Marwa al-Sherbini, a 31-year-old Egyptian woman, was stabbed to death by her neighbour Axel W in a courtroom in Dresden, Germany. Marwa, about four months pregnant, wore the head scarf and was involved in a court case against Alex for calling her a terrorist. She was set to testify against him when Alex stabbed her 18 times in front of her three-year-old son and half a dozen German police officers.
The killing has dominated Egyptian media for days but has received comparatively little coverage in German and Western media.
What do you think of the reportedly low key response in Germany?
As I saw this news I thought it was insignificant , when I read this news I got to know the value involved in it , and I got to see how symbolic this murder was …. it was sad
but not as sad as the earlier comments which are all anti muslim by muslims themselves ?
they revolve around 3 points :
1)Why did she filed a case against the german
2)Why was she living in Germany
3)Why did she not adjust and integrate into the german culture
……………
I see where your sympathies are …. if people hate their religion so much why dont they simply denounce it rather than live like a hypocrite ?
no doubt that police is more efficient and judicial system transparent etc etc etc. But what one is interested in at the end of the day is the outcome. If German people are still racist or so, and German police still being so efficient cant stop a murder infront of its eyes then what good is that system for?
Fanatics are found in every religion, country or society. It is the responsibility of those who are not fanatics, not to support those who are. Murder perpetrated by a fanatic infront of (so called)non-fanatic officials looks absurd. Same is the case with media officials out there.
The terrorist are proving and confirming the world by thier actions and attitude; who are the terrorists.
Its high time the world diifrentiates terrorist issue by looking into historical events and realizing the reality and causes of blames set forth.
Rather then just relying on what media emphasis and re emphasis upon.
Thank u
Dear All,
Sad ending for the baby and mother as well,as Muslims we take this as destiny but looking at wordly side..How come one can stab inside the court for 18 times and when her husband comes to rescue her than he was the one shot at by security of the court…..Only because both husband and wife are dark skins??
it is a disgrace to hear people say that foreign media is not as bad a s we portray it to be and that people should only migrate if they wish to ‘INTEGRATE’. why should one completely integrate, the european countries tend to be the forerunners in liberal thought and promote integration of cultures. why then a parochial approach. what the man did was completely wrong. just because a woman wears her burqah does not mean she is not complying with the varied culture of the society she is living in. she has every right to migrate, live abroad do whatever she wants. who are we to judge what she was like just because she wore a particular type of clothing. if you want an answer that is more compliant with western thought and not as dogmatic as religion. than one should study western philosophy and one will find out the openness projected by philosophers that the western world now hails as the champions of various fields. mind me for going a bit off topic. the question of police efficiency and media’s efficiency should not be debatable here. the media in pakistan is not as inefficient or controlled by the government as it used to be. and as for the whole of europe media is not as unbiased or any better than ours when it comes to reporting. the news see on channels is only that news which has the capacity to sell big. fancy channels with fancy news programs does not mean that reporting is being done fairly or efficiently by the foreign channels. freedom of expression and honest news are mostly theories. yes it is true that the western public seems to be more tolerant but we should not give them benefit of the doubt for portryaing everything as it is and certainly their media cannot by any means be called ‘fair’ when it comes to news. we as pakistanis need to thin beyond the box and integrate modern world theories with islamic theories. we need to combine them and look forward towards what has been proposed by both forms of knowledge. either we stick to downright ‘dogmatic’ islamic fundamentals or instead we focus on the apparently ‘liberal’ theories.
I am shocked with this horrible news from Germany and I think killers should be punished without any relaxation. I have sympathy with the affected family.
I do not understand that why people in this forum are saying that image of Muslims is bad and they do not follow the culture. I think the image problem now exists in Western part. Why a minor incicent in India, Pakistan, Bangldesh etc. is reported with image problem and big incident tkaing place in Europe does not reflect upon the image problem for West.
Some writers are giving message as if they still want to put responsibility of this day light murder on the poor Muslim women whose family suffered.
I suggest all of you to condemn loudly the day light murder and German Govt. should take strict action to send postive message to Muslims.
Well Said Babar, Bravo,
In a secular state everyone has the right to live the way they want unless they are not harming others.When u says that gays and lesbian have equal rights to live their lifestyle because we have given freedom to everyone. Then obviously a person practicing a particular religion should also has the right to live the way they like.
There is no doubt the western media is biased because if the situation was vice versa then u have seen the reaction from media
RACISM
i agree with Ghazanfar two wrongs don’t make a right but the ‘west’ and the western media in general allways likes taking the high ground so on that basis alone they fall flat on thier face. The truth is their are many in the western media who have thier own right wing agend, its not about reporting the truth anymore but making money and they know what sells.
Innal illahi wa innal ilayhi rajiuun.
Its is a crime that must be punished. Technically a double homicide as the woman was pregnant. And what of the three year old son that saw his mother being stabbed to death? The innocent child is scarred and damaged for life. What of Marwa’s family?
