Chesler:Bhutto's Assasination As A Political Honor Killing

Dr. Phyllis Chesler posts on PajamasMedia :

In a sense, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a political and cultural version of an honor killing. Bhutto was the first woman Prime Minister of a Muslim nation and she symbolized an unacceptably Western form of female ambition and achievement. She had attended Harvard/Radcliffe and Oxford. She spoke English—perhaps more fluently than she spoke her native Sindi or Urdu. She once dressed as Western women do. Indeed, many Muslim women from wealthy families, including educators and feminists, have done so for a long time. They cannot do so now.

and:

Bhutto was one of the “moderate” Muslims for whom the West yearns. Muslim fanatics murdered her in cold blood and they did so in an exquisitely planned and choreographed way. Their willingness to die in order to kill, terrorize, and impose their ideology upon others is precisely what keeps other “moderate” Muslims silent.

How far are the representatives of freedom, modernity, and human rights willing to go to end such terrorism? If we are not ready to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to free humanity from the plague of fundamentalist Islam, then we must be prepared to convert, veil, submit—or die.

Dr. Chesler's last sentence, quoted above, is the central issue of our time. People willing to die in order to kill are not open to polite negotiation or reasoned discussion. They have abandoned reason for blind faith in a cult of death and nihilism. We must oppose them such ferocious resolve that the hopelessness of their cause forces them to rethink ( or more acccurately think for the first time) their position. Trying to appease Islamic radicals is just whistling past the graveyard.
One more thing. Why aren't the women's groups and feminist leaders out front in the fight against this movement that is antithetical to everything about equality for women?

Update: Ellen R. Sheely was kind enough to comment on this post and I looked her up. Turns out Ms. Sheeley is an expert on honor killings and the author of Reclaiming Honor in Jordan: A National Public Opinion Survey on "Honor" Killings

I have not read this book but a quick read of the editorial review and reader reviews at Amazon has me interested to read it. The story of the author is remarkable as well. From Amazon:

In early 2003, Ellen R. Sheeley began to educate herself about "honor" killings, particularly those that take place in Jordan. That summer she journeyed from her home in San Francisco, California, USA to Amman, Jordan, where she learned of the needs for empirical, objective, baseline data pertaining to the Jordanian public's attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about "honor" killings and for a sustained marketing campaign to change hearts and minds. As a seasoned marketing professional, she was confident she had the ability and the qualifications to fulfill these needs. Unable to secure funding or sponsorship from the obvious and even the not-so-obvious sources and, yet, unwilling for mere lack of financial support to give up on the needs of the at-risk individuals and the victims, she quit her job, moved from her home, placed her personal effects in storage, bade adieu to her loved ones, and returned to Amman in October 2005 to perform the work pro bono, funded by her private savings. "Reclaiming Honor in Jordan" is a result of this effort and reveals a number of surprising findings about public opinion on this subject. Profits from this book will contribute to "honor" killings work.

About the Author
Ellen R. Sheeley is the Founder and CEO of Nob Hill Consulting, a San Francisco, California, USA based management and marketing consulting firm specializing in the international financial services and the technology sectors. She possesses an M.B.A. degree with a marketing concentration, a B.A. degree in psychology, and over 25 years' professional experience. Ellen has served on the boards of a number of nonprofit and technology corporations and on the faculties of four American universities. She has lived and/or worked in the United States, the CIS, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim and traveled to over 80 countries throughout the world. The research about which this book was written is a labor of love for Ellen and was wholly funded from her personal savings. In addition, all time and labor devoted to it were provided pro bono. Information on how to make a most welcome contribution to this effort may be received by sending an e-mail inquiry to forallwomen@gmail.com.