The Marwa al-Sherbini Case

By Hootsbuddy

This story has been burning a hole in my pocket for nearly forty-eight hours. It need to get legs in the West as well as on the "Arab Street". It's not in the same category as a Danish cartoon.

Via The Arabist we have this:

Sherbini was a young (32 years old) mother killed in a German court — yes, in an open courtroom during a judicial sesssion — in Dresden July 1 in front of her three-year old son. She was stabbed (18 times) in the courtroom by a xenophobic German who had previously attacked her as a “terrorist” for wearing hijab, leading her to lodge a complaint against him. He was appealing a fine when he stabbed her. Adding insult to injury, when her husband sought to protect her from her attacker, the security in the courtroom shot the husband, not the attacker. (As one person notes in one of the links, “he wasn’t blond so he must be the attacker.”) And to add more insult to that one, the prosecutor initially charged the attacker with manslaughter (for stabbing someone 18 times in an open courtroom?). (Now there are reports the charge will be changed to murder.)

Oh, sorry, now it appears she was also pregnant with her second child. And why, exactly, are people outraged? Oh, right. All these reasons.

It’s received very little coverage in Europe or the US, and that fact as well as the crime itself has outraged the Egyptian street to a remarkable degree. Her body was met at Cairo airport; thousands reportedly turned out for her funeral in Alexandria. Everyone from the Sheikh al-Azhar on down to the most secularist bloggers are expressing concern. The Egyptian blogosphere has been awash with postings, many noting that the killing of Neda Soltan in Iran (by the government, admittedly) led to Western outrage, while the killing of a Muslim mother in a European courtroom by a man clearly motivated by hatred of Islam and Muslims, is ignored.[LINK]

His comment tries to pour oil on the water but the outrage seems to be growing anyway.

I first noticed the Egyptian outrage about Marwa on Twitter, where the #marwa tag has been popular in recent days. Most of the complaints are about her death is not covered in the “MSM”, the stupid inaccurate blogo-acronym for mainstream media. Except that it is being thoroughly covered by the Arab media, so the complaints are, I suppose, about how it’s not dislodging Michael Jackson’s death and Sarah Palin’s resignation from the top items. And about how there’s a double-standard about her death compared to Neda Agha-Soltan’s death. Except of course the latter took place in the middle of the biggest protests in Tehran in decades, as part of a story on potential massive political fraud and a hardline coup in Iran, at a time when the country is perhaps the biggest story of the year. And her agony was caught on camera.

So really we’re looking at more “clash of civilizations” style victimhood. Of course the Marwa al-Sherbiny case is outrageous, it is a racist murder that took place in courtroom. But do we have to compare it to other news stories? And do we have to ask that the mainstream media in the West (which I advise to simply stop watching, at least TV) cover it? There are countless racist murders and attacks around the world all the time. This one is particularly nasty, but is the most important thing to do about it protest in front of the German embassy in Cairo (as if the German government is responsible) or complain that it’s not covered on CNN (although there was excellent coverage on al-Jazeera English)? Is it not enough that it’s a major story in most Arab media.

BBC reports that Germany's Prime Minister is in damage-control mode.

Looks like the President got out of Dodge just in time. I dunno though. After the Honduras mess he may be wishing he was back in Europe.

Comments

[geoff]

A much longer piece, including a picture of the couple to put it in a truly human context, at the Institute for Race Relations Germany: why did Marwa al-Sherbini die? and Kathrin Klausing's blog, updating on the degrading incident, translated here.

[Marwa Al sharabini]

The goal is raise awareness worldwide, to stop the cause of such terrorism in the heart of Europe.
Marwa is the victim of an orchestrated propaganda by westren governments and its media. The suspect who was fined 708 Euros was not transfered to Guantanmo, and was not even branded a terrorist and jailed, he even managed to get in to the court room with a butcher's knife, how about that for a country that fights whisper terrorism!!!! and what about the muslims who are harrased on a heresay and their mosques are raided for no reason, does this give you a clue.... Germanterror.blogspot.com

[imadudeen]

The German Nazi Again! An Egyptian Woman Brutally killed in a German Courthouse!
Ismail Imadudeen July 05, 2009Please don´t get shocked when you read this, and don´t get surprised either; Germany is the land where the most brutal and ugly massacre of human history had taken place, and also it is the land from which a global war had swollen causing more than 45 million casualties, not mentioning the destruction and devastation in all the continents! So, it wouldn´t cause any shock to know that a helpless, pregnant Egyptian woman got stabbed by a maniac Russian-German racist in a courthouse in Dresden, and that was in the presence of the all the security and police personnel there! And you know what the Police did when her husband tried to stop the man; they shot the Egyptian husband, for they took him as the attacker (of course; he is not white, he is Arab, he is Muslim; he must be the attacker!), the thing that enabled the racist man finish his job with the slaughtered pregnant woman! Hooray German Police!

