Girl, Interrupted
Aqsa Parvez had a choice: wear a hijab to please her devout family or take it off and be like her friends. She paid for her decision with her life. When her father and brother were charged with her murder, it raised the spectre of religious zealotry in the suburbs. Is this the price of multiculturalism? By Mary Rogan
Sweet 16: more than 20 Facebook pages devoted to
Aqsa Parvez were created within days of her death
Image credit: Facebook
Over the fall of 2007, Aqsa Parvez shuttled between friends’ houses and youth shelters. She was afraid to go home. Her father, Muhammad, was enraged because she refused to obey his rules. He swore he would kill her.
On the morning of December 10, Aqsa huddled in a Mississauga bus shelter with another Grade 11 student, a girl she had been staying with for the past couple of days. They had plenty of time to make it to their first class at Applewood Heights Secondary School. As they waited, Aqsa’s 26-year-old brother Waqas, a tow-truck driver, showed up at the bus stop. He said that she should come home and get a fresh change of clothes if she was going to be staying elsewhere. Aqsa hesitated, then got into his car.
Less than an hour later, Muhammad Parvez phoned 911 and told the dispatcher that he had killed his daughter. Within minutes, police and paramedics arrived at 5363 Longhorn Trail, a winding suburban street near Eglinton and Hurontario, and found Aqsa unconscious in her bedroom. The 16-year-old wasn’t breathing. The paramedics started CPR, found a faint pulse, and rushed her to Credit Valley Hospital, 10 minutes west. A few hours later, she was transferred to SickKids and put on life support. She died just after 10 that evening. The official cause was “neck compression”—strangulation.
In the days following her death, Aqsa’s story was widely reported in the Canadian media as well as on CNN and the BBC. Was her murder an honour killing or simply a gruesome case of domestic violence? Worldwide, an estimated 5,000 women die every year in honour killings—murders deemed excusable to protect a family’s reputation—many of them in Pakistan, where the Parvez family had emigrated from.
Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism and, to varying degrees of success, condemns institutionalized patriarchy. But there is growing concern that recent waves of Muslim immigrants aren’t integrating, or embracing our liberal values. Aqsa’s death—coming in the wake of debates about the acceptability of sharia law, disputes over young girls wearing hijabs at soccer games, and the arrest of the Toronto 18—stoked fears about religious zealotry in our midst. Is it possible that Toronto has become too tolerant of cultural differences?
When police arrived in answer to his 911 call, Aqsa’s father, who worked as a cab driver, was arrested and charged with second degree murder. Waqas was charged with obstruction. The charges against both men were changed to first degree murder in June, after police decided her death was a planned and deliberate act.
The Parvez men are being held in a cellblock at Maplehurst Detention Centre in Milton. They will be tried together at the Brampton courthouse sometime next year. If convicted, they face automatic life sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 years. Aqsa’s mother and the rest of the Parvez family will likely be called as material witnesses.
At the southern end of Hurontario Street, Mississauga’s main drag, there’s a stretch of squat, low-income housing where many new Muslim immigrants settle. As you drive north, you see stores offering halal meat, instant passport photos, Thai food and Pakistani takeout. Dental and legal clinics advertise in Perso-Arabic script. By the time you hit Burnhamthorpe Road, the strip malls have been replaced by green glass condos and elegant medical clinics. East and west of Hurontario are expensive subdivisions with garage-fronted homes, most of them less than a decade old. This is where the Parvez family lived.
Mississauga’s population has tripled in the past 30 years. Today, there are more than 700,000 people living in the country’s sixth largest city, and half of them are visible minorities. South Asians outnumber the second largest visible minority by almost three to one. They form what StatsCan calls an “ethnic enclave.” Slightly more than half of all minority households don’t speak English at home. The city’s planners expect these numbers to rise steadily over the next two decades.
