Normally when we hear about beheadings, it is at the hands of Islamic extremists in the midst of jihadic activity. They are usually making some public statement that is intended to send a political message and strike fear in their opponents. But this one is different…

A recent headline shares the story about a Muslim man who has been charged with the beheading of his own wife, and it happened here in the United States! Apparently she had filed for divorce citing “cruel and inhuman treatment” and even obtained an order of protection from her husband.

In my curiosity, I wanted to better understand if beheadings are an accepted practice in Islam, and if so then what are the guidelines surrounding this practice. What I’ve found is that that these types of killings are seem to be acceptable. However, there are guidelines behind them. Generally, this ‘punishment’ is saved only for the extreme cases during jihad, and are also targeted more towards non-Muslim infidels.

The crazy thing about this whole situation to me is that a beheading seems to be such a cruel and unusual form of killing someone. Assuming that it was the husband that did this, was his decision to behead her influenced by his Muslim faith? Did he consider her an infidel of some sort?

Granted I know that Christians are not immune from immoral behavior, and I know that there are some wackos out there that cling to a ‘Christian’ faith and say that ‘God’ told them to do some pretty horrible things. But I am wondering whether a culture that supports this type of violence against ‘infidels’ may have led to this husband’s behavior.

Christian teaching cites that one should “love even your enemy“. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus even told Peter to put away his sword. The whole of Christian teaching is not one of violence. And while there may even be some disagreement over things like capital punishment, one thing that is clear is that the punishment should never exceed the crime itself.

For me, this is an interesting difference in fundamental worldviews and perspectives on the value of human life. On one side you have a religion that teaches love and forgiveness, and on the other you have one that teaches that violent killing is acceptable (even if the basic teaching limits it to certain situations).

Please hear my heart here. I am not to trying to make the point that one side is better than the other, or even to say that one religion is right or wrong. More than anything this saddens me that one’s faith may have something in its doctrine that could influence this sort of behavior.

My hope is that Christians who read this would pray for Muslims and their marriages. Pray that they would know love in a way that is deeper than anything that they currently understand. May Muslims all around the world realize that there is a higher road that can be taken, and that even if the ‘rules’ allow such action that they would have a great respect and value for human life. I also wish to pray for peace for the friends and family members that are associated with this horrible incident. May God bless them and pour out His love on them.

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