Lebanese Cleric Issues Edict Condemning Honor Killings
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BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s most senior Shiite Muslim cleric issued a religious edict yesterday banning honor killings, calling the custom of murdering a female relative for sexual misconduct “a repulsive act.”
The fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah was a rare condemnation of the practice by a prominent cleric. Ayatollah Fadlallah’s office said he issued the statement in response to reports that honor killings were increasing.
“I view an honor crime as a repulsive act, condemned and prohibited by religion,” Ayatollah Fadlallah, the most revered religious authority for Lebanon’s 1.2 million Shiites, said. “In so-called honor crimes, some men kill their daughters, sisters, wives, or female relatives on the pretext that they committed acts that harm chastity and honor,” Ayatollah Fadlallah said.