Continue reading “Girl, Interrupted” >>
MINORITY REPORT
Other stories in our special package on Toronto and immigration:
• Sickness and the City: Immigrants, illness and how we’re preventing another SARS
• The Prince of Little Mogadishu: From Somalia’s Bloodbath to rap royalty
• Lives of the Rich and Not So Famous: Meet the new establishment
• What Fifth Graders Want: Inside one of Toronto’s most diverse schools
24 Comments
Comment on this story
Neither Mary Rogan nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy
Some articles on this site require that you have a Torontolife.com account in order to comment, and this is one of them. If you do not have an account, you can register now.
Ms. Rogan and Ms. Fulford,
When I read this article, I was outraged. While I’m glad that Aqsa has not been forgotten, I am dismayed by the way she is being remembered and how her death has been sensationalized to further an anti-immigration, Islamophobic and racist rhetoric. This is irresponsible journalism and only polarizes the issues and our communities. This article feeds into fear mongering – an Us vs. Them mentality by suggesting that embracing diversity is a runaway train leading to the death of liberalism as we know it. The suggestion that Aqsa’s murder is an indication that multiculturalism has “gone too far” is offensive and assumes that this gender violence is linked to one’s culture and religion -- rather than an individual’s criminal behaviour supported by a society that refuses to acknowledge the larger context of violence against women.
When Robert Picton was convicted of murdering 26 Vancouver sex trade workers, his criminality was not linked to his Whiteness or being a farmer for that matter. Nor has the recent and tragic murder of Susan Ryan by her police officer husband lead to the assumption that all police are murderers. How is it that the abusive behaviour of the one man legitimizes Ms. Rogan to put a whole religious community on trial, in violation of “our” liberal values? Whose values are we talking about here? The implications are that “West is Best”, that all Muslims should be adapting to “our” way of life, ignoring the fact that we are all immigrants to this country living on stolen land.
Communities of colour should not be absolved from acknowledging the ways in which they perpetuate gender violence. However, institutional changes need to be made to challenge the systemic racism that is embedded in our legal system and create supports so that women of colour can feel safe to report acts of sexual violence. But gender violence is not just an issue facing women of colour. The fact is that 51% of women in Canada have experienced at least one incidence of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. Bottom line: Violence against women affects ALL women regardless of where you’re from.
You have the power to shape public thinking on an issue and influence public policy. To point to the imagined incendiary nature of what is a peaceful religion is to take attention away from the fact that a young woman was killed. What needs to be addressed is the crisis of gender violence in this country and the kind of racist thinking that only serves to exacerbate the divisions in our communities. I would encourage the Toronto Life seriously examine it’s commitment to civic journalism, in ways that support dialogue. Providing opportunities for your journalists and editors to examine their racial bias, Islamophobia and sexism would help to provide a thoughtful and balanced coverage that can feature the real Toronto.
Respectfully,
November 11, 2008 | by mchoMichelle Cho
Urban Alliance on Race Relations
Mary Rogan had a choice: Practice responsible, well-researched journalism or pander to the ill-informed and be like her friends. She paid for her decision with her reputation. Is this the price of sensationalism?
Indeed it is.
The simplistic binaries that Ms. Rogan invokes to formulate her critique of the murder of Aqsa Parvez – tradition/modernity, us/them, muslim/non-muslim – are a disgrace to the intelligent, critically-astute readers who can immediately see through the Orientalism, racism and xenophobia used to justify Ms. Rogan's misinformed narrative. The murder of Aqsa Parvez was not about religion, tradition or immigration; it was an act of domestic violence and should be treated as such.
Ms. Rogan, sensationalism may sell, but it will not buy you respect.
