British Muslims do not condone so-called honour killings, community leaders have said.
On Monday a Kurdish Muslim father, Abdalla Yones, was convicted of murdering his 16-year-old daughter Heshu after she formed a relationship with a Christian boyfriend.
Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) told BBC News Online that the case was not symptomatic of a widespread problem in the Muslim community.
Many Muslims would understand Yones being upset by his daughter's apparent rejection of his faith, said Mr Bunglawala, but they would never condone his actions.
"It may have been disheartening to see his daughter growing up not with his value system but someone else's.
"But many Muslims are uncomfortable about how Islam has been dragged into this, because Islam categorically does not allow people to kill their own daughter," Mr Bunglawala said.
The MCB spokesman admitted there was a "tension" between the values of Islam and life in the UK with regard to sexual behaviour and relationships.
"Many Muslims worry about whether their children will grow up to be good Muslims so that tension is always there.
"But most children realise and accept the value system they've been brought up in."
Abdalla Yones was a political refugee who came to the UK from Iraq 10 years ago, and Mr Bunglawala felt that was a factor in the case.
Most Muslims who were born in Britain or had lived in the country for long periods were more at ease with combining and accepting the different sets of cultures and value systems, he said.
'No-one's right'
Kurdistan Refugees Women's Organisation co-ordinator Sawsan Salim said most Kurds also condemned "honour killings".
"No excuse should be given for such a brutal tragedy.
"No-one has the right to kill women under any name, whether it is God or culture."
There were 12 "honour killings" in Britain last year - six in London, according to Scotland Yard.
But Ram Gidoomal, of the South Asian Development Partnership charity, told BBC News: "There are many more that go unreported."
Victims were sometimes taken abroad before being murdered, he added.
It was estimated there were more than 13 honour killings worldwide every day in 2000.
Entire families can be involved.
And women have even been murdered for the "dishonour" of being raped.
Mr Gidoomal told BBC News: "There was a case a few months ago, where a mother and her son took her daughter, his sister - and she was expecting - and murdered her in cold blood here in Great Britain."
He urged "mosques, Hindu temples, Gurdwaras [temples], and indeed Asian Christian churches" to teach their congregations that "this sort of behaviour is absolutely unacceptable".
"The taking of life is a serious matter, and goes against any religious teaching."
Schools and social services also needed to confront the problem "as a matter of urgency", Mr Gidoomal added.
Task force
Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Brent Hyatt told BBC News: "We can prevent some of these murders.
"The question for us is if Heshu had gone into a police station saying she felt at risk would she have been treated with the urgency her concerns warranted?
"We need to highlight this problem so more officers and reception staff at police stations understand the urgency."
Scotland Yard has formed a task force to increase its understanding of "honour killings".
Serious Crime Directorate head Commander Andy Baker said the Met's "ignorance and lack of understanding of the motive" made it hard to investigate the murders.
"We can prevent these murders."
People who had tried to protect Yones would be investigated on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, Cmdr Baker added.
And Yones' conviction should be "a message, loud and clear to those who condone or stay silent over the treatment of women in their midst".
"We will not tolerate it."