Murder becomes a matter of faith

Opinion: August 5, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Abeer Mohammed and Neil Arun

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

BAGHDAD

The murder of a former interpreter for the U.S. military who allegedly abandoned his Muslim faith has put a strain on Iraq’s fragile legal system, with Islamic and secular laws coming into conflict.

Hameed al-Daraji was shot to death in June in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad. According to the local police, his son, who police refused to identify, confessed he had killed his father over his conversion to Christianity. Another son and a nephew, neither of whom the police would identify, are still being sought in connection with the murder.

Hostility toward converts is widespread in Iraq, as it is in much of the Muslim world. While the country’s laws guarantee the rights of religious minorities, they also yield to Islam as an ultimate authority.

Many Iraqis say the senior Daraji deserved to be killed in accordance with strict Islamic rules against conversion. Others say that while they approve of the killing, they would prefer if it had been carried out by the man’s tribe.

Balancing act

The reaction to the Samarra killing illustrates the difficulty the country faces in balancing religious and secular laws.

Iraq’s laws have strict penalties for murder and make no allowances for the killing of converts from Islam.

However, the constitution describes Islam as a fundamental source of legislation, and adds that no law may be passed that contradicts the principles of Islam, or democracy.

Almost everyone concedes that abandoning Islam is a serious crime that merits punishment. The question most have is what constitutes appropriate punishment.

Ahmed al-Abbasi, a judge and a senior ministry of justice official, said religious teachings were followed where the law offered no guidance.

“There is no law to deal with a convert, so in such cases we have to go to the Islamic rules, because Islam is the main source of legislation,” he said.

Dhiya al-Saadi, a former head of the union of Iraqi lawyers, speculated that the suspect could plead that he was driven to commit the crime by mitigating circumstances.

In Samarra itself, there appeared to be little sympathy for the murder victim.

“I saw (Daraaji) wearing a chain with a cross on it, which is forbidden in Islam,” said Alaa Dakheel, a farmer and neighbor of the dead man.

“It is a religious duty to kill infidels.” Thabit Salah, a local barber, said no one blamed the son for the murder.

Sanctioned by Islam

Both Sunni and Shia religious and political leaders agree that the killing of a convert was sanctioned by Islam.

No everyone, however, supported the son’s actions.

“Killing a man is a sin, and killing one’s father is an even bigger sin,” said one young man in Baghdad who spoke on condition that his name not be used. “Let God judge such a person who converts.”

Abeer Mohammed is the senior local editor and Neil Arun is the Iraq editor for The Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization in London that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune.