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Contacts:
Shaida Khan Robina Niaz
Domestic Harmony Foundation Turning Point for Women and Families
P.O. Box 35, Syosset, NY 11791 PO Box 670086, Flushing, NY 11367
Tel: (516) 385-8292 Tel: (718) 883-9400
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www.dhfny.org www.turningpoint-ny.org
In commemoration of the first anniversary of Aasiya Zubair’s murder, DHF and Turning Point will be hosting a joint panel discussion program on Sunday February 14, 2010. The event will aim to bring a clear and educated understanding of the principles of Islam and address misconceptions about the status and treatment of women. We invite you to join us in memory of the deceased as we show solidarity against domestic violence.
Last year, Turning Point for Women and Families and Domestic Harmony Foundation (Long Island), both nonprofits providing services for battered women in New York area Muslim communities, strongly condemned the tragic and gruesome beheading of Aasiya Zubair Hassan in Buffalo on February 12, 2009. This year, the two organizations come together again to condemn the latest developments.
A year ago, a heinous crime in Orchard Park made a particularly deep impact within the greater Muslim population in America. The founder of Bridges TV, a Muslim-American television network, allegedly beheaded his wife at the studio office. Muzzammil Hassan, 44, turned himself into the police on the night of February 12, 2009 reporting the death of his wife, Aasiya Zubair Hassan, 37. The body of the young mother of two was found in the office of Bridges TV, which had been founded on the principle of portraying Muslims in a positive light.
Over the past year, Mr. Hassan has fired his attorney and hired a new one, who will be pursuing the battered-person defense. Being that he has had a previous history of violence and two failed marriages, and most importantly, that his wife had an Order of Protection against him and had filed for divorce some weeks prior to her death, one cannot fail but be shocked and outraged at this new strategy. As advocates working to address violence against women every day, we are horrified that this man will now be represented in court using the battered-person defense. We are equally horrified by and protest the manner in which the mainstream media and some activists are portraying this crime as “Islamic terrorism”. Justice demands that this crime be judged as the action of an individual without criminalizing a faith and all its followers. It is important to keep in mind that domestic violence crosses all boundaries of race, religion, ethnicity and socio-economic status. What had happened a year ago is an extreme case of domestic violence, and not connected to Islam at all. We must call it for what it is – domestic violence! We as a community will stand up against such violence, whether committed by a Muslim, non-Muslim, a prominent member of society or any average person.
If you would like more information, please contact Shaida Khan at (516) 385-8292, or email
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, or contact Robina Niaz at (718) 883-9400 or email
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