Shafilea Ahmed’s sister said she saw her parents kill her, court told

Guardian UK:

H/T UK Pete

Alesha Ahmed told police she watched Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed suffocate their daughter to death, jury hears

Shafilea Ahmed

Shafilea Ahmed’s body was found near a flooded Cumbrian river in 2004. Photograph: PA

A teenager told police she watched her parents suffocate her sister to death by forcing a carrier bag into her mouth so she could not breathe and placing their hands over her face, a court heard on Tuesday.

Alesha Ahmed, now 23, said she watched her parents “acting together” during the murder of her older sister, Shafilea Ahmed, 17, on 11 September 2003, Chester crown court heard. She said that later that night she saw her father with a large object wrapped in binbags and brown tape – which she assumed was Shafilea – and which he drove off with in a car.

Alesha’s parents, Iftikhar Ahmed, 52, a taxi driver, and his wife, Farzana, 49, deny murdering Shafilea, whose badly decomposed remains were found near a flooded Cumbrian river five months later in February 2004. The couple sat impassively in the wood panelled courtroom, with Farzana occasionally dabbing her nose.

The prosecution barrister, Andrew Edis QC, said Alesha watched as her parents suffocated her sister at their home in Warrington, Cheshire on the night she went missing. He said: “Both parents acting together got a carrier bag that they forced into her mouth. Their hands were over her face, closing her airways so she couldn’t breathe.”

In the immediate aftermath of Shafilea’s murder, Alesha “talks about looking into the kitchen and seeing her mother sorting through a pile of blankets and sheets. She saw her mother with black binbags and two rolls of wide brown tape and some black tape,” Edis said.

Then she looked out of the kitchen window and saw her father with a large object wrapped in binbags and brown tape, “which she assumed was the body of her sister”, said Edis. Soon after, at around 10pm, she is said to have heard a car driving off with her father at the wheel and her mother remaining in the house.

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About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

8 Replies to “Shafilea Ahmed’s sister said she saw her parents kill her, court told”

  1. Honour killing and female infanticide come from Pagan-Hindu-Judeo-Christian traditions. Hindus idolise women as Goddesses on one hand, while downgrading them on the sly at the same time. There is nothing in the Holy Quran and the Hadiths that may encourage people to kill their daughters. Infact, Islam came to abolish the dark ages of Pagan- Hindu –Judeo- Christian traditions. Islam is a matter of choice and there is no compulsion at all. It is a misconception that forced marriage and honour killing are part of Muslim culture. Forced marriage, honour killing and genital mutilation are rare practices among migrant communities. Muslim migrants are worried about institutional racism, binge drinking, drug addiction, incivility, gun and knife crimes, high rate of abortions and teen age pregnancies. An average of 20 English girls under the age of 16 falls pregnant every day. Muslim parents do not want their children to be integrated into such barbarity. Muslim women feel torn between two cultures, thanks to the British education system with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. It makes their lives very confusing.

    Plenty of women have been killed in the UK by men and others, for various reasons. How many articles have been on here about men killing their wives and children for wanting a divorce? How many men have killed their girlfriends or wives for cheating on them? One too many. Those are also all the same. The skin colour of the perpetrator or victim doesn’t change the category of crime. ALL murders have a motive, and you’ve been dealing with domestic violence for centuries now. Why more outraged over this but not the others? Are the other victims less worthy of attention just because they were killed by “white British” people?

    A girl murdered by her boyfriend, happens all over the World, how is that a honour killing? Will you please stop calling murder honour killing

    Western media please do not use the term ‘honour killing’. Thee is nothing to honour in murder.
    IA
    http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

  2. We live in a country where women are over-sexualised and sold as ‘products’ for capitalist gains. A woman’s beauty is splashed around everywhere, and she is only judged by that. Islam tells a woman to cover up so that she is not abused as Western women are.

    Islam is the fastest growing faith in Britain. Hundreds and thousands of Brits are reverting to Islam. By the middle of this century, over half of Brits would be Muslims.

    New research has shown more women convert to Islam than men – in fact, they account for 60 per cent of conversions. They believed that they should be a force for good by building bridges between the Muslim and Non Muslim communities in order to understand Islam better.

    Examples of women who have left high powered jobs in the city, educated
    women who mostly found out about Islam independently via books, the internet or discussion with Muslims; seem to be the picture that is portrayed in this study. This clearly demonstrates a clear pattern of converts who while non Muslim rethought their lives and actively sought to reject secular values, for a belief system offering spiritual and worldly guidance in order to regulate life in a meaningful and fulfilling way. The rejection of materialism and decadence seem to be some of the catalysts in making that change.

