I think about this comment for a while. In a way, he’s both right and wrong. After all, there are about twenty men who kill their children in the name of honour in this country every year, including for reasons such as this. But, like homosexuals in this country, they only represent a small subculture, a minority. Neither gays nor those who kill in the name of honour represent the majority in this country. I realise that I have been focusing only on two extremes of Jordanian society. For months, I have examined the darkest sides of the culture, looking for oppression, prejudice, and murder . . . but there are of course also parts of Jordan where people can more freely love whomever they want and be more open about their sexuality. Honour killing is an ancient cultural phenomenon founded on its own form of logic, and it is increasingly taking place in societies where modern values are gaining traction. It’s only at the extremes that things go wrong. This is an important nuance, I think, and empty my last glass of arak.