The bodies of two children found dead yesterday in an apartment in Tarragona next to his mother were found buried in the bathtub, under the woman's body, sources have informed research.

Was this an honor killing?

The Police found the dead Sunday night in his home a woman, 26, of North African origin, and their two children, ages 2 and 6 years in the maritime district of Tarragona, and is looking for her husband, who had a restraining order, as the main suspect in the triple murder.

The woman's body appeared about 20 hours ago, while the children's bodies were found three hours later and under his mother, covered with cement and plaster, and in an advanced state of decomposition.

These sources indicate that the suspect committed the triple murder on Monday night, and hen the suspect fled, possibly to Morocco, where they had come from.

According to the data from the autopsy, the woman was beheaded with a knife, as the eldest daughter, while this hypothesis still has to be confirmed in the case of two-year-old child, whose post-mortem exam is scheduled for today.

The UAE's highest judicial body says a man can beat his wife and young children as long as the beating leaves no physical marks.

The decision by the Federal Supreme Court shows the strong influence of Islamic law in the Emirates despite its international appeal in which foreign residents greatly outnumber the local population.

The court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who left cuts and bruises on his wife and adult daughter after a beating.

It says the man was guilty of harming the women but noted that Islamic codes allow for "discipline" if no marks are left. It also says children who have reached "adulthood" — approximately puberty — cannot be struck.

The ruling was reported today in the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.

"We can say I worked as shepherd," he smiles. "I was in charge of a herd of goats in northern Morocco." Until he crossed the Straits and settled in the province of Tarragona. Unemployed, handicapped by the lack of training and a chronic disease for many years improvised direction of prayers in several mosques in the vicinity of Valls and Torredembarra. Rachid H. worked as an imam. "Not really, but I know Islam better than others", said after admitting that no studies that Muslim countries call for the task.

What kind of prayers were performed by this improvised imam? "I talked about everything: the relationship between men and women, life's problems," he says. Witnesses say those prayers castigated women and young Muslims who were related to people outside this belief. Rachid denies without elaborating. But at home, he stores magazines, recordings and videos that shed some clue to his speeches. The material supports that an adulterous wife should be punished with death and supports other repressive behaviors on the role of women relative to men, according to the report of the register details of the property conducted by the Autonomous Police in 2009. Rachid, who asked not to reveal his name for his legal situation, only occasionally leads prayers, due to his poor state of health and also because he is on probation after being charged with promoting violence linked to radical Salafism, Islam's ultra-conservative current.

A Canadian court issued a ruling today on whether Muslim women can be forced to remove their niqab while testifying and, lo and behold, both sides of the debate are happy. That's because the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that a witness is allowed to refuse to bare her face unless -- unless! -- the fairness of the trial depends on it. The judges' ruling reads in part:

There is no getting around the reality that in some cases, particularly those involving trial by jury where a witness's credibility is central to the outcome, a judge will have a difficult decision to make. If, in the specific circumstances, the accused's fair trial right can be honoured only by requiring the witness to remove the niqab, the niqab must be removed if the witness is to testify.

A 32-year-old Muslim woman, who accused her cousin and uncle of sexual abuse when she was a child, sparked the ruling when she refused to remove her veil on the stand. Her lawyer argued, "Really, it's all about making people feel welcome in our judicial system at a time when they're undergoing significant stress -- for example, by being a complainant in a sexual assault case." Indeed, a blanket courtroom ban on veiling could cause Muslim women to avoid the justice system altogether.

Violence against Christian girls is “unfortunately common” in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, according to Father Khalid Rashid Asi, vicar general of the Diocese of Faisalabad.

Lubna Masih, 12, was going to a store to buy milk when five Muslim young men forced her into a car and raped and murdered her, according to the Fides news agency. Terrified by the prospect of reprisals, her family has not pressed charges.

Kiran Nayyaz, 13, was working as a maid in a Muslim’s home when another Muslim employee raped her. Now pregnant, she is under the protection of the Diocese of Faisalabad. “The family is traumatized and the entire Catholic community fear reprisals,” said the diocesan vicar general. “But cases of violence such as these are unfortunately common.”

In July, according to Fides, three Muslims kidnapped, tortured, and raped a 16-year-old Christian girl in Punjab, and a group of Muslim students raped a 12-year-old Christian girl in Rawalpindi.

“Episodes of violence and abuse of Christian girls are part of daily life,” a Fides source said. “Those that make the news are just the tip of the iceberg.”

The Civil Guard has arrested in the Mallorcan town of Sa Pobla the Moroccan national Abdelwahab A., 27, having his wife confined to their home for two years, without letting her go out, with threats, humiliation and insults, including when she needed medical care, and making her live in subhuman conditions.

