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Ariz. Father who murdered daughter in honor killing will not face death penalty so that “there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim”

Robert Spencer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:05:12 +0000

Faleh Almaleki murdered his daughter. He admits he killed her. But his attorney so skillfully played the race/religion card, prosecutors are afraid a death sentence would be labeled as a move prompted by Islamophobia, rather than justice.

Would a non-Muslim who ran down his daughter in a car be spared the death penalty?

Check out this article from The Arizona Republic, Feb. 19 (h/t to Jed Babbin):

A Glendale man accused of slaying his daughter in an “honor killing” will not face the death penalty. After sparring with the suspect’s defense attorney over its death penalty review process, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has said it will not seek death for Faleh Almaleki, 49.

The Iraqi immigrant is accused of slaying his daughter, 20-year-old Noor Almaleki, for being “too Westernized.”

Police say he used his Jeep Cherokee to run down his daughter and another woman in a Peoria parking lot Oct. 20. Noor Almaleki later died of her injuries.

Almaleki is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault and two counts of leaving the scene of a serious accident. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The decision not to seek the death penalty comes after Almaleki’s attorney, Billy Little, a public defender, asked a judge to take special precautions to ensure the County Attorney’s Office wouldn’t wrongly seek the death penalty because Almaleki is a Muslim.

Little requested that the office make public the process it uses to determine whether to seek capital punishment.

“An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs,” Little wrote, referring to County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ Christian faith….

Prosecutors said Almaleki has admitted killing his daughter because she disgraced the family by not following traditional Iraqi or Muslim values.

They liken the case to honor killings that occur in the Middle East, Africa and other parts of the world. In tribal societies where the practice occurs, male family members feel they must kill a rebellious female relative who shames them by not adhering to traditional values.

Noor Almaleki had reportedly married a man in Iraq and returned to Arizona to live with a boyfriend and his mother in Surprise, police said.

Arizona Muslim charged with murder in honor killing of his daughter

Robert — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:27:25 +0000

Faleh Hassan Almaleki is clearly a Misunderstander of Islam, and did not get the memo about how Islam condemns and forbids honor killing.

An update on this story. "Man charged with murder in 'honor killing': Almaleki accused of running over daughter," by Dustin Gardiner for The Arizona Republic, December 22 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):

An Iraqi immigrant accused of slaying his daughter in an "honor killing" has been charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said Monday.
Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, of Glendale, is accused of using his Jeep Cherokee to run over his daughter, 20-year-old Noor Almaleki, and another woman in a Peoria parking lot on Oct. 20. His daughter died of her injuries.

Almaleki was reportedly furious with his daughter for becoming "too Westernized," police said.

Prosecutors have labeled Noor Almaleki's death an "honor killing," saying the elder Almaleki killed his daughter because she dishonored the family by not following traditional Iraqi or Muslim values.

She reportedly married a man in Iraq and returned to Arizona to live with a boyfriend and his mother in Surprise.

Thomas announced Almaleki was also being charged with attempted first-degree murder in the attack on his daughter's friend, Amal Khalaf, 43. Khalaf is the boyfriend's mother and is expected to recover from her injuries, police said....

"By his own admission, this was an intentional act, and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family," Low said. "This was an attempt at an honor killing."...

How I Came to Work for the Freedom Center – My Speech at Restoration Weekend

David Swindle — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:02:31 +0000

Here it is… Five minutes is hardly time to really tell the story but it should give people some understanding.

The other speeches on the panel can be seen here.

The Deal for Gilad Shalit – by Jacob Shrybman

Jacob Shrybman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:02:25 +0000

As an oleh chadash (new immigrant) that came to land of the Jewish people not due to persecution or suffering but because of deep-rooted beliefs in Zionism, like many I have a big problem with all the latest discussions over Gilad Shalit.

As an oleh chadash that has recently received a profile score of 97 to serve my mandatory army service in a combat unit, and as an oleh chadash that for the past year has lived in the Gaza border city of Sderot I have an enormous problem with the latest discussions over Gilad Shalit.

I do not hold some seat in the government with some fancy title but I know what is going on now is wrong and it pains me to watch it happen.

Why is the discussion during the past week about how many terrorists we are going to give Hamas, Fatah, and the PA as a whole for Gilad’s return? Why isn’t the discussion about how we are going to make Hamas pay a huge price for the kidnapping of Gilad or about a plan to retrieve him?

Because we simply have entered into the Arabs’ shuk of hostage negotiating they have already declared a victory that will only empower them to kidnap more soldiers. It is laughable if one believes that they care if they get back 400, 1000, 980 or even 5 of their terrorists because they are in no way lacking numbers, and moreover as they use their own sons and daughters as human shields they clearly don’t value the lives of those they are receiving.

After a 21 day operation inside the Gaza Strip and we didn’t see Gilad back home, and now with our government, providing our enemies with the future opportunities to kidnap more of our sons and brothers- what am I supposed to think as someone soon entering the Israeli Defense Forces for ideological reasons when I know that my homeland won’t rescue me and will minimally take over 3 years to trade me only at the cost of future capture of others like me?

As someone living in Sderot since Operation Cast Lead it is hard to believe that this cowardly surrender to our enemies will bring anything but more missiles to more cities in Israel. It is awing to me when even the Defense Minister Ehud Barak has accepted the reality of rockets in our lives when last week in Sderot he described the situation as quiet. Friday before Shabbat we surpassed a count of 280 qassams, mortars and grads fired since Operation Cast Lead- apparently an acceptable amount to our elected leaders.

So what am I supposed to think as someone who lives in Sderot for the same ideological reasons that I have come to my homeland and will serve in our army, when I know our government is giving our enemies the opportunity to fire more missiles at me and others like me?

Can we really not get Gilad back with our infamous intelligence sources, stealth, and military training? Or has our government already sacrificed him and others to be so that they can get political points with all the world on-lookers and as a result maybe Bibi can also get a handout Nobel Peace Prize?

While all of this is happening and is considered a movement toward a greater peace deal, are we really supposed to believe it is all because of that scary hot-topic term “settlements.” Sderot, Ashkelon, and Beersheva are all targets of missile attacks that are not considered “settlements” by our administration or the Obama led American administration. Gilad Shalit was born in Nahariya and grew up in Mitzpe Hila, both of which are not “settlements.” So how can disallowing the growth of the Jewish nation or what George Mitchell and Barack Obama deem illegal settlement building really help bring Gilad home, stop the future capture of Israelis, and stop missiles from being fired at Israelis?

I do not intend to be facetious in writing all these questions but I am truly asking. As an oleh chadash soon entering the IDF and living in Sderot, what I am observing baffles me and leaves me with a load of questions.

Jacob Shrybman is a writer for the Sderot Media Center.