On November 9, 2009, a week after the death of 20 year old Arizona woman Noor Almaleki, as a result of a “honor killing” by her father, Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s (R.E.A.L.) Jeffrey and Karen Imm held a public awareness outreach on the issue of extremist ideological violence as the basis for honor killings in front of CNN’s Washington DC Headquarters.

We passed out fliers about the “honor killing” of Noor Almaleki stating that “ideological violence against women is terrorism,” and we spoke about the issue to the lunch time crowd in the plaza area around CNN’s DC offices.  It was evident that many were completely unaware of her story.  We urged the public to demand that CNN reports the entire story about the “honor killing” of Noor Almaleki – not the censored version that has thus far been reported by CNN.

In the case of the “honor killing” of Noor Almaleki, the family repeatedly told members of the Arizona press that the reason her father killed her was because of the Noor’s unwillingness to conform to her father’s extremist views, what they called “traditional Muslim values.”

While this was reported by the Arizona Republic and CBS-5, CNN has repeatedly ignored these reports, instead stating this was only due to the father and daughter’s differences over  “Iraqi values.” (Note: the Alamalekis have been in America since the mid 1990s.)

We showed example on posters of the differences between the Arizona press and CNN reporting.  We urged CNN to tell the rest of the story – so that the public can be informed and address this ideological threat to women’s freedoms before another American woman is killed for failing to submit to extremist views.

We urged our fellow Americans to remember that our shared freedoms for equality and liberty are the “truths that we hold self-evident,” and that no ideology of supremacism has the right to deny their universal human rights to our fellow Americans and our fellow human beings.  We pointed out how Noor Almaleki’s friends were afraid to talk about why her father murdered her for fear that the same thing would happen to them.  We made it clear that ideological violence to intimidate, to oppress, to deny freedoms — is nothing less than terrorism.

We urged the public to reject supremacist ideologies that seek to deny our human rights, and seek to terrorize women into submission.  We also pointed out that while some wish to view such religious extremist violence against women as “isolated incidents,” they are in fact, all connected by this anti-freedom ideology.

We stated that just as we recognized racial violence and oppression in the 1960s (and even today) were not merely “isolated incidents,” but were all part of a larger ideological threat of racial supremacism — so today we must also report on and recognize the larger ideological threats to humanity today when it comes to extremist threats against freedom.

We said that we came to CNN’s Washington DC office to be a voice for those like Noor Almaleki who no longer have a voice to speak, and also to be a voice for people  who are afraid or are being prevented from speaking.

We asked people to remember that these victims of “honor killings” are not just statistics, but are human beings.

Pointing to our poster with Noor Almaleki’s face, we urged the public to remember that all of these victims of ideological violence were special and unique individuals who were loved.  Moreover, we stated that our human rights are not simply about vague ideas, but our human rights are the foundation of the lives of Noor Almaleki and so many others.  We pointed out that our human rights have a face, an identity, and lives that are precious.  We urged the public and the media not to forget the face of human rights, as these faces of human rights are also our faces as well, and those of our families, our neighbors, and our friends.  We urged the public never to forget the faces of human rights, and our responsibility to each other to defend equality and liberty.

Karen Imm spoke about other American victims of extremist “honor killings,” who are other women who could not speak for themselves today.  Karen and Jeffrey spoke about  extremist “honor killings” of Amina and Sarah Said in Dallas, of Sandeela Kanwal in Georgia, in of Methal Dayem in Cleveland, in Tina Isa in Indianapolis, and of suspected “honor killing” of Aasiya Zubair Hassan in Buffalo.

All of these American victims of extremist “honor killings” or threats of such ideological violence are the result of our nation’s and our media’s unwillingness to address the religious extremist ideological basis behind such violence, instead of viewing such terrorism against women as merely “isolated incidents.”

Jeffrey Imm also spoke of those who report that they have been threatened with harm, such as Rifqa Bary, in Columbus.

He asked the public if our media and our nation continues to ignore such terrorist threats and violence against women, who will be next?

Jeffrey Imm asked “How many more have to die before we decide to be responsible for our fundamental human rights and freedoms, and before we decide to be responsible for equality and liberty of women in America and around the world?”

Other Reports:

Why Religious Extremist Honor Killings Represent Ideological Violence Against Women

Facebook Page: “R.I.P Noor Faleh Almaleki”

Arizona: Terrorism Against Women — Noor Almaleki Just Wanted To Be Normal

Arizona — Noor Almaleki “Honor Killing”: Hassan Almaleki Arraignment Delayed, On Suicide Watch

Arizona — Noor Almaleki Honor Killing: Father To Be Arraigned, Face New Charges

Arizona: Woman in Suspected “Honor Killing” Dies — 20 Year Old Noor Almaleki

Arizona — Noor Almaleki Case: Arizona Jails Father in ‘Honor Killing’ Try

Arizona: Noor Almaleki Case — Father in “Honor Killing” Attempt Captured in UK — Extradited Back to US

Arizona — Noor Almaleki case: Family Says Noor Almaleki “Failed to Live by Traditional Muslim Values” — Woman in Critical Condition in Alleged “Honor Killing” Attempt

Arizona: Noor Almaleki’s Lifestyle may have put woman in hospital

Arizona: Father runs down daughter in Peoria parking lot — Noor Faleh Almaleki attacked for being “too westernized”

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Rifqa Bary Support Web Site

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

R.E.A.L. Blog Reports on Extremist Oppression and Violence Against Women

R.E.A.L. — Save Women Now

R.E.A.L. Petition on Extremist Violence and Oppression of Women

World Gender Gap Worst in Islamic Nations — Survey Shows Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Turkey at Bottom of List

U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 and Gender Imbalance in Human Trafficking

R.E.A.L. Blog Reports on Extremism