A Regime of Gender Violence: Honor Killings, Familial Violence, and Muslim Women’s Subjectivities

Abstract

In 2005, 23-year-old Hatun Sürücü was standing at a bus stop in Berlin when her youngest brother, Ayhan, shot and killed her. This act not only tragically ended Hatun Sürücü’s life but also led to a new chapter in representations of Islam and violence in Germany and Europe. Her death sparked massive national and international attention, accompanied by sensationalist headlines such as “Strangled, Stabbed, Drowned—the ‘Honor Killings’ in Berlin Pile Up” (Müller-Gerbes 61). Sürücü’s story is often framed as an example of a successful integration against all odds, which was violently interrupted by her murder; in the years since her death, her murder has become a touchstone haunting discussions of Islam, immigration, and integration—any cursory reference to her death instantly evokes the specter of “failed integration.”