Meera Sethi
November 11, 2008 | by MeeraToronto
This story left me with mixed emotions. I mourn for the death of this lovely young girl. At the same time, I am confused and angered by the voyeurism of the journalistic work of this article. I work for an organization dedicated to welcoming and creating safe spaces for newcomer youth in one of the most diverse cities in Ontario, spending hours of my time laughing with, sharing stories and sometimes tears, and cups of tea with immigrant and refugee youth. Sharing my life with these kids has helped me learn to value the often blurry and hybrid ways of living they learn to negotiate their way through a society that is, by and large, still racist and not as accepting as many believe it to be. Their lives are complex, and so too the families where they live their private lives. Painting Muslim families as more prone to violence than families of other religious persuasions does little to explain the complex dynamic of what goes wrong to create the abuse of children, particularly girls. Moreover, I can't help but think that the binaries painted by this article-the civilized, tolerant "Canadian" us, versus the crazed, zealot immigrant "them" are really quite far from the truth, and do little to erode the residual "polite" racism that makes children yearn to shed their culture, language, in order to conform to some idea of what it means to be Canadian.
November 11, 2008 | by JHompothTo: Sarah Fulford, Editor-in-Chief
Toronto Life Magazine
Dear Ms. Fulford,
I was completely disappointed and disheartened by Mary Rogan's article, "Girl, Interrupted" in the December 2008 edition of Toronto Life magazine. I believe it is an irresponsible misrepresentation of the issues surrounding the death of young Aqsa Parvez, which blames culture and religion when, ultimately, this is yet another heinous, unacceptable case of violence against women and girls in Canada.
It is true that some young Muslim women struggle to develop their own identities, while attempting to reconcile family expectations with the pressures of fitting into mainstream Canadian society. As a young woman born and raised in the GTA, with parents who immigrated to Canada from Pakistan, I know this experience first hand. However, Rogan's article is another example of the media's misunderstanding and misrepresentation of religious practices, emphasizing "culture clash" which detracts from the underlying issue of gender-based violence.
Rogan claims that "Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism and, to varying degrees of success, condemns institutionalized patriarchy." She asks, "Is it possible that Toronto has become too tolerant of cultural differences?" Where is her analysis? Institutionalized racism and patriarchy is rampant here, despite what we claim to be proud of. Multiculturalism is not the problem. There are no cultures that promote violence. Many Muslims have been practicing their faith peacefully in Canada for decades. Rogan suggests that the hijab itself is oppressive, yet there are many Muslim women in North America who wear the hijab and are empowered by it. Why blame culture when Aqsa's death was ultimately about abuse of male power, which affects women of all communities.
Rogan's overemphasis on the demographics of immigrants in Mississauga and the number of families that don't speak English as a first language can mislead readers to further link immigration with violence. It is the public trend now to vilify Muslims, and immigrants in general, and blame them for so-called "backward practices" that are seen to have no place in Canada, but the truth is Canadian women and girls of all races and faith groups are being assaulted and murdered at appalling rates, simply because they are female. Stop using culture, religion, and immigration as a scapegoat for women's inequality and the epidemic of violence against women and girls in Canada.
Farheen Beg, Toronto
November 11, 2008 | by FarheenDear Ms. Fulford:
I wish to thank you for the article on the murder of Aqsa Parvez.
In the United States, we have also experienced the murder of young Muslim girls by their fathers -- for example, the case of Amina and Sarah Said, shot to death by their father because they had, like Aqsa, become too "Westernized" and defied his orders on hijab and behavior.
These are not simply cases of general violence against women. They are cases in which the violence specifically arises from Islamic religious doctrine. Despite what other writers allege, Islam does in fact approve of brutal physical violence against women. The proof is as close as the Koran, a Muslim's holy book. Verse 4:34 states:
"Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them." (Dawood translation)
There are dozens of videos available, on Youtube and MEMRI, which show Muslim clerics describing how a man should beat his wife. This advice is apparently followed: one Pakistani governmental agency has reported that over 90% of Pakistani women have been beaten by their husbands for offenses as minor as an unsatisfactory dinner. (See the report from Human Rights Watch at http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=women_domestic...). This violence is universally defended as authorized by Allah -- the Koran was, according to Muslim belief, directly dictated to their prophet by Allah, and cannot be changed.
