Much has been written about the brutal slaying last February of 37-year-old Orchard Park resident Aasiya Hassan. Her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in her beheading and is set to be tried early next year.

We don't know yet whether Aasiya's death was intended as a so-called "honor killing" - the death of a Muslim female by a male family member for infringing on the honor of her family - but there have been numerous murders committed in the United States that fit that pattern. The women are said to bring dishonor through certain actions: perhaps refusing to wear a hijab, assimilating into Western culture, rejecting arranged marriages or seeking a divorce. Sometimes, when the female has been victimized by others - for example by being molested or raped - she is seen as somehow shaming and bringing dishonor to the family.

While statistics are hard to come by, the United Nations Population Fund reports that at least 5,000 women are murdered in honor killings each year worldwide, and it is clear that young Muslim women in the West are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

There are several differences between domestic violence and honor killings. Perhaps the most important one is that Muslims who commit honor killings view these acts as heroic and even view the murder as the fulfillment of a religious obligation. Seldom is domestic violence celebrated, even by its perpetrators.

The justification for honor killings has been the unfounded claim that Islam sanctions these heinous crimes. No verse in the Quran mentions nor encourages acts of violence against girls and women, although there are verses that have been interpreted as suggesting that women are possessions or property belonging to men.

Honor killings are not religiously sanctioned acts, but rather manifestations of an extremely patriarchal and perhaps misogynist culture. Laws in many Muslim countries remain lenient toward men who kill under the "honor" defense. It is only backward-thinking, patriarchal Muslims who continue to glorify such brutal acts against women as somehow being condoned by Islam.

Every semester, my students have a hard time keeping a straight face when I speak of Islam as a protofeminist movement and the prophet Mohammad as a visionary champion of women's rights.

It is up to us as Muslims to change this negative image - not by getting offended by the label "honor killings," but by eradicating the roots of cultural beliefs perpetuated by a patriartichal interpretation of some verses of the Quran.

It is vital that Muslims take a strong, firm stance against honor killings. The problem is that some religious leaders are also wearing political hats. Until religion is separated from politics, the misinterpretation in application of those verses will continue.

There is no honor in these killings, so let us take the "honor" out and call it what it is: murder.

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, where she teaches a course titled "The Effects of Culture and Religion on Family Laws."