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Beheading Case Goes to Court
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In a Daily Beast exclusive, Asra Q. Nomani reports that lawyers for the Muslim woman allegedly murdered in a brutal attack by her husband are trying to prevent him from hiding assets from their two surviving children. View the court documents here.
The estate of Aasiya Hassan, the Muslim mother of two who was allegedly murdered and beheaded last week at the hands of her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, is seeking to prevent her husband from hiding his assets from their children.
Today, a Buffalo, N.Y., judge met the request, and agreed to temporarily freeze $2.5 million worth of assets and property held by Hassan and Bridges Network Inc., the American-Muslim TV channel the couple operated.
Click Here To View Court Documents
Aasiya Hassan’s estate is trying to preserve the couple’s assets for their two surviving children: their 6-year-old son Danyal, and their 4-year-old daughter, Rania. In a statement to the court yesterday, an attorney at HoganWillig, an Amherst, N.Y., law firm retained by Aasiya Hassan before her death to represent her in a divorce filing against her husband, claimed there is reason to believe that Muzzammil Hassan could try to prevent the children from collecting funds. The filings also allege a long history of violence between Hassan and his wife.
Last week, Orchard Park, N.Y., police said Muzzammil Hassan, 44, had arrived at the station and told them that they could find the body of his murdered wife, 37, at Bridges offices. Hassan has been charged with second degree murder, and is currently in jail. No bail has been set.
The murder has sent shock waves through the American Muslim community. The Hassans were prominent entrepreneurs who started their television network in an effort to improve the image of Islam after September 11, 2001. Community activists pressed preachers to dedicate their Friday sermons today to the issue of domestic violence.
In his statement, the estate’s attorney alleges that Muzzammil Hassan had a lengthy history of domestic violence and was “the subject of numerous complaints to various police agencies for violence” toward Aasiya Hassan and his children from a prior marriage.
On February 6, six days before her murder, Aasiya Hassan had filed for divorce. The recent filings refer to a previous effort by Aasiya Hassan to freeze her husband’s assets.
A formal lawsuit with more specific claims is likely to follow. The filing say the estate will "file a summons and complaint pursuing causes of action for assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, pain, suffering, and wrongful death," as well as other issues.
The case is filed as Acea Mosey, administrator for the estate of Aasiya Hassan, v. Hassan and Bridges Network. Mosey had retained HoganWillig, the filing said, to pursue claims on behalf of the estate.
A hearing is set for March 2.
Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam. She can be reached at asra@asranomani.com
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Paul Schrodt is a writer living in New York City. He has contributed to New York magazine, Radar, and Esquire.com.
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Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam. She is co-director of the Pearl Project, an investigation into the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Her activism for women’s rights at her mosque in West Virginia is the subject of a PBS documentary, The Mosque in Morgantown. She can be found on Facebook, and reached at asra@asranomani.com
Honor Killing on Main Street
Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam. She is co-director of the Pearl Project, an investigation into the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Her activism for women’s rights at her mosque in West Virginia is the subject of a PBS documentary, The Mosque in Morgantown. She can be found on Facebook, and reached at asra@asranomani.com
Why Honor Killings Happen
Asra Q. Nomani is the author of Standing Alone: An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam. She is co-director of the Pearl Project, an investigation into the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Her activism for women’s rights at her mosque in West Virginia is the subject of a PBS documentary, The Mosque in Morgantown. She can be found on Facebook, and reached at asra@asranomani.com
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mavin1620
New York has the death penalty.He's my number one candidate.
