Response to the "Head Scarf Martyr" verdict in Egypt and Germany

Alesia Mason
Response to the “Head Scarf Martyr” verdict in Egypt and Germany
This story is about a young woman who was murdered in a courtroom after testifying about a man verbally assaulting her after she asked him if he would let her son use the swing he was sitting on in a playground. He then made slurs against her religion because of the head scarf that Muslim women wear. After she testified, he then repeatedly stabbed her which resulted in her and her unborn child’s death in front of her husband and son. The police were called and first shot her husband. After the xenophobic man was convicted, some praised the verdict saying that it’s exactly what he should have gotten while others say he should have gotten a harsher sentence because it’s similar to the hatred the Nazis used against the Jews in World War II.
I really think that this story shows the affects of racism and what can happen when attitudes aren’t checked. I mean, shooting a man who just saw his wife murdered? And nobody came to her aid? All over the fact that she wore a head scarf and asked him to let her son swing on a PLAYGROUND. What grown man is on a playground? I really think this story shows that there’s still a lot of fear surrounding a religion that preaches peace. I really wonder about some of the comments made on this story because it seems like a lot of people agree with what he chose to do rather. It’s a disturbing world and the fact that a 3 year old lost his mom and his unborn sibling is the worst part of it all.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/response-to-the-head-scarf-martyr-verdict/?ref=world