The issue of domestic violence among Muslims has not been addressed, nor has it been acknowledged among Muslims living here in Western New York.

I teach Effects of Islam and Culture in the formation of Family Laws at the UB Law School.

Domestic violence in Muslim families is often discussed in my class because certain verses from the holy book, the Quran, have been used to justify violence against women. Codified family and criminal laws as they are practiced in some Muslim countries do not recognize domestic violence against women as a crime. Even in those counties that have recognized domestic violence against women as a crime, the punishment is heavier for the abused than the abuser.

Just the other night a friend invited me to watch the classic French movie "Mississippi Mermaid," made in the early 1960s by the French director Francois Truffaut. At some point in the movie the wife tells her husband about the punishment for committing the crime of passion.

"If you kill your wife, you could defend it under the law of ‘crimes of passion,' and eight out of 10 jurists will acquit you," she said, accurately referring to an antiquated French Napoleonic law that acquitted a husband from killing his wife if the wife was caught in bed with another man.

The so-called "crime of passion" was exported to Arab countries under the French colonization and was codified later, allowing a husband to kill his wife not only in bed but also in any perceived compromised situation. Killings in such "compromised situations" became known as "honor killings" in many countries, such as Jordan and Pakistan. There have been cases of a husband or father killing his wife or daughter because they perceived that the women were not decent. Some of these perceived situations have included the simple act of a woman asking for a divorce.

Whether the brutal decapitation of Aasiya Hassan by her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, had anything to do with any such beliefs is not the issue of this writing. The goal is to clarify any misconceptions of "honor killing" as an acceptable Islamic act endorsed by the Quran. There are indeed verses from the Quran that are interpreted by some to say that a husband could physically punish a "disobedient wife." However, that is not the majority view, as most Muslims disagree with that interpretation.

Of course we do not know enough facts to reach any conclusions on this case. But we have to be careful not to associate an individual Muslim's violent behavior directly with his faith. Islam is a religion, and its mainstream practitioners follow the exemplary life of prophet Mohammad. During his lifetime, the prophet preached equality and kindness. Unfortunately, many Muslims misinterpreted what was revealed in the mid sixth century to liberate (as) tools to control and oppress. To be able to divorce/reject one's husband is specifically mentioned in the Quran. To refer to specific verses within Quran is beyond the scope of this letter, but for those interested, plans are forming to hold an event at the UB Law School addressing "Domestic Violence."

As Buffalonians, we are not only mourning loss of our family members and friends who died in the tragic crash (of Continental Flight 3407), we are mourning yet another domestic violence resulting in homicide. Aasiya become another statistic in the ever-rising violence at home, with women being usually the victim.

Nadia Shahram, a lawyer, is director of Matrimonial Mediation Service of Buffalo Inc. in Williamsville and an adjunct faculty member at the University at Buffalo Law School.