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.
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.
ReplyDeleteThe goal is raise awareness worldwide, to stop the cause of such terrorism in the heart of Europe.
ReplyDeleteMarwa 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
How Many Seas Must the White Dove Sail?
ReplyDeleteA 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.