The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.

NOTE: The excerpt below is from the Feb. 17 BOTW archives.

Don’t Look NOW
Last week the National Organization for Women issued a press release on an important topic:

The recent arrest of R&B star Chris Brown, who reportedly assaulted and threatened singer Rihanna, preventing her participation in the Grammys, has brought the ever-present issue of violence against women into the public spotlight once again.

“Everyone is talking about this case because it involves two popular recording artists, but the sad reality is that domestic violence and dating violence happen every day, even among young teens, and the impact is both far-reaching and under-reported,” said Gandy.

We actually had not heard of Chris Brown or Rihanna, but we’re willing to take NOW’s word for it that they’re popular. Gandy certainly has a point, though: Domestic violence is a big problem, and one that affects not only celebrity-Americans. Just surveying recent news articles, one can find lots of shocking cases involving the less well known.

Here’s an example from suburban Buffalo, N.Y., reported in the Buffalo News:

Orchard Park police are investigating a particularly gruesome killing, the beheading of a woman, after her husband – an influential member of the local Muslim community – reported her death to police Thursday.

Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.

“He came to the police station at 6:20 p.m. [Thursday] and told us that she was dead,” Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said late this morning….

“Obviously, this is the worst form of domestic violence possible,” Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III said today.

CNN reported yesterday that police say Mr. Hassan has confessed.

NOW’s statement on Mrs. Hassan’s beheading was short and to the point:      .

There is an irony to this story that goes unremarked by NOW: As the Buffalo News explains, “Muzzammil Hassan is the founder and chief executive officer of Bridges TV, which he launched in 2004, amid hopes that it would help portray Muslims in a more positive light.”

Those who portray Muslims in a negative light often point out that Islamic culture tends to treat women unfairly, even brutally. If Mr. Hassan beheaded his wife, it may have the effect of perpetuating the very stereotypes he hoped to combat.

The Associated Press reports from Murietta, Calif., on another shocking domestic-violence case:

A self-proclaimed polygamist was sentenced Friday to seven consecutive life prison terms for torturing seven of his 19 children, abusing four others and imprisoning two of his three wives.

Mansa Musa Muhummed, 55, also was sentenced to additional terms totaling 16 years and eight months by Riverside County Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson III, who said Muhummed’s treatment of his family amounted to “a reign of terror over defenseless children.”

[A] report from New York’s Daily News [on another incident of Mohammed Fagirad, 30, a vice consul at the Afghanistan Consulate assaulting his wife is appalling too:

… Fagirad told police his “wife was a dog and he was going to treat her like a dog,” prosecutors said.

Here are NOW’s statements on the Muhummed and Fagirad cases, in their entirety and edited only for spelling and punctuation:     .

Hey, come to think of it, when Gandy complains that people don’t care about domestic violence when it doesn’t involve celebrities, she speaks from direct knowledge. 

For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”