Tuesday
Jul072009
On Marwa al-Sherbiny
Issandr El Amrani
Michael Collins Dunn blogs about Marwa al-Sherbini, an Egyptian woman murdered in Germany, and the outrage her death has caused in Egypt, so I don't have to:
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?
Also see this BBC report.
Update: I knew this post would upset people (see comments), and that was not my intention. As I said, it was a horrible crime. But by your logic, then I will say that Egyptians are racist against Egyptians: in 2007, I don't remember much of a fuss being made about a 13-year-old boy tortured by police in Mansoura and who ended up dying in his mother's arms a few days later. Or does it only matter when an Egyptian gets killed abroad?
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.
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?
Also see this BBC report.
Update: I knew this post would upset people (see comments), and that was not my intention. As I said, it was a horrible crime. But by your logic, then I will say that Egyptians are racist against Egyptians: in 2007, I don't remember much of a fuss being made about a 13-year-old boy tortured by police in Mansoura and who ended up dying in his mother's arms a few days later. Or does it only matter when an Egyptian gets killed abroad?
Reader Comments (34)
It doesn't take an idiot to know that the news is skewered. I have no idea how this didn't get covered other than the people in mainstream media felt that their viewers wouldn't watch to which I totally disagree. It is still a mystery to me as to how these people value some stories and some human lives over some. My heart goes out to Marwa's family, especially her husband and her young surviving child.
I just saw the news on BBC and was ashamed to see that the open court murder was not mentioned there any where but murdered was called as "suspected" murderer ... how could this be justified.... racism has no limits... and can be found any where
the worst thing of that Germany Will Be the country of racism for every liberal Man
it's the worst thing I have ever Imagined
It Was Killed In Dutch Court!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In front of the free Dutch Peoples
what A Racism
The BBC calls him a "suspected" murderer not out of racism, but because legally, until he is actually convicted of the murder, he is still just accused of it and has not yet legally been deemed a "murderer." In the eyes of the law, he is still innocent and will be so until he is convicted, and in order to avoid libel/slander charges, the media has to follow that and identify him as just a suspect in the case. It happens in all court reporting--this is standard, and proper, and helps (sometimes, in theory) the media avoid slandering those falsely-accused.
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They allready killed holy prophets what about little sisters of Mary
They are blinds
They are deaf
They are permanently squated by the breath of Satan
This crime will not remain unpunished
Who laughs last laughs better
Yes, Germany has many racist and violent aspects, and the media did not cover the murder enough. I know it myself as a German with foreign roots. But here are also many people and organisations trying to make life conditions of foreigners better, to integrate them and their way of living, and to save them from being treated as unwelcome intruders. Many of us are deeply shocked and condemn this kind of racist violence. My condolences to the family of Marwa al-Sherbiny. My heart can not understand what happened.
dutch is not germany but netherlands. it is as much the same as syria and egypt are..
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
Imagine what would happened if a jewish or a christian woman stabbed 18 times to death in an Eygptian court?
I think that all the wolrd news would focus on that considering arabs and Muslims as terrorsts? Why the Western media is so subjective. I did not see any coverage from the Western media about this case at all. Simply because the Western media are supported by Jews and racists
please lita "SHE was killed not IT " she is a human if u are talking about racism . I think this event shows the whole world that muslims are the victims not the terrorists , go and search for terrorism in your blocked hearts and minds .
It brings tears to my eyes that this can happen in this so-called 'modern' society. Allah will be his judge and justice will be served insha'Allah.
Sad. Hard to imagine such a shocking event could take place and yet the media in America doesn't even afford it a 30 second acknowledgement. Imagine, if you could, what the media would have to say if this woman were izraeli.
18 stabs in the courtroom !!!!!!!! you are a fucking retard. he is not just "suspected". bbc (and probably you) are racist
how can someone be stabbed for 18 times in a court without any interference from the security or any one in this court and when they interfere they shoot her husband ,what exactly were they doing ?were they helping him to perform his crime ? what if this pregnant woman killed in the court in front of the eyes of her 3 year old child , what if she was not muslim or arab ,will the media ignore this racist event ,they would at that time call it terrorism ,why cant anyone emphasize with us arabs and muslims and see the real truth
Unfortunately such stories have been happening time and time again. If it had been the other way round and a German guy was stabbed in an Eygptian Courtroom we would have not heard the end of it.... Yet on the other hand such a crime takes place and the west can just ignore it ... not even care to mention anything .. as they see it of no importance or relevance .. sad.. but we muslims have Allah on our side .. I am sure he will get what he deserves and more !!
