Honor Killings and Cultural Defense (with a Special Focus on Germany)

Abstract

The paper discusses the phenomenon of honor killings which are increasingly becoming a problem in western societies. The author is searching whether honor killings are connected to Islam or they result from cultural traditions. Then he focuses on the situation of Turkish citizens in Germany and German Turks who are mostly offenders and victims of honor killings. Later on, he briefly brings out German courts practice in cases of honor killings, especially the reflection what concerns "cultural defense" argument.

Keywords: honor killing, cultural defense, Germany, Turks