Islamophobia Claims the Life of Pregnant Woman
posted by: Natasha G. 169 days ago
Marwa al-Sherbini, a thirty-two year old pharmacist pregnant with her second child, was at a park in Germany one day and asked a man to leave a swing for her three year old. The man responded by calling her names including "terrorist" and tried to pull off her headscarf. She brought him to court, and won the case, resulting in a 750 euro fine for the perpetrator, simply identified as Alex W. He in turn brought the case to court to appeal, and at the courthouse, ran across the room and stabbed al-Sherbini eighteen times. Her husband Elwi Okaz is in critical condition after being attacked by Alex W., as well as mistakenly being shot at by a guard.
In al-Sherbini's native Egypt there has been an outpouring of sympathy and mourning, with the local press hailing her as the "headscarf martyr" because of how she stood up for her Muslim identity by taking her attacker to court. According to Time, thousands appeared at her funeral in Alexandria, some with banners decrying European Islamophobia.
The Western media delayed in reporting the story, causing members of the Egyptian press to point out how the story is yet another example of "how hate crimes against Muslims are overlooked in comparison to those committed by Muslims against Westerners." (Huffington Post). A columnist for the Daily News Egypt notes, "Had the Muslim been the aggressor as the guards initially thought, the story would have made headlines ... It would have perfectly fitted into the promoted image of Muslims being aggressive, barbaric and uncivilized." Eventually though, outlets such as the BBC and CNN picked up the story, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her condolences to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the recent G-8 summit.
At the same time, some believe that the Egyptian government and press are exploiting the tragedy to distract is citizens from politics and human rights issues within Egypt. One Egyptian journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy claims, "The government is...trying to present itself as patriotic in defense of Egyptians abroad. What do they do for the Egyptians who are in the Gulf and who actually face similar treatment, if not worse?" A popular Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem comments, "It's an opportunity to have fake outrage because it keeps Egyptians busy."
Whatever the social and political implications may be, one cannot forget that Marwa al-Sherbini, a mother, daughter and wife, died a senseless and tragic death. May she rest in peace.
In al-Sherbini's native Egypt there has been an outpouring of sympathy and mourning, with the local press hailing her as the "headscarf martyr" because of how she stood up for her Muslim identity by taking her attacker to court. According to Time, thousands appeared at her funeral in Alexandria, some with banners decrying European Islamophobia.
The Western media delayed in reporting the story, causing members of the Egyptian press to point out how the story is yet another example of "how hate crimes against Muslims are overlooked in comparison to those committed by Muslims against Westerners." (Huffington Post). A columnist for the Daily News Egypt notes, "Had the Muslim been the aggressor as the guards initially thought, the story would have made headlines ... It would have perfectly fitted into the promoted image of Muslims being aggressive, barbaric and uncivilized." Eventually though, outlets such as the BBC and CNN picked up the story, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her condolences to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the recent G-8 summit.
At the same time, some believe that the Egyptian government and press are exploiting the tragedy to distract is citizens from politics and human rights issues within Egypt. One Egyptian journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy claims, "The government is...trying to present itself as patriotic in defense of Egyptians abroad. What do they do for the Egyptians who are in the Gulf and who actually face similar treatment, if not worse?" A popular Egyptian blogger Mahmoud Salem comments, "It's an opportunity to have fake outrage because it keeps Egyptians busy."
Whatever the social and political implications may be, one cannot forget that Marwa al-Sherbini, a mother, daughter and wife, died a senseless and tragic death. May she rest in peace.
Read more: germany, islam, egypt, muslims, human rights, womens rights, hate crime
comments
Yes, let's celebrate our differences !
www.telegraph.co.uk :
4 Aug 2009 ... A Sudanese judge has adjourned the trial of Lubna Hussein, the young woman facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public.
Or is it 4 Aug 1009 ???
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You sound like a beautiful person, Karen. I feel the same as you commented..."we need to get over ourselves"....and celebrate our differences.
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People are just horrible...
I want on a date with a guy in NYC a few months after 9/11 and he started saying horrible things to a Muslim family and their children... Well that was our one and only date PERIOD! I don't tolerate hate/racist/whatever talk around me!
My husband is Muslim and if you ask him and many other Muslims their religion practices peace. But just like every other religion there are radicals and those are the "terrorist" that have everyone profiling innocent Muslims (or people who may look Muslim).