[...] will ich noch einen ägyptischen Blogger zu Wort kommen lassen, dessen zur Mäßigung aufrufende Stimme hoffentlich nicht ungehört [...]
Wow, we're quick to judge, aren't we. Calling someone a "fucking retard" and a "racist" for merely stating the facts doesn't exactly make you seem free of prejudice either, you know.
And yes, Sam is right. In Germany (and in Britain too, I think), it is *illegal* to call an accused a "perpetrator of the crime" unless that person is actually convicted of that crime, *no matter* how pressing the evidence may be.
And by the way, calling the BBC racist is just incredibly deluded.
Reg. the update to this post:
I think it is not fair to compare Egyptians' reaction to the murder of Dr Marwa to the torture of the boy by the Egyptian police(which resulted in his death).
If you protest against islamophobia abroad and against Germany, that's ok with the Egyptian police.
But protesting against a crime committed by the Egyptian police itself will not go unpunished. I'm very sad to guarantee that.
Yes, just imagine if a foreigner were blown up in Egypt, or machine-gunned while cowering behind a pillar of Hatshepsut's temple, or stabbed for kissing his girlfriend in the Khan al Khalili...
Sadly, racists exist in every society. Just ask any Sudanese living in Cairo. Where it raises its ugly head it should be condemned. But to try to blame the entire German people for the act of one lunatic is exactly the same as blaming the entire Muslim population for the actions of a few zealots.
It simply gets us nowhere. It is a complete wast of time. And the tedious business of finger pointing, point scoring and chest thumping goes on and on...
This is precisely why it's all the more important to do protest crimes carried out by the egyptian police.
Good comment, Apollo.
How does this compare to the sympathy Westerners felt for the protesters in Iran (who were Muslims), to Muslims now looking for a reason to be enraged and prejudiced towards non-Muslims, saying we hate Muslims? The whole reason they were in court was because Germany feels it needs to protect Muslims's feelings from being hurt, as she complained about offensive remarks that man made to her...
Obviously this man should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for murdering this woman, but offensive remarks should've never been a reason to go to court in a free society to begin with. Germany's attempt to ejudicate in matters of hurt feelings is absurd and will lead to this sort of backlash as Muslims are seen as trying to erode liberalism and secularism (and in many cases are succeeding).
he didnt just insult her he was harassing her and her kid and tried to take off her headscarf
It is probably quite a shock to hear of something like this happening in a modern German courtroom. You can bet it was quite a shock for the people in courtroom to witness such horror right in front of their eyes. Let me give you my experience.
I was once in a situation where I witnessed a person going amok with a knife. He was slashing at anyone who came near but was after a particular passenger of a bus. The bus was stopped in the middle of the street and most passengers had gotten off including the driver. People were arrayed around the bus but nobody was doing a thing except watching and maybe waiting for the police. Being somewhat crazy and semi-suicidal myself, I was willing to jump into the melee with a jacket wrapped around my left hand. But I had a friend (girl) with me who knew something of my mentality and forcefully dragged me away from there. Don't know what happened after cuz it was never reported in the news. All I remember is the blur of my friend berating me for my crazy near-stunt. She was a doctor and clearly was trying to frighten me by her emergency room experience with knife and stab wounds.
I guess in such situations, people are more concerned with watching over own skin and that of their immediate companions rather than some stranger that they may or may not have been able to help. Only people with nothing lose would be willing to help selflessly and without hesitation. Maybe. Just my opinion.
The criminal silence of the mulim rulers is evident of the fact that they are puppet rulers installed by westren colonialists... O Marwa al sherbini! would it be Khalifah of the Muslims in place of these traitor rulers in the muslim countries, he would dispatch the armies to avenge ur murder like Rasul Allah (SAW) sent the armies to pinish the jews who insulted a muslim woman....