While domestic violence is a problem that spans cultures and religions, only Islam claims that their deity specifically authorizes such violence against women, and has codified this idea in its primary holy text. To claim otherwise is either ignorant or intentionally deceptive.
This is not a matter of "racism." Islam does not come in one race -- there are Muslims of all races, in countries all over the world. The accusation of "racism" is a red herring, designed to intimidate and shut down rational discussion short of actual fatwas, death threats and violent rioting.
This is not a matter of hurt feelings, "Orientalism," or xenophobia. This is the murder of a girl because she would not comply with a mainstream Islamic view of women as simply "obedient" in a country and culture that refuses that view and wishes to empower all women with equal dignity, rights, and personhood. In the firestorm of accusation, posturing, and threats that will follow, please don't lose sight of this. Don't lose sight of Aqsa.
Catherine, United States
November 11, 2008 | by CatPART 1 OF 2
Dear Ms. Fulford.
I am a writer and parent based in Sudbury, Ontario. I am writing to express my concern over your recent article about the murder of Aqsa Parvez. I agree that it is an important issue and am happy that you saw it as important enough to cover. However, I feel that choices made by your publication in covering this issue have reproduced some common stereotypes and in so doing have obscured rather than clarified the real issues around violence against women, racism, and Islamophobia in Canada.
For one thing, I was shocked that despite the rich detail provided in setting out the context for Parvez's murder, your article says practically nothing about the realities of violence against women in Canada as a whole. Yes, different women experience this reality in specific ways, but the tragic truth is that women being murdered by male partners, fathers, brothers, friends -- including for reasons that have to do with controlling their behaviour -- is as Canadian as maple syrup and hockey, not some anomaly that can be attributed solely to Muslims or South Asians. By framing Parvez's murder nearly exclusively as an "honour killing" rather than as yet another instance of violence against women in Canada, you are invoking stereotypes of South Asian Muslim families that contribute to racism they experience, and you are effectively suggesting that domestic violence is not occurring at alarming rates all across Canada. The implication in your article that Muslim religiosity in Canada leads to family violence is also completely unfounded.
The attempt to lay this at the foot of "multiculturalism," and to frame the issue as some sort of essential tension between multiculturalism and gender equity, is misguided and completely misunderstands the issue. It creates a binary in which "we" are enlightened and tolerant and "they" are oppressive and violent. A thorough examination of how different kinds of violence is organized into people's lives, who is responsible, and who benefits, leads to a much different picture. In reality, women throughout Canadian society experience gendered violence and women and men of colour experience pervasive racism, among other things. The frame of an enlightened "we" and an oppressive "them" exaggerates one specific site for violence and oppression and mischaracterizes the causes, while it also hides from view the many other axes for violence and oppression that are just as central for shaping the experiences of all people in Canada, white women and racialized women in particular. Your magazine's extremely distorted description of the issues would lead to approaches to creating change that are not only unlikely to do anything useful but that are likely to make things worse for many people.
CONTINUED BELOW
November 11, 2008 | by scottnCONTINUED FROM ABOVE -- PART 2 OF 2
I would suggest that you, your reporter, and members of your staff spend some time reading about some of these issues. On multiculturalism and gender in Canada, I would recommend Himani Bannerji and Sunera Thobani. On violence against women, particularly racialized women, I would recommend Bannerji, Andrea Smith, Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, Sherene Razack, and Leti Volpp. Razack's most recent work is also useful for learning about the experiences of Muslims in Canada and the impossible bind that analysis such as that in your article imposes on Muslim women and other immigrant women of colour. And of course the voices of activists on the front lines of dealing with these issues in Toronto and across Canada are the most important resource for the rest of us to understand the kinds of social change we need to be working towards.
I am extremely disappointed in your publication's sensational and misleading treatment of this issue. It diverts attention from the urgent issue of violence against women across Canada and fails to deal with the ongoing realities of racism and Islamophobia. I hope that in the future your publication will deal in a more serious and responsible way with some of these issues.
