TORONTO — The brother of a Canadian teenager who was slain in what friends described as a family dispute over a Muslim head scarf was charged with murder, becoming the second family member accused in her death, police said Friday.
Aqsa Parvez, 16, of Pakistani origin, was strangled in December at her Mississauga, Ontario, home.
Waqas Parvez, 27, who had faced obstruction allegations in his sister's death, was charged Thursday with first-degree murder.
Their father Muhammad Parvez, 57, was charged with first-degree murder earlier this month. He had been a suspect since shortly after her death.
Police would not disclose details of any new evidence that prompted the Friday's charges or what impact they would have on the case against the father. But spokeswoman Samantha Nulle said investigators were checking if other people had been involved in the death.
Police have refused to confirm the killing was over the scarf, and Muhammed Parvez's lawyer, Joseph Ciraco, has said that more than just cultural issues played a role. He did not return calls for comment Friday.
But friends said her death came during a family feud over her refusal to wear the traditional Muslim veil. And the killing sparked debate in Canada about the conflict within immigrant families over traditional values and desires to fit into a new culture.
Parvez's friends from her high school said the ever-cheerful girl faced an increasingly difficult home life. They said that Parvez would come to school wearing track pants and the scarf, but would change into close-fitting jeans and remove the scarf at school. They said her parents caught on and began following her to school to make sure she was abiding by their rules.
Classmate Joel Brown, 17, has said that the girl grew afraid of her parents and began showing up to school with bruises.
Sameer Zuberi, the Canadian spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that following her death, imams at mosques across the country reflected on the issues presented in the media surrounding her death.
"It forced the Islamic community to look at itself in terms of what children face and what parents here in Canada face," he said.
The inability of the west to except a multicultural society is nothing but racism and xenophobia or is it A (genocidal agenda)
Calm down, Scripio. At this point the son is only a suspect. This isn't about "the Islamic world," but this immigrant family in Ontario. Let the process unfold, and save your criticisms.
or perhaps a nice beheading for who are we to comment on the peaceful Islamic world. It is another example of Muslim respect for woman.It shows that in fact Islam is peace and understanding
Put these "medievalists" away for a good, long time.
Bustin' rocks for a good, long time would do.
If someone wants to move to the west and still wants to hold on to there beliefs that's fine, but in the case of Islam these people who follow this faith refuse to adapt to there new culture and try to impose their beliefs and customs on their new home which is wrong.
No one put a gun to these peoples heads to move here, and if they can't respect their new culture then please go back where you came from.
This girl was killed because of ignorance and the desire of this faith to continue to treat woman as objects instead of human beings.
I'm a firm believer that Islam is just a cult that has abused woman far to long. These men who murdered this girl should burn in hell for this action, there is no justification for this behavior.
As for all you people that say the west is intolerant of Islamic behavior you are totally correct, Islamic behavior is barbaric and a disgrace in the eyes of GOD and civilized man.
This is typical of the fervence of believers in different sects of Islam. I know a Sunni girl who never wears a facial scarf. This happened when one is so indoctrinated into his religion and culture, that there is no forgiveness, no understanding, no give and take. She did not deserve to die for wanting to be like her peers.
Its been years since I have read the Koran, but I believe your right. This must be some kind of ethnic ritual that goes back way before Islam. Thanks for the info.
WC
There is nothing in the Koran whatsoever that requires women to wear burqas or niqabs
Westerners commonly make the mistake of believing that the Qur'an is the be all end all of the religion. It's not. There are the hadiths (reports on the life of Mohammed and his companions) and the sirats (biographies of Mohammed). It has been said that the Qur'an is Islam in black and white, and the secondary traditions provide the color. The so-called five pillars of (Sunni) Islam are hinted at in the Qur'an, but elucidated in the traditions. Take away the traditions, and you are left with an empty shell. Only a tiny-minority of Muslims consider themselves Qur'an Only Muslims, and they are certainly not considered orthodox. The hijab business comes from these traditions.
Prior to Islam, the Arab world had powerful women, some leaders of tribes. There are references to such in the stories of Mohammed's life, the defeat of the Q'raish for instance. The Arabian Nights traditional tales (see the Payne version) provides an insight into the world of Arabia in tha time also.
The burqa originated in Persia in the 6th century BC, although it was not in the form of the current muslim culture. The burqa did not come into Europe then because the greeks defeated the persians in some rather famous battles. So the persian empire carried the culture east when it conquered Afghanistan and carried out raids and had contact with bedu. But at the time of mohammed, Arab women commonly would have dress or lack of it that was quite sexually provocative. This led to the few comments in Koran about covering breasts and not deliberately stepping heavily, thereby causing body parts to jiggle. :-)
But there is little indication that mohammed was particulary prudish himself. Aside from three references in koran, which establish a code of conduct compatible with today's western dress, there is nothing. There is discussion of women who do things like chase down a slave and tear his shirt because they wanted to have sex with him. But the way this is discussed in koran, as a footnote to establish guilt or not of the slave, indicates that it was not particularly remarkable in its time.
I thought that I understood - and I could certainly be wrong - that somehow some of the seraglio or sequestration of women in Islam in some regions - perhaps veiling and all of that, as well - somehow the Muslims, at least some of them, learned from the way the Greeks kept their women segregated, in later times. That doesn't seem completely correct to me, given what I remember of my history, but I do recall reading or hearing it. I was interested to read Mr. Toradze's account. I understand and imagine that there are lots of cultural things in certain countries that are not particularly supported by presumed theological, if that is the right term, sources; more from what one might call the 'prejudices' or local mores of the prevailing culture.
Still, I think that bustin' rocks might be too good for the perpetrators of this heinous deed - although, for the life of me, I can't see murdering one's sister for some idea of so-called 'honor.' What a beknighted crew. For a father to murder or sanction murder of a child...for a brother to do the same...words fail me.
What gets me is how these monsters are so easily able to find other sick people. Murder is often a one person job, and when it's not, it's usually not premeditated. I can't speak for anyone else, but I suspect I'd have significant difficulty finding another person to commit murder with. How is it that this son felt what his father was planning was acceptable, even honorable?
He must have been a very observant Muslim and thought his farther was right
I am curious, was this a Shiia, a Sunni, an Alawite, a Taliban, a Twelver, an Ismalli, a Wahhabi, etc. All these have their elements that would sacrifice their own children for 'Allah.'
I remember, in my testament teachings, that G-d is explicitly clear on sacrificing your children to Moloch.
"You shall not give any of your children to devote them by fire to Moloch, and so profane the name of your God" (Lev. 18:21).
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