Region | Egypt

A conspiracy to bury 'hijab martyr'

Marwa Al Sherbini has become a national symbol of persecution for a growing number of demonstrators, who have taken to the streets in protest at the perceived growth in Islamophobia in the west.

  • The Guardian
  • Published: 22:52 July 8, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Egyptians protesting the death of compatriot Marwa Al Sherbini, in front of the German Embassy in Cairo.
  • Image Credit: EPA

Cairo :It was while Marwa Al Sherbini was in the dock recalling how the accused had insulted her for wearing the hijab after she asked him to let her son sit on a swing last summer, that the very same man strode across the Dresden courtroom and plunged a knife into her 18 times.

Her three-year-old son Mustafa was forced to watch as his mother slumped to the courtroom floor.

Even her husband Elvi Ali Okaz could do nothing as the 28-year-old Russian stock controller who was being sued for insult and abuse took the life of his pregnant wife.

As Okaz ran to save her, he too was brought down, shot by a police officer who mistook him for the attacker. He is now in intensive care in a Dresden hospital.

While the horrific incident that took place a week ago has attracted little publicity in Europe, and in Germany has focused more on issues of court security than the racist motivation behind the attack, 3,200km away in her native Egypt, the 32-year-old pharmacist has been named the "Headscarf Martyr".

She has become a national symbol of persecution for a growing number of demonstrators, who have taken to the streets in protest at the perceived growth in Islamophobia in the west.

Marwa's funeral took place in her native Alexandria on Monday in the presence of thousands of mourners and leading government figures. There are plans to name a street after her.

Unemployed Alex W. from Perm in Russia was found guilty last November of insulting and abusing Marwa, screaming "terrorist" at her, during the Dresden park encounter.

He was fined 780 euros (Dh3,985), but had appealed the verdict, which is why he and Marwa appeared face to face in court again.

Even though he had made his anti-Muslim sentiments clear, there was no heightened security and questions remain as to why he was allowed to bring a knife into the courtroom.

Angry mourners at the funeral in Alexandria accused Germany of racism, shouting slogans such as "Germans are the enemies of God."

"Anger is high", said Joseph Mayton, editor of the English-language news website Bikya Masr. "Not since Egypt won the African [football] Cup have Egyptians come together under a common banner."

- News & Media Ltd

See also Page 18

Berlin As hundreds of Arab and Muslim protesters demonstrated in Germany, and observers drew comparisons with the Danish cartoon row, Egyptian government representatives in Berlin said it was important to keep the incident in perspective.

"It was a criminal incident, and doesn't mean that a popular persecution of Muslims is taking place," Magdi Al Saeed, spokesman for the Egyptian embassy in Berlin, said.

But because it occurred just days after Nicolas Sarkozy gave a major policy speech denouncing the burka, many Egyptians believe the death of Marwa Al Sherbini is part of a broader trend of European intolerance towards Muslims.

The German embassy in Cairo has sought to calm the situation, organising a visit of condolence by the ambassador to the victim's family and issuing a statement insisting that the attack did not reflect general German sentiment towards Egyptians.

There have been repeated calls by protesters for the German embassy to be picketed. The Egyptian pharmacists' syndicate said it is considering a week-long boycott of German medicines.

The victim's brother, Tarek Al Sherbini, labelled Germany as a "cold" country when interviewed by a popular talk show host. Media pundits such as Abdul Azeem Hamad, editor of the daily Al Shorouk newspaper, have attributed the western media's disinterest in the story to racism.

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