Sincerely,
Scott Neigh
November 11, 2008 | by scottnSudbury, Ontario
The Jordanian Islamic Action Front (IAF), ... [a] parliamentary coalition of several Islamist groups, most of whom affiliate with the Muslim Brethren, issued a fatwa that declared honor-killings are seen as favorable by Islam; male relatives should punish their female relatives and not leave this duty to the state. Ibrahim Zayd al-Kaylani, head of the IAF's Ifta ' committee, said that a man who restrains himself from committing an honor killing, leaving this unpleasant burden to the government, "negates the values of virility advocated by Islam." ... Muhammad ‘Uwayda, dean of Zarqa University's Shari‘a College and a member of the lower house, stated that while the Shari‘a does prohibit individuals from taking the law into their own hands, "cases where a man catches his wife committing adultery are the exception."
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/Artic...
November 11, 2008 | by kamalaFrom http://jihadwatch.org/archives/022108.ph...
A manual of Islamic law certified by Al-Azhar as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2).
In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.
Why does this stipulation appear in a manual of Islamic law if this has nothing to do with Islam?
November 11, 2008 | by kamalamcho: "racist rhetoric," "systemic racism," "racist thinking"
meera: "racism"
jhompoth: "still racist," "'polite' racism"
farheen: "institutionalized racism"
scottn: "racism," "racism they experience," "pervasive racism," "realities of racism"
-----------
For all this talk of racism, there's actually only one example of racism in this story, and it's from Aqsa's father:
"'Black people do bad things and they'll change you.'"
November 12, 2008 | by kamalahttp://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/02347...
November 12, 2008 | by heatsketch"I don't remember reading any "anti-immigration, Islamophobic and racist rhetoric" but, hey, if the rhetoric fits...Note to Ms. Cho, Muslims are not a race. And as Hirsi Ali says, Islamaphobia is a myth. But please, keep spreading it on thick. To paraphrase another poster on this thread, it will not earn you any respect."
November 12, 2008 | by heatsketchThere are Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian, Pakistani, Thai, Filipino, and African Muslims.
Which race is Islam again?
November 12, 2008 | by kamalaMs Rogan & Ms Fulford,
Congratulations on your story about Aqsa Parvez. Of course there are those who will criticize you for sensational journalism - anti immigrant or islamophobic rhetoric etc. Let us not forget 16 year old was killed by the hands that were supposed to love and protect her. Sensationalism was created by her dad and brother by brutal murder and not you.
It is time, we, who come from a totally different culture take a good look at some of the customs and beliefs we brought with us when we immigrated to the western world. As much as we love our tradition, culture and religion, let us not forget that we have to obey the law of the land. We had an option of not immigrating to western world. "YOU CANNOT FIX WHAT YOU DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE!"
Maintaining our tradition - culture - religion should not take precedence over the law. Granted many good muslim families are feeling the heat of the action of one mad man. But no one can deny that in eastern and western culture there is a vast difference as to how we treat women who defy our norm. It is time to put our selves in Aqusa's shoes and feel her fearful existence last two years of her life (living in a room with no door, surrounded by male members of her family who may be mad at her). And her brutal departure from this world.
Even in her death she remains a number. Seems like her family has still not forgiven her.
Sad truly sad!
I would suggest one new story every year in her memory to highlight real life stories of women who are suffering under the guise of culture or religion.
November 12, 2008 | by VijayMehtaI find it shocking that in violence against ethnic minority women ,the left makes all kinds of excuses when infact the domination of men over women in some traditional societies is the issue.
November 12, 2008 | by terchaDear Ms. Rogan and Ms. Fulford,
I read with dismay of the death of Aqsa Parvez, and indeed I was outraged at the article - not because I erroneously chalked it up to some novel definition of "racism", but because of the lengths to which some are willing to go in order to protect this kind of murder from scrutiny. There is, of course, the usual claptrap about Picton (his "whiteness" somehow transmuting into a parallel to religious law), the usual blithe dismissal of the defense of our social values as somehow now objectionable, and even a particularly odd scree about the stolen continent of North America as some kind of tu quoque defense to prevent counterargument. My wife, a Native American, found this very peculiar and more than a little suspicious, as Ms Cho is also living on stolen land.
