Honor Thy Father: The Inside Story of the Young Muslim Woman "Honor-Killed" by Her Father Because He Believed She'd Become Too Americanized

Comments (0) By Paul Rubin Thursday, Apr 1 2010

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"We can say that you have . . . a psychological problem," Seham suggested. "You have to tell them, 'I am suffering because of the war.'"

Faleh agreed that this would be a good idea.

Noor Almaleki was a 20-year-old college student who had dreams of becoming a fashion model.

Noor Almaleki's dad, murder suspect Faleh Almaleki, in a police mugshot taken after his arrest last October.

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"Tell them I am tired and feel nervous. I am always suffering from this condition. Tell them I got sick in Iraq. Okay?"

Another call between the couple revealed more.

"Noor is gone, Faleh," Seham said, crying as she spoke. "I lost my daughter. My daughter is gone."

"I told you," Faleh replied. "Your daughter was gone anyway."

"No, Faleh," his wife continued. "She's gone! My daughter is gone!"

"Noor is gone, and what about me?" Faleh responded.

"You are gone," his wife concluded.

Faleh Almaleki has pleaded innocent to the charges against him. A trial date hasn't been set. He will remain locked up in the Maricopa County Jail until his case ends.

The Almaleki family declined to speak with New Times for this article. The family's comments all came from investigation records and from posts on Web sites.

Neither would most of Noor Almaleki's friends speak on the record, saying they feared her family might retaliate. Her boyfriend, Marwan, could not be reached for comment.

The blogosphere continues to resonate with opinions about "honor killings" and about the Faleh Almaleki case.

"There's no doubt about it," writes Pamela Geller of the virulently anti-Muslim blog atlasshrugs.com. "He ought to be executed."

That is the overwhelming sentiment, even though the County Attorney's Office, and its usually tough-on-criminals leader Andrew Thomas, has decided not to seek capital punishment against Faleh.

Others, however, have expressed a different point of view.

"Rest in peace, Noor," someone recently wrote on the young woman's memorial Facebook page.

"May Allah forgive her and forgive us for all our sins. And may Allah help her Dad!!!!"