    One of the most high-profile examples is Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth, who recently announced she had adopted the faith after a trip to Iran. The conversion of Lauren Booth will have a positive impact, despite claims that it is just attention-seeking. It will encourage people to convert, unless they idolise her, but I think that it will educate people and make them more interested in learning about Muslims. It’s all about having a look at the Quran with an open mind, without presumptions and assumptions…Then would the reader understand what the beautiful religion is all about….

    Increasing numbers of young, university-educated women in their twenties and thirties are converting to Islam. Well – educated white women are more likely to convert to Islam than other groups. Through wearing modest clothing, all the way to a head scarf, it’s no longer about how you look, It’s getting free from this idea that you are defined by your dress size.” At the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the “New Muslims” who make their official declarations of faith – and most of them are under the age of 30.

    The question is why are so-called liberated women choosing Islam. Such women are part of an intriguing trend. They seek spirituality, a higher meaning, and tend to be deep thinkers.

    While 9/11 has led to a western military and ideological onslaught on Islam, 9/11 has also been the catalyst for increasing numbers, born and bred in the west, to question and reject western values and convert to Islam.

    It is also of no surprise that no matter what policies or narrative is
    pushed by governments, writers, thinkers or elements of the media to try and reason away such conversions as ‘fringe’, ‘coercion’ or ‘blind following,’ this trend will continue in a world that seeks to understand the extent to which Capitalist liberal values have failed man in every sense and left a void which can only be filled by the truth!

    “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the
    dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much
    needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.” [G.B. Shaw, THE GENUINE ISLAM, Vol.
    1, No. 81936.]

    I don’t believe in the right to dictate to different people what to do and what not to do simply because of their culture. What is the problem with a demand for Islamic schools exactly?The key word is demand, just as under common law, it is the law of the people. It comes from an acceptance of humanity. People should be free to choose how they educate their own children. So if there was a demand for Muslim schools from Muslim or non-Muslim parents then we should also allow that. I think freedom of religion should also be available to people should they want it. People don’t come here to be British, they come here for a variety of reasons . France is a fraud in the manner it claims its secularity. It is not secular nor is the state separate from the religion of its parliamentarians.

    I don’t buy the argument that Muslim schools brainwash innocent children and force them to think in a certain way when they should be “free” to choose their own way….it’s as if state schools don’t do the same! All childhood education is a form of moulding and culturing of intellect and behaviour…..in a state school they’ll be brought up to beleive in whatever the govt has set as the official curriculum….most likely they’ll grow up believing in liberal capitalism as the only way to make money, they’ll have very little knowledge of the crimes committed by Europe in the slave trade and during the colonial period, they’ll have very little understanding of the contributions of other cultures, they’ll be forcefed govt-approved ethics etc etc….sounds like brainwashing to me!

    All the venom against Islam, it’s pathetic. What about the kids who have parents that teach them no values at all, who take no interest in their child’s moral development or worse still, leave their children to be brought up by the media, X factor and a consumerist society?

    And for those that say the children shouldn’t be indoctrinated with anything, like it or not, whenever you bring a child up you will indoctrinate your own beliefs into the child. Atheist’s will undoubtedly have children who predominantly grow up to be Atheist, Jews will have children who will identify themselves as Jews as adults etc. If you refer to choice, every Muslim in this country has the choice to renounce their faith if they choose to when they grow up so there is no compulsion.

    Parent’s have every right to reject state education if they feel that education is better served in an environment where morality is also discussed alongside traditional subjects.

    After all, we have an education system in which it is acceptable to be laying in a pool of your own vomit one night and then graduate with flying colours the next day….

    You have to accept that for some parents education should not just be about grades, but also the moral and spiritual development of their children as well.

    Muslim schools have been around for 30+ years. The first Muslim school was set up by me in London in 1981 and now there are over 150 schools and only 12 are state funded. Have they had a negative effect on British society? Far from it. Quite the opposite, in fact. Muslims convicted of any kind of illegal activity, let alone terrorism, tend to have been educated in mainstream, non-faith schools, colleges and universities. There are people who want to enforce their own ideology on people of faith. Having worked with and for Muslim schools for almost 30 years, I know of no Muslim who wants every school to be a faith school; our opponents, however, in the name of liberalism and freedom, want all schools to be non-religious. Some liberalism; some freedom that is!

    Ofsted evidence of Islamic Schools indicated that the pupils outperformed their peers at state schools. Ofsted report (some years ago) did find that Christian Evangelical schools did turn out the most intolerant out of all faith schools, it also found that the Jewish schools pupils were the least intolerant. A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF MUSLIM SCHOOLS are doing well. Fact is comprehensive schools are badly run, lacking in discipline, under-achieving academicly and tolerates such lax behaviour that drug-use and teen pregnancy is considered normal. Would you want to send your kids to be educated in that kind of enviroment? So why beat up muslims parents who want to ‘OPT’ out?

    Problems of high percentage of teenage pregnancy, drugs and alcoholism and setting the right level of sex education have been quite a burden to this country.
    While no solutions have been found yet, in fact the solution is already there in religious teaching.