What is rarely - never - recognized is that the fundamental concepts of islamic religious law (all four schools, regrettably) and practice conflict directly with our own values on this and other matters. While our own laws are clearly insufficiently enforced, there is no need to go "borrowing trouble" as the phrase goes. There is also no doubt that women living in islamic nations are treated far, far more horribly than those here, however poorly our actual laws might be enforced; as many as 80-90% of women in Pakistan have been subject to sexual abuse, almost all of which goes unpunished for fear of the persecution of the victim herself. It is the difference between bad legal protection, and the actual legal protection of abuse. So perhaps we are right to discuss the possibility of a wider, general problem in the attitudes of recent islamic migrants to the abuse of women, among other things. As the recent Toronto terror plot illustrates, nothing can be taken for granted.
Geoff Periakis
November 12, 2008 | by GeoffPToronto
While I have to agree that this article has the potential to perpetuate negative stereo types against people of the Muslim faith, I have to wonder if this risk is enough to damn this article as reckless (as some readers seem to be suggesting). Some wish to frame this murder as a single bad apple father, who is not representative of the faith, and that this is simply domestic violence. I understand that, but I keep coming back to what motivated the father/brother. It was religion. How he was raised, what his belief system taught him to believe. Some quote phrases of the Quran in an attempt to distance the actions of this man from those of the religion. But, have a look at any analysis of the Quran (e.g. sceptics annotated Quran), and you will see that the views of woman are not western (for want of a better word), and any step towards leaving the faith are not looked upon fondly. The truth is that Islam did play a major role in this murder, and while attempts to protect the image of Islam are noble, much of the world already has this opinion. The cat is out of the bag. The real fix is to address the small percentage of Muslims that are extreme. Clamping down on opinions critical of Islam will not foster any critical thought on what needs to change to avoid situations like this. This article may drive some Islamophobia, but it may also make some Muslims take a cold hard look at their belief system, and think that maybe they need to moderate their views. Ultimately, that is an action which will best serve people of their faith, and the rest of the world.
November 12, 2008 | by LawrenceWhile the article is disappointing because of its sensationalist tone and its one-sided research, the main point seems to me to be entirely justified. Aqsa was murdered because her father believed that if she did not behave as he wanted, in line with his view of what Islam required, she had no right to live. Her murder was no accident. Police investigation has determined that there was a plot to kill this girl. It was cold-blooded murder for religious reasons.
To equate her murder with violence against women in general does a disservice to the cause of protecting women from violence because it fails to address a clear cause of violence when so often there isn't one. Christianity spent 2000 years persecuting women and justifying their abuse because of the Bible, until women demanded and fought for equality within society. This fight is not over, but if the issue is gender equality, and tied to that, violence against women, then it seems to me fair to say Islam as its practiced by many has a long way to go before women achieve a similar equality to other groups. And if multiculturalism means remaining silent when gender equality is attacked, then perhaps promotion of this nation-building policy has gone too far.
If the basic facts of the article are accurate, and if the first degree murder charge stands up in court, then Aqsa did not die randomly as another victim of violence against women, but because of her father's belief that he was justified in killing her because of his religion. Obviously few who follow Islam are as demented as the father, but that does not mean various misogynistic elements of the religion are not also to blame.
November 12, 2008 | by PeterMIt is a false dichotomy to try to decide was "it woman abuse" or was it an "honour killing". Both can coexist and interact.
The fight against woman abuse has examined and exposed a range of cultural and religious (eg. the British " rule of thumb") beliefs which sanction and support woman abuse in the "mainstream" society. This is because we understand that women abuse does not exist in isolation from social instituations in which is operates and that addressing these values systems is an important way to prevent abuse.
