LOC17:24
14:24 GMT
By Nawab Khan
BRUSSELS, July 15 (KUNA) -- Friends, researchers and students at Free
University Brussels (VUB) gathered in front of the EU headquarters here
Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the brutal death of an Egyptian woman Marwa
El Sherbiny in a court in Dresden, Germany.
Dr. Perihan Abou Zeid, a post-doctoral researcher in VUB and one of the
organizers of the vigil, told KUNA that El Sherbiny "was a victim of an
Islamophobic hate crime."
"We are gathered here to inform the EU that she was killed because of her
hijab," said Abou Zeib who went to school with Marwa in Egypt.
Marwa was stabbed to death in a Dresden Court on 1 July by a German man she
was testifying against, who had already been found guilty of insulting her in
a children"s playground.
She was a pharmacist living in Germany with her husband Elwy Aly, an
Egyptian genetic engineering researcher at Max Planck Institute, and her three
year old son Mustapha.
She was also a former handball champion, having played on the Egyptian
national squad.
"I went to school with Marwa. She was a role model, athlete, bright and
loved by ail of us and our teachers. When I heard about her brutal tragic
death I couldn"t believe that a person so peaceful and Ioved by everyone could
be a victim of hate crime," said Abou Zeid.
The mourners distributed leaflets and held placards saying "no to racism,"
and hijab, we are free to choose what we believe in."
A young Belgian Muslim who gave his name as Abdullah criticised the western
media
for not giving the coverage that the incident deserved.
"I think it is not right that this kind of news don"t make news. Here in
Belgium we didn't know what happened in Germany. I just came top know abut it
yesterday," he told KUNA.
Abdullah said he thinks the western media was afraid that this kind of news
could lead to protests and riots on the streets. He said he believed that El
Sherbiny was killed because of her hijab.
Amr, an Egyptian student said although the killing was an individual act of
hate crime, however it reflects the climate of Islamophobia prevailing here
in Europe.
"We want to ask why the EU is silent about what happened in Germany an EU
member," he told KUNA.
The mourners distributed a leaflet which said, "We ask you to think of El
Sherbiny and we ask you to think of ail those women who are scared because
they choose to declare their belief in God by covering their hair. Scared but
still strong."
"We are proud that you Marwa showed the world that you believe that rights
should be defended and restored through law, courts, and peaceful legitimate
means. We are sure that justice will be served because we will not rest until
it is served", he added.
Hate crimes and racism affect everyone. And hate and racism must end,"
stressed the leaflet. (end)
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KUNA 151724 Jul 09NNNN