Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

saathi · Jul 10th, 2009, 03:04 am

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The body of a Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial.

Marwa Sherbini, 31, was stabbed 18 times by Alex W, who is now under arrest in Dresden for suspected murder.

Husband Elwi Okaz is also in a critical condition in hospital, after being injured as he tried to save his wife.

Ms Sherbini had sued her killer after he called her a "terrorist" because of her headscarf.

The case has attracted much attention in Egypt and the Muslim world.

German prosecutors have said the 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Alex W, was driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims.

'Martyr'

Medics were unable to save Ms Sherbini who was three months pregnant with her second child. Her three-year-old son was with the family in court when she was killed.

Alex W and Ms Sherbini and family were in court for his appeal against a fine of 750 euros ($1,050) for insulting her in 2008, apparently because she was wearing the Muslim headscarf or Hijab.

Newspapers in Egypt have expressed outrage at the case, asking how it was allowed to happen and dubbing Ms Sherbini "the martyr of the Hijab".

Senior Egyptian officials and German diplomatic staff attended the funeral in Alexandria along with hundreds of mourners.

Media reports say Mr Okaz was injured both by the attacker and when a policeman opened fire in the courtroom.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8136500.stm

now that france has banned headscarfs , an order direct from the french government , it is going to leave a lot of muslims in france unhappy .

this is another sad case .

Blonde Baji · Jul 10th, 2009, 03:08 am

What france did totally unacceptable !!!
Either they should not allow muslims to enter their country else they should allow them to exercise their religion !!!

Media is partly responsible for the hatred between people.

saathi · Jul 10th, 2009, 03:14 am

hi . yes you are right . bechain bhoot , israel either is going to stop muslim palestinians from entering israel or they have already done so . it is leaving a lot of christian jews unhappy also .

france has millions of populations of muslims . this ban was in place and was uplifted due to pressure from the muslim world . we will see how long this ban lasts . wearing a scarf is a choice that a woman makes , it does not mean that it is forced upon her by her family .

Blonde Baji · Jul 10th, 2009, 03:18 am

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wearing a scarf is a choice that a woman makes , it does not mean that it is forced upon her by her family .

Exactly !!!

Dont understand why they think its forced upon us !!!

Amabel · Jul 10th, 2009, 07:08 am

Now look at this whole issue from another perspective i.e. if muslims were stronger & united, no nation/govt would have courage to do anything like this. Muslims have to change themselves, need to change the image by showing our good side, need to be strong enough, need to overcome our weaknesses first.
What French govt did, is totally unacceptable. But what would you say about things happening to females in PK & in other muslim countries where a rich male can rape a poor female and can easily get away with it. Send 2 females for a job interview in Pakistan - 1 with hijab and another in western dress.... and then see who gets more attention and get a job. Whats about Turkey (a muslim country) where females aren't allowed to wear hijab in lots of places?
Can we even complain about others when we have tons of issues in our own backyard.

Blonde Baji · Jul 10th, 2009, 07:18 am

ofcourse it goes back to the old saying !!!

"united we stand divided we fall"

saathi · Jul 10th, 2009, 06:12 pm

yes amabel you are right . there are issues within pakistan that people living in and outside of pakistan know that it happens . we have to look at ourselves but the type of mentality of pakistani leaders , it is too much . wearing a hijab becomes an issue even within pakistan , how can we look at turkey and france without realizing our own problems .