One of the texts that advocates for the murder of those who bring shame to their families is Leviticus chapter 21verses 9. It says that a daughter of a priest who practices prostitution should be burned to death. This is because she brings shame to her father, a priest, who is of high standing in the community. This is a straightforward example of such punishments to protect a reputation.
Another instance in the same book, Leviticus chapter 20 verses 9 also prescribes death for those children who curse their fathers or mothers. A curse is viewed to have brought shame to the family and such a child must be killed. This passage is similar to what is found in Exodus chapter 21 verses 17.
These texts therefore show that the Bible, which is the main guidance book for Christians, contains references to honor killings. Christians should therefore be informed before they accuse others falsely of belonging to faiths that condones the killing of people to protect a name. They should also accept that the practice has its roots in the Bible.
These sort of debates on whether the religion of Islam condones such punishments and whether the Bible contains such evidence are almost always triggered by reports of such punishments being meted out. These incidences often arise from Arabic states or where there are many Muslims. These countries include Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan. There are, however, states with large Islamic populations where these incidences are not reported. An example is the country of Indonesia.
The argument always starts with those who identify with Christianity faulting Islam as a barbaric faith for condoning such severe punishments. There are also instances where the punishments are meted by members of other religions such as Hindus and Sikhs in India. It is important to note that in predominantly Christian states such as Italy and Brazil, there have also been cases of such punishments.
There are, however, more tribal connotations to these practices than the Islamic religion itself. This can be seen in the fact that these punishments only happen in selected areas. The followers of Islam are some of the strictest adherents of religion. If this was strictly an Islamic practice, the killings would be more widespread in all regions that practice the religion.
The cultural practices of people will always shape how people practice their religion. People will choose to modify their religion to fit to what they believe should be done. This is why biblical honor killings must have occurred at the time of writing the holy book.
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