Spasticula
What could be more natural than beheading your wife for not doing what you say? ....I know lovely Muslim people, but their utter silence after insane, firmly Islamic moments like this make me think that their religion should be under heavy surveillance. This man is a such a freakshow that he couldn't override the insane edicts of Islam to pursue the goal of his fricking business; which is PR and the normalization of Islam. These people are lunatics.
connie47
Every 21 days, a woman is killed by domestic violence in America
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States; more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes - combined, according to a 1992 staff report for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Only the method makes this a "freakshow" in America. It will get a lot of press and there will be loud condemnation of Muslims and their religion. The fact is, we just do it differently over here, but innocent we are not. We just don't write front-page articles when most of our wives are murdered by their husbands.
hockeydog
Actually, Connie47, most of our wives are not, in fact murdered by their husbands. Most of our wives are loved and cherished by their husbands. I know that was not the intent of your post, and just wanted to put in that clarification.
Banjo1
Well, that didn't take long, connie47. The hate-America crowd is always looking for equivalency between us and the most savage and brutal cultures. We're just as bad, you see, and maybe worse. In their secrets hearts American men want women in burkas and only NOW and the women's studies departments stand between it. The people decapitated in videos were instruments of empire, and in a poetically just way had it coming, though connie47 might deplore the means. But it is no worse than what happens here every day of the week, and more often on Sunday when the Christians slake their blood lust on non-believers. This looks like a case for Max Blumenthal. He'll connect the dots.
connie47
hockeydog: My last sentence was worded poorly, that's for sure. Thanks.
Banjo1: You're wrong on so many counts. First, you have no right to accuse anyone of hating America. We are a military family and we're not atheists. Your rant is ignorant and nasty, which makes it pretty much like your other posts.
GMCaesar
@connie47
word
lorial58
I agree with Connie47. Oh my gosh, a Muslim guy killed his wife, must be because of his religion. How 'bout the usual thing that happens in America every day and some controlling, abusive ass decided he could save some money on a divorce if he just killed the woman instead? They could have left his religion out of the story and it wouldn't even have warranted a second line on the last page of newspaper.
Jamesw2
The only thing that killed Aasiya Hassan was her husbands ego. a deluded self immage of his impotence
southernyankee
Hey friends no matter how you see it murder is murder and it really doesn't matter who or where the person is from. When your dead your dead.
ardeth
From Rihanna to this unfortunate woman, domestic violence happens every day in America, and it impacts not just the marital partners, but their kids, other family members, friends, and the family pets. It has zip to do with the fact that someone is Muslim, Catholic, atheist, etc. Domestic violence is an equal opportunity issue.
GateKeeper
hmm..whenever I read... or a media produced story about a wife murdered, it appears most likely the husband is indicted and convicted of the crime, this is not to say, wives for the most part aren't loved by their husbands, but lately, there's been an increase conviction rate, husbands murdering their wives as opposed to being murdered by someone else.
..back to the article, why would the american muslim community be surprize this happened to a muslim wife, who went against religious muslim marriage tradition? The american muslim community is WELL aware of what honor killings are...and are based upon cultural & religious beliefs generally.
The issue I have with immigrants who come to this nation, they come for opportunity, become educated and successful, not a problem, it's the foundation of this nations for all citizens of this nation, however, if you are a immigrant/national citizen of this nation and successful, HONOR the LAWS of this land that gave you opportunity for success,.. beheading your WIFE as a honor killing because of cultural & religious beliefs ..dishonors the opportunity given to you by this nation, and the AMERICAN muslim community should advocate against such primal beliefs> beheading your wife, and if a immigrant/citizen is convicted of such a CRIME, give the murderer jail time served(maybe not at taxpayers expense).. but be exported back to their native country, packed , stock and barrel never to return, penalized monetary, their assets seized and given to the state where the crime occurred.....
AMJCatNY
Hey connie47, I don't doubt your stats about domestic violence is true. My question is what is the percentage per population of these domestic violence murders in western countries compared to those of Arab/Muslim countries? I admit that I don't know but I have a good guess. Also, in Texas there recently was a "Honor" killing by a father of his TWO daughters. This is not being covered by the main stream media in this country but we now every detail of the Caylee Anthony case and the case of every child in this country who is a victim of their own family member but a beheading by Muslims can't be discussed?
AndreainNY
A beheading is very closely associated with Islamic extremist behavior. So is abuse of women.
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