There have been Christians killing people because of their beliefs from day one but no one ever wants to bring that up or call it "terrorism".
Now a woman and her unborn child are gone because of peoples STUPID phobias... I have seen so much racisim in America its not even funny. Until the internet our schools (late 80's early 90's) had us all believing that everywhere but Britain, Italy, Canada where horrible places that hate all Americans...
People just need to get over themselves and realize that everyone isn't the same and no one has to be the same... Accept it and get over it, PERIOD!
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Flavia Then said:
«I have not experienced any more different problems living amongst Muslims than I have living amongst Americans.»
Do you mean to say living lets say in Iran
would not be different than living in America?
And what about Saudi Arabia, Senegal, etc.
You know, in America
we don't ask the women
to put a cloth on their head!
We don't stone raped women,
we don't hang homosexuals.
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Yes, it's been interesting reading the posts here. I am a Christian Asian brought up in an eastern Muslim country, then moved to the States for College and am now working. I have not experienced any more different problems living amongst Muslims than I have living amongst Americans. In any worldly societies we all experience discrimination of a sort. We learn to take some and we learn to draw the line between trash talk and verbal abuse. I think that when you strip all misdeeds done, it's not so much religious but cultural prompts. That's why "Alex" attacked Marwa, the guard shot Marwa's husband, and why Chancellor Merkel felt she has to apologize to Pres.Mubarak.
Musliophobia is understandable in the West. Whenever I travel it can be hurtful to see others so uncomfortable with me because of the preconceptions formed as soon as they see 'lil ol me'. Honestly the feeling is mutual from the East. As Asians we are sometimes a bit uncomfortable with Caucasians who moved to live in the East; for all we know they might be running from the law. Sadly some still treat Caucasians like VIPs while some hope they will leave as soon as they make a good profit. Otherwise there is a good size population who very gladly leave Westerners cheated and stranded around town. Not much equality even in the East. Again all these deeds stem from past experiences as post-colonial cultures.
Sad, huh? Besides praying, let us live everyday to understand others better. Peace everyone
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This is horrible! I am outraged that people can be so blind and heartless. We all want liberty, but it annoys us that others want it too. We all have opinions, but we always think we're right and differing opinions must be wrong. Until we learn to respect each other, horrible tragedies like this one will be commonplace.
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@ Ainsley Chalmers,
You are absolutely right !
I don't know of any god...
The problem is not with those
who don't know god.
The problem is with those
who pretend to know god,
and kill in his name!
I recommend you send your comment
to dirigeants of Iran, Senegal, etc.,
and convince them they don't know god!
By the way, I hope you don't mean to say
atheists are supporters of mao tse tung,
stalin, hitler, pol pot?
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people who blame religion for these disasters obviously dont know God. Jesus said to love one's enemies and pray for them. folk who kill one another in the name of God are really disobeying God. Therefore they are not true christians, moslems etc. just because you call yourself a christian, hindu, moslem doesnt make you one. God said you are his if you obey his commandments. no wonder Jesus said not everyone saying "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. only those obeying his will by trusting him fully will get to heaven. Trust in God properly applied will lead to world peace. atheism wont as evidenced by history eg mao tse tung, stalin, hitler, pol pot, communismetc
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Things like terrorists having their conference to recruit americans at the Hilton in Chicago arethe cause of islamphobia. Imagine what would happen if a white woman in America asked a black adult for the swing. Aha!
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What happened there is really sad
and the man should be punished.
BUT, this tragedy should not be used
to make us forget what is happening today
in so many many countries.
In IRAN, homosexuals are hanged,
adulterous and raped women are stoned.
In SENEGAL, not long ago an Imam declared:
"Homosexuals should not be sent to prison.
They should be killed" !!
DAKAR, 4 mai 2009 (AFP) -
Des Sénégalais exhument
le corps d'un homme
présenté comme homosexuel,
qu'ils ne voulaient pas voir enterré
dans un cimetière musulman.
(YouTube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEFQNX1OuC4
I translate:
Senegalese exhume the body of a man
SUSPECTED of homosexuality,
because they did not want him buried
in a muslim cemetery !
Until ALL religions have disappeared
from the surface of the earth,
there will be hatred and killing !
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