It does not make sense to stop this analyzes with the "mainstream" culture. We should expose the values and beliefs that perpetuate the sense of women as property of men and that sanction woman abuse women - whether found in the mainstream or the cultural and religious beliefs of immigants, muslims or any religious group.
November 12, 2008 | by MartinGwow! Multiple comments from the same person? Part 1 & Part 2 postings??? This article has really created a buzz!
Even special educational pieces from "kamala", the Islamic googler!
November 13, 2008 | by TorontoRocksAs an editor and writer I found myself dismayed by this article and the way it was told. It falls far below the standard I expect in Toronto Life. There are many reasons, but here are a few: First, the article never meaningfully answers or even explores the questions it presents at the start. Second, the writer mainly quotes Aqsa's best friends and an imam who never knew her. While her friends' love for her is apparent, the impression is that dysfunctional family life and the threat of domestic abuse were major factors in her situation (and in the friends' mutual bond), more so than the headline-grabbing refusal to wear a headscarf. Third, on the imam's first mention, I had the impression that at last I would get some insight into her family dynamics, or alternatively that he somehow influenced the father. Instead we have to wait until several paragraphs later, reading through some anonymous Facebook posts (lazy journalism in my view), to learn that he never even met the family. What incompetent, misleading editing. Fourth, why don't we hear other voices? Or did the editor cut this out? How about the thousands of Muslims families of varying degrees of orthodoxy who deal with daughters growing up here? How about a Muslim woman willing to be a spokesperson for domestic abuse issues within the community? Given the size of the community, there must be such women out there. Has anything been learned from "honour killings" in Western European countries or even the Middle east for that matter? Why didn't the writer try to add some nuance to the story by interviewing some of these different voices? If nobody would speak, this should have been part of the story. This is very basic magazine writing, the type that former Toronto Life editors used to teach journalism students at Ryerson! Finally, how does the quote from the teen asking for Aqsa for a blow job add ANYTHING at all to this piece?
November 27, 2008 | by BooJibblesI was left cold when I finished the article. It provided neither a tribute or insight into the death of an innocent young women, nor any meaningful discussion of a situation that deserves some thoughtful analysis. Was the point of the article to say that the imam's view represented islam and all the people who practice it in Canada, and we as a society are headed for more such situations??? What an insult to an entire community! And finally, the cover. Why did you use a Paris-Hilton style image? Toronto Life, what happened to you?
http://www.wholesalegucci-sale.com/
July 14, 2011 | by wholesalegucci<a href="http://www.bagsupplyer.com/Air-Jordan-4-5-n878/">fashion brand Men Air Jordan 4.5 Sneakers with high quality for wholesasale on line store free shipping</a>
October 4, 2011 | by bagsupplyerClinton, once a partisan lightning rod, has become one of the most popular and visible members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet. She also seems to benefit from Clinton nostalgia,[ url=http://www.vuittonchanel.com/]Coach on sale[/url] with many voters yearning for the global peace and national prosperity that marked the internally stormy administration of President Bill Clinton.
Clinton associates dismissed the idea that one of the nation’s best-known and most popular Democrats would run as an independent. But some of them do not dismiss the notion of her possibly seeking the Democratic nomination in 2016, after she has taken several years to rest, write a book, speak, travel the country and work with a foundation — either her husband’s or one that she starts.
When asked about the results, a Clinton associate replied: "Everyone always says,<a href="http://www.vuittonchanel.com/">Dior replical</a> 'Wish Hillary were president.' No one says that about [Sen. John] McCain."
Five of the 10 candidates were chosen by POLITICO as opening picks. In the first round of the POLITICO Primary, readers nominated the other five via Twitter. Then online balloting began.
Three of the top five finishers— Walker, Huntsman and Bloomberg – were from the readers’ choice group. Clinton and Petraeus (along with Rice, Bowles and Chambers) were POLITICO’s opening picks.
October 13, 2011 | by martfc2012