[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 113 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               STONE COLD

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, on Sunday morning Chaudhry Rashad brutally 
murdered his daughter for bringing, as he said, ``disgrace to the 
family.''
  Rashad's 25-year-old daughter, Sandeela, wanted a divorce from her 
arranged marriage, but Rashad believed that it was more honorable for 
him to take a course of action to strangle her to death.
  When Atlanta police arrived on the scene, Rashad was in his driveway, 
calmly smoking a cigarette behind a car as if it was a normal Sunday. 
After being arrested, then he arrogantly demanded to be served Islamic 
food while he was in custody.
  Rashad said he has ``done nothing wrong'' by murdering his daughter. 
Yet another example of murder in the name of religion. Yet that's the 
problem, that people still use the word ``honor'' and ``killing'' in 
the same breath. The United Nations estimates that there are 
approximately 5,000 supposed religious honor killings each year of 
women and girls. Murder is not honorable.
  When the police found young Sandeela's body, they said it was cold to 
the touch. However, the cold, dead body of his daughter was nothing 
compared to the coldness of a father's heart who willingly steals the 
life of his child in the name of religion.
  And that's just the way it is.

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