    So, setting up well organised and proper faith schools, particularly islamic school gives the solution of the above problem. I think our government should support this direction more rather than wasting a lot of time finding other solutions that will not solve the problems.

    Parents should be the ones to make the individual choice of what programs their kids should attend, not the government. Imposing the teaching of all religions or none at all would go against the liberty principle of your tolerant society. Parents have a right to educate their children where they see fit, and instill values which they feel will bring them as good and responsible individuals. These parents are sending thier kids to Muslim schools as they believe it is the best thing for their children and have lost faith in the what is being offered by the government.Muslim parents want their children educated in a disciplined environment. Is that so unreasonable? People who seek religious schools just want some element of discipline and a focus on learning..

    Sure, religious parents including Muslims, may also prefer a school ethos that is actively against porn, drugs and mini-micro-disappearing skirts.

    May I congratulate Muslims on their founding of new schools and taking a full part in the life on this country. They simply are joining the Anglicans, Catholics, Jews, Methodists et al in having their own schools.

    In a nation of immigrants that never assimilated into the Native American way of life, but imposed their culture onto the the native people and then exterminated most of them when they refused to bow down to ‘superior’ European culture.

    Cambridge and many of the great western and eastern universities began as a theological colleges – part of the christian and muslim mission is to encourage learning including humanities and science. That is why the humanists and scientists did not need to start separate schools, they are a product of religious ethos (of encouraging learning)

    The Muslim community has been passing through a phase of fourth Crusades. The battleground is the field of education, where the young generation will be educated properly with the Holly Quran in one hand and Sciences in other hand to serve humanity. A true Muslim is a citizen of the world, which has become a small global village. We are going to prepare our youth to achieve that objective in the long run. A true Muslim believes in Prophet Moses and the Prophet Jesus and without them one cannot be a Muslim. My suggestion is that in all state, independent and Christian based school special attention should be given to the teaching of Comparative Religion and Islam should be taught by qualified Muslim Teachers to make the children aware the closeness of Islam to Christianity and Judaism which will help them to think about Islam, as “A Pragmatic and Modern Way of Life,” during their life time. Those state schools where Muslim children are in majority may be opted out as Muslim Academies.

    Bilingual Muslim children need to learn and be well versed in Standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. The problem is that they learn English in the streets and in the playgrounds. British schooling does not teach English to migrant children. The teachers let them speak the same accent in the classroom. They have no courage to stop them or correct them. This is one of the main reasons why one third of children have difficulties with reading when they leave primary schools. Majority of such children are bilingual Muslims. They often speak “street” with its own grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. In other European countries and in the sub-continent argot and slang are not allowed into the classrooms. In Britain primary school teachers do not feel that it’s role to interfere with self-expression in any shape or form. They encourage children to read poems and stories written in ethnic dialects.

    Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. It will help them to developm self-confidence and self-esteem.
    IA

  3. It is a misconception that forced marriage and honour killing are part of Muslim culture.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: These aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Move along.

    Honour killing and female infanticide come from Pagan-Hindu-Judeo-Christian traditions.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: I know you are, but what am I?

    Islam is a matter of choice and there is no compulsion at all.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: …ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

    Forced marriage, honour killing and genital mutilation are rare practices among migrant communities.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: I didn’t do it, no one saw me do it, there’s no way you can prove anything!

    An average of 20 English girls under the age of 16 falls pregnant every day. Muslim parents do not want their children to be integrated into such barbarity.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: No Sex Please: We’re [Not] British
    Alternate Translation: Let us die before [our children] become [free] under our enemies and let [our daughters] go out of the world together with our children and our wives in a state of [Islam]. This it is that our laws command us to do. This it is that our wives and children crave at our hands. Nay [Allah] himself has brought this necessity upon us.

    Western media please do not use the term ‘honour killing’.

    Translation from ‘Taqqiya’: Thoughtcrime does not entail death, thoughtcrime IS death.

    When translated from the Taqqiya, we can see that Iftikhar Ahmad is far more acculturated, assimilated and informed by Western ideas, than we might have suspected. Clearly popular Western culture has completely taken him over. This must explain why he is such an unhappy Muslim.

  4. @ Iftikhar Ahmad May 23, 2012 at 5:32 am

    Wow, that’s a novel! No one is ever going to read all that, but since you decided to cut and paste from one of your old comments, complete with misspellings, despite my helpful observations, I will offer one little (cut & paste) retort:

    “Holly Quran” [Is Holly expected to cover her face? Was Nikah Mut’ah obtained?] “in one hand and Sciences in other hand to serve humanity.” [Its a cookbook! The Koran is a cookbook!]

  5. Thank you Michael I find reading his bull to boring, I can’t finish it before I go to sleep.