Comments on: Marwa El Sherbini Did Not Die For Her Hijab, So Please Stop Saying That She Did

By: Ayza Gursoy

Ayza Gursoy — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:38:40 +0000

Agreed with you Safiya – well explained. Thanks for sharing it with us.

By: Marwa El Sherbini Did Not Die For Her Hijab, So Please Stop Saying That She Did « Raven’s Eye

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:54:56 +0000

[...] excerpted from Muslimah Media Watch [...]

By: C L O S E R » Blog Archive » The tragic death of Marwa El Sherbini

C L O S E R » Blog Archive » The tragic death of Marwa El Sherbini — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 14:55:08 +0000

[...] readers have send me interesting comments from others. Below you find a few: Marwa El Sherbini Did Not Die For Her Hijab, So Please Stop Saying That She Did « Muslimah Media Wa… In Germany the Muslim community is ethnically homogeneous, with the vast majority being of Turkish [...]

By: Safiya Outlines

Safiya Outlines — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:25:35 +0000

Salaam Alaikum,

Why indeed?

As covered previously on MMW, there is a prominent pro-hijab campaign in Egypt and I do feel that Marwa has been co-opted as “The Brave Hijabi” by this cause or sentiment.

By: Safiya Outlines

Safiya Outlines — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:22:42 +0000

Salaam Alaikum,

There can be no denying that the racism of the perpetrator was the catalyst and that racism is still going unexamined

Marwa’s death is the tragic tip of a much larger iceberg of racist attacks and intimidation.

Marwa reported the abuse given out to her. but how many feel too afraid (both of reprisals and an unsympathetic justice system) to do so?

I do feel that the hijab is being overstated as a mark of visibility, because as I said in the piece, Germany’s Muslim community is very homogenous. Even without her headscarf, Marwa would have certainly been read as Turkish and therefore Muslim.

By: Krista

Krista — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:08:25 +0000

This is a great post, Safiya. I knew I was uncomfortable with some of the reactions to her death, and you’ve articulated it really well here.

By: Zahra

Zahra — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:45:09 +0000

Well-said. All this talk of martyrdom, shifting the focus to El Sherbini and away from her murderer, seems like victim-blaming to me. She wasn’t trying to end to her life in the service of a cause; she was only trying to see justice done.

May we find it even without her guiding light.

By: M. Landers

M. Landers — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:01:20 +0000

She died because a racist murderer killed her … because his racism caused him to single her out for harassment due to her visibility as a Muslim woman, and her successfully standing up for herself against that harassment enraged him to the point of becoming a murderer. You’re correct that focusing on the victim to the exclusion of the perpetrator does not do the victim justice. However, neither does focusing so much on the broader racism that the specificity of the victim is lost.

By: RCHOUDH

RCHOUDH — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:35:46 +0000

Very nice article and I agree well put.

By: Amo

Amo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:09:11 +0000

Why is the Muslim community just as obsessed with Marwa El Sherbini clothing?