Killed for wearing a hijab?

On July 1st, Marwa al-Sherbini, 32, (who was three months pregnant) was stabbed to death in an open German court in front of her three year old son. She was stabbed not once, not twice but 18 times by a xenophobic German who had previously insulted her for wearing the obligatory Islamic headdress (hijab), leading to this court appearance. To add insult to injury, when her husband tried to help her, the police shot him, saying they thought he was the perpetrator and he is now in a critical condition in hospital.

This murder shocked Muslims not only in Germany but across the Muslim world. However, the reaction of German politicians was a long time in coming. Germany’s leader, Angela Merkel has so far remained silent on this horrific crime, while in a party conference speech last month, she was strongly vocal against mosque minarets being higher than church steeples, following local resistance in several German cities to the construction of new mosques. Rather ironic, when you consider that fifty years ago, Germany invited hundreds of thousands of foreign ‘guest workers’ from Turkey to help rebuild the country after the Second World War. A war that Germany would rather forget as it led to the state-sponsored extermination of people who were perceived as ‘dangerous.’

Germany is home to nearly 4 million Muslims and is one of the largest Muslim populations in Western Europe. The country brought in Muslim immigrants from Turkey and North Africa to fill a labour void. They worked hard and contributed to the economic growth of these nations, enabling them to become the powers that they are. Rather than receiving acceptance or recognition within these societies for their contributions, they are instead being marginalized, demonised and treated with intolerance, hate and violence - a reflection of the growing intolerance of secular extremism in various European countries to Islam and any culture, any people that are at odds with their narrow view of life.

A national poll published in 2006 in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allegmaine indicated that attitudes towards Islam had worsened in the two years since 2004. 91% of respondents thought that Islam oppressed women (in 2004, the figure was 85%). 83% of Germans thought Islam was dominated by fanaticism (in 2004, the figure was 75%). 71% of Germans questioned felt Islam was intolerant, compared to 66% in 2004.

Another study conducted by the University of Bielefeld’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence that surveyed 3000 people of different ages and educational and social backgrounds found that 65% totally rejected Islam, claiming that its precincts are not harmonious with the atmosphere in the West. Some 25% of the respondents opposed allowing new Muslim immigrants into the country, while 59% believed the number of foreigners has increased beyond limits. Furthermore, 30% called for deporting foreigners if unemployment rates hit record highs and job opportunities for Germans became scarce. Asked whether they would like to live in districts heavily populated by Muslims such as Kreuzberg, 50% answered in the negative and 65% had doubts about their Muslim neighbours.

This latest chapter in German social life indicates a rising trend of anti-Muslim sentiments and has worrying echos of its fascist past - a reflection of how secular states cannot claim immunity from dictatorial tendencies.

It is interesting to note that the murder of Marwa’s al-Sherbini occurred just days after the French President, Sarkozy tried to score cheap political points amongst right-wing voters and politicians by inciting anti-Muslim sentiments in a speech to the French Parliament through denouncing and attacking the burqa.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new as both politicians and the media have played a key role in fostering a negative image of Islam and Muslims and thereby creating a dangerous climate of fear for many Muslims. The comments of the British minister, Jack Straw on the face veil (niqab), the banning of the face veil in some parts of Europe, the banning of the hijab in French schools, the Pope's comments on Islam, the publication of the insulting caricatures of Prophet Mohammed (saw) in the right-wing Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and in other European media outlets and now the racist killing of Marwa al-Sherbini are all a reminder of the increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the West.

It is interesting to note that Marwa al-Sherbini’s murder received comparatively little coverage in German and Western media. The under-reporting of this case begs the question that if the victim had been a non-Muslim or the perpetrator a Muslim, would this story have received such little coverage? This is a sad indictment on a media that claims to be objective, unbiased, independent, and fair yet when it comes to reporting the murder of a Muslim mother in an open European courtroom, it largely remains silent. In a society that prides itself on the values of respecting women, inclusiveness and human rights, it appears all were missing when it came to this Muslim woman.

Many, including the victim’s brother, believe Marwa al-Sherbini was killed because of her hijab. He said his sister was harassed several times by the killer, who tried to remove her hijab by force. "My sister was a martyr of hijab," Tareq al-Sherbini told Al-Doustour, an Egyptian daily. Nearly four million Muslims living in Germany have condemned al-Sherbini's killing, expressing concern about the consequences of such terrorist attacks against Muslims.

The continued attack on Islam and its values by Western governments, media and institutions is set to only increase the xenophobia and fascism in Europe and other Western countries. Sadly in such a reality, tragic murders of Muslim women such as Marwa al-Sherbini who wear the hijab, jilbab or niqab will unfortunately probably not be the last..