murderer or if they learned that the FBI was pursuing him because he was a Muslim? Or a Muslim honor killer? Since the FBI is clearly interested in capturing him, perhaps they concluded that advertising Said as an honor killer might limit their chances of success.
Some Muslims view honor killings as the only way a family can cleanse itself from having been dishonored. To them, an honor killer might be seen as a hero. Thus, designating Said as an honor killer might endear them to him and lead to his being safely sheltered for a longer period of time. Other Muslims may disapprove of honor killings entirely but might also see the designation as a way in which Western culture might choose to unfairly stigmatize all Muslims. Thus, the more moderate Muslims might also be less inclined to “get involved” in turning another Muslim in.
There is no doubt in my mind: Said did honor kill his two young and vivacious daughters. But, I understand why the FBI might have changed the wording on the poster.
When I publish my paper on honor killing in the West, I plan to send a copy to the FBI in Dallas right away. Perhaps it will help move things along.
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11 Comments
1. Dave:May I strongly suggest that a copy be sent to the First Captain of the Texas Rangers?
Rangers are not micro-managed like Special Agents are and if there is anything close to any Ranger’s assigned turf, he WILL pay attention. A Chesler letter might well be useful.
Oct 22, 2008 - 9:24 am 2. George Jochnowitz:There are two independent questions: (1) What is the best way to apprehend the perpetrator? (2) What is the best way to bring this horrible type of crime to the attention of the world?
Dealing with one of these questions may make it harder to deal with the other.
As far as honor is concerned, parents who murder their children have brought dishonor upon themselves, their family, their community, and their faith. Be ashamed, Mr. and Mrs. Said!
Oct 22, 2008 - 10:23 am 3. wassom:Phyllis, I think your right. The culture thinks this is “so honorable”, of course they are going to protect and hide him. We would be making it a legitimate act by acknowledging it in this way, by not doing so, we can call him the cold blooded, heartless killer that he is.
Oct 22, 2008 - 12:37 pm 4. Eleanor Pam:I served on two successive think tanks about Domestic Violence sponsored by the FBI at their Behavioral Sciences Unit in Quantico, Virginia. Although the primary thrust of those week-long sessions was to examine this area in relation to law enforcement officers, I must say I was impressed with the seriousness of the FBI around this subject and how systematically they were studying the problem through the assemblage of experts from different disciplines brought in from around the country.
Because of that experience I’d be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt in their thinking about the Honor Killing classification and assume good will. Of course, that experience was some years ago….
Oct 22, 2008 - 12:58 pm 5. Gail Gartrell:Phyllis,
I understand this position; however, if your scenario is correct, then shouldn’t we be standing for the truth and bring this to light? You know, there is a huge Muslim underground but, does all Americans know this? Do all Americans know exactly how tied our hands are when an American speaks truth? Seriously, to keep people blind about all of this is NOT the answer! This has been going on for too long now and I believe this “political correctness” blinds people to activities of those who do not come here to assimilate!
This used to be the United States of America! What has happened to our country? It is okay to call this whatever you want but, if you do speak honestly, as I did the day of these girls funerals…watch out! There is NO CAIR, no law which protects YOU (ME) from all the death threats! My threats are numbering exponentially, from speaking the truth. The more I speak truth, the more threats I get! This is exactly what happened to Amina before Yaser killed her! The more verbal she got about her desire to embrace her American heritage, the more enraged he became! Well, we certainly know how he dealt with that issue! So, I have to assume that the threats I receive are just as sincere as those yaser gave to Amina before he killed her!
In as much, I disagree with your analogy! The people who are helping here are aiders and abeding in these two girls murders! Yes, the FBI, should have labeled it as a Muslim Honor Killing….that’s the truth! However, to say they were right? NO! You are wrong Ms. Chessler and I hope you rethink this issue for the sake of those women who WILL die, in the USA, under Sharia rules!!!
Gail….Amina and Sarah’s great-aunt
Oct 22, 2008 - 6:18 pm 6. Max Friedman:Phyllis: I think you are being too kind to this “alleged” killer. If he is called an “honor killer” and fellow Moslems think that he is a hero, or that they should help him because acknowledging “honor killings” as a Moslem (Hindu, etc). practice would open them to ridicule/criticism, then they deserve whatever happens to them in the court of public opinion, or the court of the law.
Also, they would be “aiding and abetting a fugitive”, which is a crime itself. Unfortunately, our law enforcement people at the federal level have been politically compromised since the Clinton Administration and nothing is going to change it short of a purge of the Justice Dept and the FBI, as well as some large police departments. (I have worked with all of them in various capacities and this isn’t Hoover’s FBI anymore).
Decent Moslems living in the US must denounce “honor killings” as both inhumane, anti-American, and anti-Moslem, or else they will have earned the moniker of “honor killing lovers and practicioners”.
You can’t have it both way. Either you obey the laws where you live or you violate them, and then pay the penalty (or at least you used to pay the penalty).
No wonder kids today have no respect for the law, teachers, rules, morality, or anything else that separates us from the wild beasts.
We have lost our moral foundations and our laws have been so emasculated by the Left that we are now entering an Orwellian world of “Right is wrong and wrong is right.”
Oct 22, 2008 - 6:55 pm 7. Jesus is Lord, A Worshipping Christian’s Blog » Blog Archive » “The FBI Was Right. Why They Stopped Calling Yaser Said an Honor Killer” by Dr. Phyllis Chesler:[...] Read the rest of Dr. Chesler’s post here. [...]
Oct 23, 2008 - 6:43 am 8. David Thomson:A Barack Obama presidency will makes things even worse. Both George W. Bush and John McCain are politically correct. However, Obama’s leftism will take it to another level. His worldview revolves around the doctrine that whites are a cancer on this world. “People of color” must be perceived, first, last, and foremost as victims of oppression. And if I recall correctly, didn’t the son of this murdering father describe him as a victim?
Oct 23, 2008 - 10:30 am 9. pastbedtime:The easiest way to resolve this issue is to come to it on the terms of the people involved. Our constitution provides for religious freedom, this is the first point. If by any measure we restrict the actions of these few we will find that our own rights will be nibbled away at. Insofar as murder, by living in this country the father submits to the laws of the state, thus by carrying out such a harsh punishment his entire family will suffer, he is not the average person either so I dont want laws for all being made to regulate the few which will ensnare us all. Islamic culture is extremely protective of its womenfolk, examine their culture closely without bias and you will see better way’s to deal with the people. Muslims, christians and Jews of the everyday type get along fine as long as the rich and powerful do not pit them against one another for controlled conflicts like israel, but just as a warning, islam is not like the other religions, it is like a lovely aroma to all who come near it, and by learning its ways other ways of life appear as silly as a dog chasing its tail. Surely such a harsh punishment is frowned upon in sharia law and if this is brought forward none would continue to hide this indiviual.
Dec 22, 2008 - 8:54 pm 10. No surprise, CAIR honored islamist tv station founder who later beheaded his wife | Infidels Are Cool:[...] caught RED HANDED with tools for terror? Yet when someone points out an honor killing in America, they cry foul? When will We The People collectively awaken and say “ENOUGH!”, and start sending these [...]
Feb 18, 2009 - 12:32 am 11. Kingston Police Call It A “Muslim Honor Killing.” | Vlad Tepes:[...] Only once, in 2008, did our own FBI describe an honor killing as an honor killing. They did so in the case of the Said Dallas case but within ten days, they retracted that description. One can only imagine why. (And one does not know what the Canadian police or prosecutor will ultimately say). [...]
Jul 23, 2009 - 1:08 pm