The 31 years old Marwa al-Shirbini was there, in that court house, to testify against that racist man on some charges; according to the news, an argument arose between Marwa and the 27 years old Alex on a playground in 2008, where he insulted her with words like "slut," "Islamist" and "terrorist." After an official complaint was filed, a local court fined the man 780 Euro. The prosecutor felt that the punishment was too soft, and the man proceeded to appeal the decision. However, during the proceedings on July 1st 2009, that mad man could some how manage to approach her and stab her eighteen times (I repeat 18 times) in front of her child and husband, who were injured too.

That abnormal Neo Nazi whose heart is full of hatred and retribution against all human races was driven by the so called "Islamophobia," according to reporters!

What a hell is that "Islamphobia?" In fact I don´t personally know, but I am sure that it is some thing similar to the so called "Jewish Question," and the "Final Solution" or (Endlosung); sound familiar?

The German described the incidence as individual and that it was driven out of the so called "feelings of extreme xenophobia." So, now when a German guy stabs a pregnant Egyptian woman eighteen times, he is called "sick," but if an Arab or Muslim does the same with a European or American person, he will be called "terrorist," don´t you see this ironic?

I think that Europe is getting, day by day, more racist and that the European leaders themselves, whether intentionally or not, are inflaming that direction, in a way or another, e.g. the French President´s remarks about the Islamic veil were applied on the ground, practically by that maniac racist in Germany (I know that the French President is not against Islam, and not racist, but his words could be very much misinterpreted).

It has to be understood that modern terrorism and hatred have no color, religion or citizenship; they are evil phenomena that develop over time for many reasons. The whole world has to unite to identify the reasons behind terrorism and hatred, and there must be a global effort to end this type of revulsion by strongly enhancing dialogue and understanding between different religions, cultures and civilizations.

Finally I would ask: will the German give any apology? Print Share Email Your Name

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/108801

[wangnews]

How Many Seas Must the White Dove Sail?

A young mother was out in the public park with her three year old son. She gently asked a young man to yield his place on a swing for her child. The man, seeing that her head was covered with a Muslim hijab, called her a terrorist and uttered other hate words against her religion. She took the man to court and he was penalized with a fine for insult and abuse. He appealed and she was obliged to testify against him for a second time. The defendant pulled out a knife and stabbed her 18 times. She died and she was 3 months pregnant. One would expect to encounter a surreal tale as this only in a Franz Kafka story, but sadly every word is true to life – the name of the woman is Marwa al-Sherbini and she died on July 1, 2009 in Dresden, Germany.

How Many Times Must the Cannonballs Fly?

On July 16, two hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta were attacked by suicide bombers who had previously checked themselves in as guests. At least 8 persons were killed and dozens wounded in explosions.

How Many Times Must A Man Look Up?

When Marwa was attacked in the Dresden courtroom, her husband, Elvi Ali Okaz, jumped out of his seat and rushed forward to protect her. In the pandemonium, he was shot by court security and he remains in intensive care. All this horror happened before the very eyes of their son who was in court that day.

How Many Times Can a Man Turn His Head?

The murder of Marwa and shooting of her husband hardly received any coverage in the world news services, except by the Egyptian press as her body was returned and buried in her native land. The terror inflicted by the knife wielder resides most in the heart of her young son. By today, her impossibly tragic death is stale news, to be forgotten in the face of others events more newsworthy. Most in the world, especially the western world, still have not heard of Marwa al Sherbini.

How Many Ears Must One Man Have?

The bombing in Jakarta drew an immediate American response through the Secretary of State who is widely quoted as saying “the attacks reflect the viciousness of violent extremists, and remind us that the threat of terrorism remains very real." The shock and din of this yet another terror bombing is reverberating on the front pages of all world major news services. The agents of violence have commandeered worldwide attention once again.

How Many Deaths Must It Take Till He Knows

That too many people have died? Those who lead their lives to ensuring the deaths of others would be well served if we do not know the story of Marwa Al-Sherbini. Those who embrace violence are well served by the front-page coverage of their suicide bombings. For this reason, we must continue to talk about and reflect on the courage of Marwa Al Sherbini.

The Answer, My Friend is Blowing in the Wind.

The greatest truth manifests neither in earthquakes nor unquenchable fire but in a small still voice, one that blows gently in the wind. It is for us to stop, open our hearts, and listen. Let us do this for Marwa Al-Sherbini. May God give rest to her soul.