More news stories causing anger.
Jul. 11th, 2009 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sister_luckIn my last 'politics' post, I mentioned in the comments here another incident that had made me angry.
Since then, that anger hasn't abated and the story has stayed with me. Here's what happened:
An Egyptian couple, highly educated, came to live and work in Dresden in Germany, where their son was born. The mother, Marwa, who had a job in a pharmacy, wore a headscarf and when she was at a playground and got into a dispute over whose kid was to use the swing-set next, an unemployed Russian of German descent, who had himself come to Germany only a couple of years ago, called her a terrorist and Muslim slut. She did something very German - she went to the courts and successfully sued the guy for defamation resulting in a 780 € fine. This in itself would not be a remarkable story, just a sad incident of everyday prejudice and racism, but also showing that in principle this kind of verbal abuse is not tolerated.
But it didn't end there: The defendant used his right to appeal the decision and when they met again in court he got out a knife and killed Marwa in front of her husband and son, stabbing her 18 times, screaming that she didn't deserve to live. Her husband tried to shield his three-months-pregnant wife and was himself critically injured. He was also accidentally shot by a policeman who mistook him for the attacker. This made the news, with more details emerging after a couple of days, but the hate crime aspect of it was downplayed - it was chalked up as a tragic event perpetrated by a crazed individual who just happened to hate foreign people. It was not something that could have been foreseen, the authorities said, it was just a normal appeal for a relatively minor legal matter. I don't think they realized just how much hate that man had inside.
And again, that could have been the end of the story, but Marwa's death became a symbol for how Islam is treated in the Western world and her funeral in Alexandria turned into a protest, sparking a series of demonstrations. I understand the justified anger at how this could have hapened and at the initial silence of German politicians. Sadly though, her death is being instrumentalised - the Iranian hardliners staged their own demonstrations, no doubt fully aware of how this deflects from another symbolic death of a Muslim woman, that of Neda.
[Edited to add some comments about the German media:
The story finally made the front pages here after the protests in Egypt and then it was more about what the scary Islamists are saying about us and a lot less about the tragedy that started it all.]
The Germans are trying to mend fences - Angela Merkel spoke to Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and today there was a memorial event for Marwa Sherbini in Dresden. 800 people showed up, which I think isn't enough. White roses were meant to be used as a token of remembrance and my icon is a poor substitute.
The whole story makes me so sad - the Sherbini family were the model immigrants, university-educated, with jobs. They didn't want to stay forever, but they'd made a temporary home in Germany.
And the first person who tells me Marwa should have just swallowed her pride and not gone to the police after the playground incident will get their head ripped off.
German links:
Trauerfeier für ermordete Ägypterin
Tödliche Attacke in Dresden wird zum Politikum
Der Mord an Marwa betrifft uns alle
BBC links:
Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'
Germany 'not silent' on stabbing
Egyptian anger over slain mother
edited to add further links:
The Guardian: The headscarf martyr: murder in German court sparks Egyptian fury
guardian.co.uk Comment is Free: Is Europe really Islamophobic?
guardian.co.uk Comment is Free:
A murder that Germany ignored
Huffington Post: European Islamophobia A Creeping Threat: Analysis
Since then, that anger hasn't abated and the story has stayed with me. Here's what happened:
An Egyptian couple, highly educated, came to live and work in Dresden in Germany, where their son was born. The mother, Marwa, who had a job in a pharmacy, wore a headscarf and when she was at a playground and got into a dispute over whose kid was to use the swing-set next, an unemployed Russian of German descent, who had himself come to Germany only a couple of years ago, called her a terrorist and Muslim slut. She did something very German - she went to the courts and successfully sued the guy for defamation resulting in a 780 € fine. This in itself would not be a remarkable story, just a sad incident of everyday prejudice and racism, but also showing that in principle this kind of verbal abuse is not tolerated.
But it didn't end there: The defendant used his right to appeal the decision and when they met again in court he got out a knife and killed Marwa in front of her husband and son, stabbing her 18 times, screaming that she didn't deserve to live. Her husband tried to shield his three-months-pregnant wife and was himself critically injured. He was also accidentally shot by a policeman who mistook him for the attacker. This made the news, with more details emerging after a couple of days, but the hate crime aspect of it was downplayed - it was chalked up as a tragic event perpetrated by a crazed individual who just happened to hate foreign people. It was not something that could have been foreseen, the authorities said, it was just a normal appeal for a relatively minor legal matter. I don't think they realized just how much hate that man had inside.
And again, that could have been the end of the story, but Marwa's death became a symbol for how Islam is treated in the Western world and her funeral in Alexandria turned into a protest, sparking a series of demonstrations. I understand the justified anger at how this could have hapened and at the initial silence of German politicians. Sadly though, her death is being instrumentalised - the Iranian hardliners staged their own demonstrations, no doubt fully aware of how this deflects from another symbolic death of a Muslim woman, that of Neda.
[Edited to add some comments about the German media:
The story finally made the front pages here after the protests in Egypt and then it was more about what the scary Islamists are saying about us and a lot less about the tragedy that started it all.]
The Germans are trying to mend fences - Angela Merkel spoke to Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and today there was a memorial event for Marwa Sherbini in Dresden. 800 people showed up, which I think isn't enough. White roses were meant to be used as a token of remembrance and my icon is a poor substitute.
The whole story makes me so sad - the Sherbini family were the model immigrants, university-educated, with jobs. They didn't want to stay forever, but they'd made a temporary home in Germany.
And the first person who tells me Marwa should have just swallowed her pride and not gone to the police after the playground incident will get their head ripped off.
German links:
Trauerfeier für ermordete Ägypterin
Tödliche Attacke in Dresden wird zum Politikum
Der Mord an Marwa betrifft uns alle
BBC links:
Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'
Germany 'not silent' on stabbing
Egyptian anger over slain mother
edited to add further links:
The Guardian: The headscarf martyr: murder in German court sparks Egyptian fury
guardian.co.uk Comment is Free: Is Europe really Islamophobic?
guardian.co.uk Comment is Free:
A murder that Germany ignored
Huffington Post: European Islamophobia A Creeping Threat: Analysis