 Thus, the arrested is accused of illegal detention, mistreatment in the family and threats, his wife, also a Moroccan national, being the victim.

The black burqa hides the face of a young Moroccan, 18, called Sumaya. Sohaib sleeps in his arms. Her baby. He was born in Tudela, on Wednesday September 22nd, at five in the afternoon. Right of Sumaya, is Benaomar Rachid, 33, her husband. Rachid has not hesitated to answer this newspaper's questions and explain why his wife has to live under a burka.
On Saturday, September 25, Said, 12, and his brother Hamza, 7, waited impatiently beside the gate that guards the village mosque. Said explains, the weekends, the Muslim children of the city and the region come to study the Koran and learn to read Arabic. Although Said was born in Morocco, is expressed with a local accent. "What are you a journalist? Why do you want to interview the imam Mustafa?" Said asks and answers a frantic pace. "My father works on site. I want to be a policeman." Hamsa is impatient at the delay of the magnet and starts throwing stones at the gate. "It is showering," says Said. "He can not hear because the mosque is very large, has five doors," apology to the magnet. The minutes pass. Said adds the release. This time, the stones fall inside a courtyard.

The interior is a ship enabled with two carpeted rooms, the largest for men's prayers, on the other, for women's. Villafranca's neighbors believe that is one of the largest mosques in northern Spain. Across the walls are the desks and blackboard, where small study. "It's cold!" says Hamza. The minutes pass. The imam does not make an appearance. At that time, a Moroccan appears. Mohamed tells the boys that the magnet is traveling in Morocco, says he is managing his wife's papers to bring. Hamsa Said and attentive listening and translating. Then, playing away to an irrigation canal. The journalist took the opportunity and asked the newcomer by Rachid Benaomar and his wife. "They live in front of the Civil Guard barracks," says Mohamed, "but he is not the imam," corrected. 

The uneasiness among the residents of this town of three thousand inhabitants began in April. The locals could not believe it. They had just crossed the street with the silent pace of a "faceless woman". And the concern evolved into fear and worry. The deputy mayor of Villafranca, Enrique Marín San Miguel acknowledges that it surprised them. "Never before has there been a similar case despite the increase in Muslim population in the area which reaches now 22%," he says. "We are concerned. Do not know if this will go further. That woman lives in a prison. Do not you see the eyes. The municipalities can not prohibit the burqa. It should be done by the Government of Navarra."

The daughter, 20-year-old Nosheen Butt, was admitted to hospital with a cranial traumatism and a broken arm after her 19-year-old brother beat her with a stick in the courtyard of their building in Novi, near the north Italy city of Modena.

A 37-year-old Moroccan man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his 47-year-old sister, at his home in the village of Llano de Brujas (Murcia). She was hit repeatedly with a frying pan in the head during a fight for unknown reasons, informed a spokesman of this body.

The detainee, who is now at Civil Guard HQs at Santomera whose agents are investigating this case, called the emergency phone at 0:50 a.m., apparently worried because his sister didn't open her house's door.

Local police rushed to the scene and, upon entering the house, agents found the woman dead, lying on the ground beside a large pool of blood and a hole in the head. The death has been certified by the physician of the medicalized Emergency Unit.

Apparently, agents have arrested the brother after hearing theneighbour's testimony. Witnesses have said that there was a fight between brothers and the agents have discovered clues that point to a domestic violence case.

Sa’d Arafat: Allah honored wives by instating the punishment of beatings.

Interviewer: Honored them with beatings? How is this possible?!

Sa’d Arafat: The prophet Muhammad said: “Don’t beat her in the face, and do not make her ugly.” See how she is honored. If the husband beats his wife, he must not beat her in the face. Even when he beats her, he must not curse her. This is incredible! He beats her in order to discipline her.

In addition, there must not be more than ten beatings, and he must not break her bones, injure her, break her teeth, or poke her in the eye. There is a beating etiquette. If he beats to discipline her, he must not raise his hand high. He must beat her from chest level. All these things honor the woman.

Women are banned from studying theology in Turkmenistan - including Islamic theology, the only permitted religious university subject – an official has told Forum 18 News Service. "Only men are accepted for this course," the State University official – who did not give her name or role – told Forum 18. "Women can't study there." She declined to say why this discrimination against women has been imposed. This is the only university-level institution in Turkmenistan where the government allows any religious faith to be studied, and only Islam is permitted to be studied. It is also the only institution where the government allows young men who want to become imams to be trained. Potential imams are not allowed to study abroad, and only a small number of men (some of whom do not wish to become imams) are allowed to academically study any religious topic. Only the Russian Orthodox Church is permitted to send male and female students abroad for their studies, and the possibilities for all other formal and informal (such as Sunday School) religious education and instruction are extremely severely restricted.