We are not seeing the big picture here. Lets perceive things the way that they are. By implying that Marwa wears a headscarf and provoked this incident is absurd. I do belive we should focus on the psychological state of the murderer. I belive regardless of whether or not this case is highlighetd more by the German media, the perpertrator of the crime will no doubt be proved insane and sentenced to a psych ward rather than to jail.
If the German media does play up the case, it will just add more fuel the great Muslim-non Muslim world war 3 that we are all turning a blind eye to.
Either way, its a lose lose situation. A child has lost his mother. That’s impossible to deny. Please pray for the deceased and her family regardless of our faiths and cultures. A mother is a mother. An undeniably horrendous crime. A terrible loss for an innocent child. My heart goes out to Marwa’s son and family. I hereby extend to them my deepest most humble condolences. May Allah grant you strength and justice. You will all be in my prayers.
I am shocked to read some of the comments such as muslims should respect and integrate before pointing fingers at the west. I have been living overseas for the past two decades and I have never seen a muslim not respecting other religion and traditions, we are not making a big deal out of it. Fact is a horrendous crime was committed in front of the cops against a pregnant women who was about to testify against a lunatic,sick and criminal man, why was it not stopped, she wasn’t stabbed once but many times it could have been stopped, cops failed to do their job and they should be prosecuted as well.
No one is creating a drama as it was done when Indian students were stabbed in Australia, media outburst and propaganda against Australians.
Firstly, shame on Mr Axel (some mothers do have them).
Secondly, shame on the people of the Law that were present.
Thirdly, my sympathies with the family of Ms Marwa.
Fourthly, we do not have to lose our identity and customs to intergrate.
Fifthly, western principals of freedom (which in reality are in most part the values held by Islam) but very efficiently
practiced in the western world are an attractive proposal to any citizen of the world (including muslims).
Period.
How did the killer get the oppertunity to carry a knife in the court, it is a sad tragedy total security lapse, speaking from canadian perspective, in canada or to be specific in toronto they have got a good security system even in TRAFFIC courts, no one is allowed in with any sort of object which could endager life. killer should be punished for his horrific crime. but again many things to consider…
The fact that this person turned assailant was in hindsight. There is no way the German court could have anticipated this when all it thought was officiating on a playground fight. Especially when the defendant did not have any prior police record. I am not sure but it is unlikely that there were any police present. So to say that this happened despite police presence is not accurate.
Was this guy crazy? Absolutely. Should he get appropriate punishment? Yes and he most likely will. But other than create more unrest, what possible purpose would have been served by highlighting this one heinous crime? The people most likely to suffer by politicisng this would be other Muslims living in Germany since minorities always get the wrong end of the stick oncethe atmosphere is charged up by allegation and counter allegations.
This was an individual crime not a trend of racism in Germany. Blowing it up into anything more than that is not correct.
It is indeed very sad that such a gruesome incident took place. I am sure that justice will prevail and all those responsible including the police men who did not act will be punished as per the law.
Besides I also feel that the media did not pay much attention as it may be just an one off case and not a phenomena that is catching up.
Double standards are most prominent in our part f the world. Where we are boasting of wiping out the Taliban but many people still support terrorists who kill innocent Afghani and Indians as a routine.
Muslim communities are constantly labelled by western countries as treating women as 2nd class citizens. In light of this cold blooded murder, both western societies and the pathetic Muslim apologists who seem to be justifying injustices like this should reflect on their lazy stereotyping!!
That German man’s action is enough to prove who is the real terrorist and who is the real victim!!!
It is shocking to see some of the responses here. Some are suggesting that it is ok to kill a woamn if she covers her head!!! Most immigrants are economic and “do as the Romans do” but if someone doesnot drink alcohol or eat pork does that in any way mean that the person is not doing as the Romans!!! We obey laws of the country but do I need to stop thinking what religion I am.
It is very ironical and disturbing that “secular extremists and terrorists” go scot free and the victim gets blamed.
typical west double standard
I have just read this news in Dawn on the web. I listen to BBC and other media news channels very regularly. Even in the UK press news is not high lighted.
However if western media has not covered the news, our media can play its role. There are hundreds of TV chanels and papers in muslim world, what they are doing? It is sad, deplorable murder, but it is the act of one individaul. We cannot blame German nation for this criminal act, in the same way that all Pakistanis and muslims cannot be blamed for July 7 terrorist acts in London.
Hi,
Another Act of SHAME
First the muslim countries have to get power then everyone will listen to what they say.
What has been the track record of Pakistan?
Many people say India’s Muslims, happy or unhappyhave flourished better than the Muslims in Pakistan despite being described as being backward community in development terms in India.
How has Pakistan treated its minorities, especially Hindus?
I think that Pakistan’s track record has been abysmal. Isn’t it ironical when Muslims express only when Muslims are under fire.
A killing cannot be justified because she was wearing a hijab, matter needs to be investigated and police must be reqired to explain how they could let this happen, discrimination cannot be condoned because there is more of it in another country, germany presents itself as one the most advanced nations, it is time for the government to come clear with its policies