Islam Online is reporting that the European Muslim Brotherhood is supporting a proposal to create a “World Hijab (headscarf) Day” in connection with the recent murder in Germany of an Egyptian woman in a German courtroom. According to the report:
The gruesome murder of a hijab-clad Egyptian woman by a German racist last week is continuing to send shockwaves among Muslims, while inspiring many to make a stand. A proposal put forward by one of IslamOnline.net’s readers for a World Hijab Day to mark the death of Marwa Al-Sherbini drew immediate support from around the world. “We are throwing our weight behind this proposal,” says Abeer Pharaon, the chair of the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab. “Sherbini is not only a hijab martyr but also a victim of Islamophobia, from which European Muslims are suffering,” she stressed. “Her death deserves to be commemorated and marked as a World Hijab Day.” Sherbini, 32, was stabbed to death by a 28-year German of Russian origin in a courtroom in the eastern city of Dresden on Wednesday, July 1. He stabbed her 18 times before the pregnant woman was to testify against him for insulting her for wearing hijab. Sherbini’s husband, who was preparing to discuss his Masters next month, was also injured when he tried to intervene to protect her. The despicable crime sparked calls by IOL readers for action in defense of Hijab, an obligatory code of dress that every Muslim woman must wear. One reader suggested marking the tragic death of the young woman with a special day on which Muslim women across the world would take to the streets to defend their dress code. “We are supporting the proposal,” Rawa Al-Abed, an official in the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, told IOL. “We are also calling for organizing more events to raise awareness about the rights of Muslim women in Europe, including wearing hijab.” Many Muslims marks the International Hijab Solidarity Day in the first week of September. The day was launched by the London-based Assembly for the Protection of Hijab (Protect Hijab) in 2004 to protest a French law banning hijab in state schools.
Rawa Al-Abed is known to be a leader in the “Women’s Action” section of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), an umbrella organizations comprised of Muslim Brotherhood organizations in Europe.
A NEFA Foundation report documents the ties between FIOE and the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab:
FIOE is currently listed as a supporter on the website of an organization known as the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab, also known as Pro-Hijab, …Pro-Hijab was launched in in June 2004 at a press conference held at the House of Commons and attended by FIOE president Ahmed Al-Rawi. A press release announcing a second Pro-Hijab conference indicated that it was to include Youssef Qaradawi as a guest of honor and that Tariq Ramadan was scheduled as a featured speaker. At that time, the organization indicated that the Muslim Association of Britain, the UK FIOE member, played a “pivotal role in the formation of Pro-Hijab.In 2005, the group planned a lobbying campaign at the European parliament in Strasbourg…
The issue surrounding the wearing of the hijab has consistently been one of the most important issues for the European Muslim Brotherhood.