Pakistan's journalist gunned down for supporting love marriage

[MariaThinks]

Source: Times of India

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani journalist has been brutally shot dead by the relatives of a woman for supporting her in marrying a man of her choice without the family's permission in Punjab province, sparking massive protests.

Ajmal Joyia, who was in his 30s, was going home on a motorbike when he was targeted by at least three gunmen in Lodhran district. He was killed on Monday while his cousin, who was also riding on the same motorbike, was critically injured, police said.

"Joyia was targeted by the relatives of a woman who married a man of her choice without the permission of the family," a police official said.

He had reportedly extended his support to the beleaguered couple and was said to have approached district authorities to provide the couple with adequate security, reports said.

Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistans-journalist-gunned-down-for-supporting-love-marriage/articleshow/52239086.cms

[Coventina]

1. The poor dears couldn't help themselves. US foreign policy made them do it!!!

RIP Ajmal Joyla.

[iandhr]

2. Yup.

Someone will soon say that

[840high]

9. ...

[romanic]

10. Don't forget to blame colonization, the British Empire, and Christian missionaries as well.

But no a serious note, RIP to Joyla; it's a shame that showing support for something as normal as a woman marrying a man of her choice leads to death by extremists.

[leftynyc]

3. Madness

And far too many supposed progressives right here on DU will ignore it, deflect from it and, of course, blame the West for it.

[smirkymonkey]

4. There is no hope for moderate Islam.

Not with lunatics like this running around. Poor man.

[happyslug]

6. This is not Islamic in nature, the article clearly states it is tribal.

It was against the law even in ancient Rome and Greece to marry against your parents wishes. Emperor Justinian in the 500s changed that, permitting marriages on love alone.

Mohammad seems to follow that same rule, his first wife picked him as her husband. On the other hand arranged marriages were still the norm during his time period.

The problem is in most clan and tribal system your support group is your blood relatives, thus making sure they agree with such a marriage is important to them. The best way to achieve such agreement is to do as your parents agree to. Thus outside "Christian" areas, that came under the rules or influence of Justinian's code (Europe, Russia, North and South America), Japan, China and some other areas (which have adopted similar rules) arrange marriages tend to be the norm. In most cases people marry their cousins so the support group for both Husband and Wife are the same. People who break this rule without support from their blood relatives are treated as traitors in these societies.

Christianity and Islam have tried to change these rules, but with only limited success outside the above areas (and even in Christian Areas you had families that married they cousins in arrange marriages to keep the money within the family).

My point is this is not Islamic in nature, but dates back to the pre Islamic culture of that place.

[MariaThinks]

11. i agree. Anyone islamic who is moderate and who goes public seems to get slaughtered.

[Scootaloo]

5. Popcorn time

I'm gonna see how many known names this thread racks up before the reveal.

[FLPanhandle]

7. Not sure what's entertaining for you.

A man expressing a modern liberal opinion killed by a backward dogmatic culture isn't something to sit back and eat popcorn about.

What's up?

[Scootaloo]

8. I didn't say it was. The replies to the thread, on the other hand...