Muslims in Montreal are distancing themselves from Mohammed Shafia and his son, as well as Shafia's wife Tooba Yahya, all convicted Sunday of first-degree murder.
Some say the term "honour killing," used to describe the deaths of Shafia's three teenaged daughters and his first wife for perceived disrespect they brought upon the family, is a misrepresentation of their faith.
Dr. Khalil Tabatabai, president of the Imam Hussain Charitable Foundation, said that coverage of the trial may have led people to create misconceptions about Islam.
"What they call honour killing is not an Islamic law. It is maybe tribal law or cultural law of the country, in Islam we do not have that," said Tabatabai.
He said Mohammed Shafia, who was convicted Sunday of killing his three teenaged daughters and first wife, was not a practicing Muslim.
"He was not coming to the centres, not getting advice of any imam of a mosque," he said. "Otherwise if he would have come, we would have taken advice. The imam would have advised him to solve the problem, if there was any family problem, in a different way."
Muslim-Canadian journalist Kinda Jayoush said above all else, Mohammed must have been under intense pressure to do what he thought was right.
"We have to admit to illnesses in certain communities, and we have to work hard on recovering people from such way of thinking, helping them get over it and change it," said Jayoush.
Muslim Montrealer Amruddin Akbari, from the Chopan Kabab café, said it's important to remember that the violent acts are not a reflection of all Muslims.
"It's very sad, but not all people from Afghanistan are like that," he said.
Rashid Rahmani, president of the Afghan Cultural Association of Quebec, questioned the kind of evidence that was used in the trial.
He said the majority of people in his community don't think the guilty verdict is fair.
"There isn't concrete proof that Mohammad Shafia killed his kids," he said. "I don't think the electronic evidence, or the witnesses were enough for a guilty verdict."
