A Jordanian man has been found guilty of two 'honor killings' in Texas after taking to the stand to defend himself in a desperate attempt to avoid the death penalty, against his attorney's advice.

Ali Irsan, 60, a Jordanian immigrant, was convicted of the November 2012 killing of his daughter's husband, Coty Beavers, and her friend Gelareh Bagherzadeh, who was killed 11 months earlier, in a Harris County courtroom on Thursday.

Irsan's daughter, Nesreen, had fled the family compound in Montgomery County at the age of 23, converted to Christianity and married Beavers, 28, who was a Christian man.

It's believed the deaths of first Bagherzadeh and then Beavers were part of a greater plan to kill five people in total, including Nesreen.

Irsan's sentencing hearing begins on Friday. He could be sentenced either to death or life imprisonment without parole.

Ali Irsan, 60 (left), has been convicted of two 'honor killings' while wife, Shmou Ali Alrawabdeh, 40 (right), is also charged related to the murders and has testified against him

Against the advice of his own attorneys, Irsan took the stand on Wednesday declaring he had nothing to do with the deaths of Beavers and Bagherzadeh in Houston in 2012.

Irsan was grilled by prosecutors on his relationship with his wife and his devout faith as they tried to paint him as a radical Muslim who believed his daughter's marriage had brought shame on the family.

'Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan is a radical extremist Muslim who must be stopped,' special prosecutor Anna Emmons told jurors.

'This is premeditated capital murder to carry out one man’s views, it’s as simple as that.'

The jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before it came back with guilty verdicts.

Irsan as convicted of killing Gelareh Bagherzadeh (pictured) in January 2012; She had been friends with the Jordanian-American's daughter, Nesreen

Irsan was also convicted of killing his daughter's husband, Coty Beavers (pictured), in November 2012; Beavers was Christian, and Isran's daughter converted to Christianity

'Honor killings have no place in American society,' Michael Creed, the older brother of Beavers, said.

'These are not infrequent events that happen in some random part of the world. They're happening in America and they're on the rise.'

In some cultures, so-called 'honor killings' are the murders of individuals, usually female and usually at the hands of male family members, who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family. Their killing is believed to restore that honor.

Emmons said this case was not about putting Islam on trial, but the religious beliefs of a man who killed two people because his daughter converted to Christianity.

'Honor and shame, that’s what this is all about,' Emmons said. 'You heard him say honor is a big deal to him. And the only way to clean that honor is to kill.'

Irsan, his oldest son Nasim, and his wife, Shmou Ali Alrawabdeh, 40 were charged with the murders of Beavers and Bagherzadeh in 2015.

Nasim, age 24, is currently in custody awaiting his trial for capital murder related to the killings of Beavers and Bagherzadeh.

Shmou Ali Alrawabdeh, 40, is also accused of assisting in the killing of Bagherzadeh but has testified against her husband, saying she was there with both Irsan and Nasim on the nights Beavers and Bagherzadeh were killed.

Irsan's defense team tried to point the finger at Alrawabdeh, in the murder of Beavers, specifically.

'It’s up to you if you want to believe that woman, but that is a cold-blooded lady,' defense attorney Allen Tanner told jurors. 'I wouldn’t put it past Shmou to be the person who went into that house. She’s cold.'

Tanner said Alrawabdeh testified in exchange for having the murder charge she was facing dropped.

Despite his attorneys advising him not to, Irsan took the witness stand on Wednesday

Tanner also tried to suggest that Nasim was the one who killed Bagherzadeh in January 2012, after testimony from Alrawabdeh that Irsan had 'chickened out' that night, so Nasim shot his sister's friend.

Irsan's representation admitted that once his daughter ran away to live with her then-boyfriend Beavers, he was angry.

'He was upset that she ran off with a Christian boy,' Tanner said. 'That’s a fact.'

The case was summed up by prosecutor Marie Primm as Irsan's personal mission to regain control of his family, and anyone who disobeyed him.

'They had dared to defy Ali Irsan,' Primm said. 'They had dared to dishonor him, and he was going to clean his honor with blood.'

However, Irsan insisted that he wasn't the person who killed either daughter's friend, Bagherzadeh, or her new husband, Beavers.

In this courtroom sketch, Ali Mahwood-Awad Irsan, second from right, responds to questioning by special prosecutor Marie Primm

Under questioning, Irsan admitted to returning to Jordan to marry his second wife when she was just 15 before returning to the US and fathering eight children with her.

When pushed on whether he had broken the law by marrying a second woman while still married to his first wife Irfan said: 'In my country, I am allowed to have two wives.'

Irsan and his attorneys attempted to paint his attitude toward his daughters as an overprotective father, but not one who was angry enough to kill.

'I told them never to let your hormones control your future, you control your hormones,' he said, explaining why he wanted his daughters to focus on school.

He said he told at least one daughter that 'her education is more important than her social life.'

He is said to have also plotted to kill his daughter in hopes of restoring his family's honor.

Irsan was previously convicted of filing false claims for Social Security disability, in an attempt to obtain government benefits.