The Court of Murcia has sentenced a man to a total prison term of 45 years, after, between September and November 2008, he raped four women in various parts of Los Alcazares, one of them, near the cemetery.

The ruling indicates that this man of Moroccan origin, sexually assaulted the first woman on September 3 in Los Narejos. He threat her with a knife, raped and injured her.

Just over a month later, in the service road of the highway, he approached another woman, raped and hurt her and also stole her money and jewelry.

On November 2 he did the same with another woman, who was walking her your dog. The woman was raped but also robbed and injured.

In this case however, he had to flee when the victim's husband, alarmed when she hasn't come back home, went to fetch her, "surprising the defendant on his wife."

The latest rape took place on November 8, when the victim was riding her bicycle to the cemetery Dolores de Pacheco and was forced to masturbate him. He also took her money and jewelry.

In addition to the prison sentences which he has to fulfill, the accused is also condemned to indemnify each of the victims with €40,000 for moral damages, plus the correlative amount of injuries.

Her 23-year-old sister was engaged to marry a Muslim but had an affair with a Christian. Khaled phoned a number she had noted down to discover it was a clinic for restoring women's virginity through surgery. So he "went mad, beat her and smashed her head against the wall". He spent only 6 days in jail and was never charged. 

"I don't say that I wish I hadn't killed her, but I say I wish she hadn't done that," he said.

"I am really sorry for what happened, but I think even if I'm in the same situation now after this experience and she does the same thing, I would kill her again."

"It wasn't my fault, and I haven't done anything wrong," he said.

"I overreacted but I don't think that it makes me deserve jail for a long time."

Image via Wikipedia. Young Saudi Arabian woman wearing Islamic clothing, as required by Sharia.

Saudi Arabian women's rights activist Wajeeha Alhuwaider has called for the political leadership in the country to abolish rules granting male authority over women, said Al Jazeera's website, which stressed the controversy that the request has created.

 "As reported by The News on Wednesday, a man allegedly gunned down his married sister in the name of honour in the limits of Lower Mall police on Tuesday. Police said accused Irfan killed his 22-year-old sister (F) after she eloped with her first husband Majid. Victim’s family had married her with one Akram after her divorce with her first husband Majid. Few weeks after her second marriage, she again started meeting with her first husband Majid. Some days back, she eloped with her first husband after which her family member took her back from his custody. On the day of incident, victim’s brother Irfan exchanged harsh words with her that led to her killing. The accused shot her twice and fled the residence. The injured (F) was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced her dead. Police registered a case on the complaint of deceased’s mother Hussan Bano. However, accused is still at large."

Since I last wrote to you Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has again been flogged 99 times for an unveiled photo mistakenly attributed to her. She has also been threatened with execution, and denied visitation rights. Even, her lawyer’s home (Hatoun Kian) has been ransacked and his computer and documents seized. Court documents pertaining to Ms Ashtiani’s husband’s closed murder case have also gone missing.

Her 22-year-old son Sajjad is extremely concerned that the Iranian authorities are trying to frame Ms Ashtiani for his father’s murder by constructing a ‘new’ murder case to refute the stoning sentence. Unfortunately a number of media outlets have bought into the lie (see for example BBC Sunday Morning Live’s bias here). In fact, the press have been given a copy of the actual court judgment of stoning for adultery at a 30 July press conference in London. Also, even the man who has been found guilty of murdering her husband has not been executed. In Iran, under Diyeh laws, the family of the victim can ask for the death penalty to be revoked. Ms Ashtiani’s son explains why he and his 17 year old sister spared the man’s life in an interview with French writer and philosopher, Bernard-Henri Levy.

"Hami Ramdan was not moved really after 43-year-old Ashtiani was sentenced to death by stoning (the Iranian woman whose death has been suspended). The director of the Geneva Islamic center wants to "place this affair in its context". According to him, "the punishment of stoning is used mainly as a deterrent". He adds that "when a bomb explodes in a Muslim village on Iraq or in Afghanistan, that is not a deterrent, but the facts' reality". 

The intelectual points out that "this woman has been condemned because of adultery and murder". Or "the stoning is a very difficult punishment to obtain, as the judge needs four ocular witnesses. A condition that is nearly impossible to meet". Mr Ramadan concludes that "we should be cautious before judging this affair, and it's important to know the nature of the facts".