Solitary Soul by Anindya Majumdar, India
Glacier by Carlotta Maitland Smith, England
Trees, rocks and a red dune provide incredible contrast in the Namib desert, 2009
Ten months after Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, the effects of the deadly offensive are still being deeply felt.
Hundreds of Palestinian women lost their husbands in the war and have had to step into their husbands' roles as the main breadwinners in their families.
Al Jazeera's Barbra Serra reports from Gaza, where women traditionally used to stay at home to take care of their children.
Now, many widows are struggling to find work.
The Shabaab movement in Somalia controls large parts of the south and centre of the country, and because officials in this movement embrace the Wahabi ideology they have imposed their views on Somalis by force and have issued strict decrees banning films, plays, dancing at weddings, football matches and all forms of music, even the ring tones on mobile phones.
Some days ago these extremists carried out a strange operation: they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing these bras was unIslamic because it is a form of fraud and deception.
We may well ask what wearing bras has to do with religion, why they would consider them to be a form of fraud and deception, and how they managed to arrest the woman wearing the bra when all Somali women go around with their bodies completely covered. Did they appoint a special female officer to inspect the breasts of women passing by in the street? One Somali woman called Halima told the Reuters news agency: "Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts... They first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women's chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat."
In fact this excessive interest in covering up women's bodies is not confined to the extremists in Somalia. In Sudan the police examine women's clothing with extreme vigilance and arrest any woman who is wearing trousers. They force her to make a public apology for what she has done and then they whip her in public as an example to other women.
Some weeks ago the Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Husseini insisted on wearing trousers and refused to make the public apology. When she refused to submit to flogging she was referred to a real trial and the farce reached its climax when the judge summoned three witnesses and asked them if they had been able to detect the shape of the accused's underwear when she was wearing the trousers. When one of the witnesses hesitated in answering, the judge asked him directly: "Did you see Lubna's stomach when she was wearing the trousers?" The witness gravely replied: "To some extent."
Lubna said she was wearing a modest pair of trousers and that the scandalous pair she was accused of wearing would not suit her because she is plump and would need to lose 20 kilos in order to put them on. But the judge convicted her anyway and fined her £500 or a month in prison.
In Egypt too, extremists continue to take an excessive interest in women's bodies and in trying to cover them up entirely. They not only advocate that women wear the niqab but also that they wear gloves on their hands, which they believe will ensure that no passions are aroused when men and women shake hands. We really do face a phenomenon which deserves consideration: why are extremists so obsessed with women's bodies? Some ideas might help us answer this question:
Firstly, the extremist view of women is that they are only bodies and instruments for either legitimate pleasure or temptation, as well as factories for producing children. This view strips women of their human nature. Accusing the Somali woman of fraud and deception because she was wearing a bra is the same charge of commercial fraud which the law holds against a merchant who conceals the defects of his goods and make false claims about their qualities in order to sell them at a higher price.
The idea here is that a woman who accentuates her breasts by using a bra gives a false impression of the goods (her body), which is seen as fraud and deception of the buyer (the man) who might buy (marry) her for her ample breasts and later discover that they were ample because of the bra and not by nature. It would be fair to remember that treating women's bodies as commodities is not something found only in extremist ideologies but often happens in Western societies too.
The use of women's naked bodies to market commercial products in the West is merely another application of the idea that women are commodities. Anyone who visits the redlight district in Amsterdam can see for himself how wretched prostitutes, completely naked, are lined up behind glass windows so that passers-by can inspect their charms before agreeing on the price. Isn't that a modern-day slave market, where women's bodies are on sale to anyone willing to pay?
Secondly, the extremists believe women to be the source of temptation and the prime cause of sin. This view, which is prevalent in all primitive societies, is unfair and inhuman, because men and women commit sin together and the responsibility is shared and equal. If a beautiful woman arouses and tempts men, then a handsome man also arouses and tempts women. But the extremist ideology is naturally biased in favour of the man and hostile to the woman, and considers that she alone is primarily responsible for all sins.
Thirdly, being strict about covering up women's bodies is an easy and effortless form of religious struggle. In Egypt we see dozens of Wahabi sheikhs who enthusiastically advocate covering up women's bodies but do not utter a single word against despotism, corruption, fraudulence or torture because they know very well that serious opposition to the despotic regime (which should really be their first duty) would inevitably lead to their arrest, torture and the destruction of their lives. Their strictness on things related to women's bodies enables them to operate as evangelists without any real costs.
Throughout human history, strictness towards women has usually been a way to conceal political abuses and real crimes. Somalia is a wretched country in the grip of famine and chaos but officials there are distracted from that by inspecting bras. The Sudanese regime is implicated in crimes of murder, torture and raping thousands of innocents in Darfur but that does not stop the regime from putting on trial a woman who insisted on wearing trousers. It is women rather than men who always pay the price for despotism, corruption and religious hypocrisy.
Fourthly, the extremist ideology assumes that humans are a group of wild beasts that are completely incapable of controlling their instincts, that it is enough for a man to see a bare piece of female flesh for him to pounce on her and have intercourse. This assumption is incorrect, because humans, unlike animals, always have the power to control their instincts by will power and ethics.
An ordinary man, if he is sane, cannot have his instincts aroused by his mother, sister, daughter or even the wife of a friend, because his sense of honour and morality transcends his desires and neutralises their effect. So virtue will never come about though bans, repression and pursuing women in the street, but rather through giving children a good upbringing, propagating morality and refining character.
Societies which impose segregation between men and women (as in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia), according to official statistics, do not have lower rates of sexual crimes than other societies. The rates there may even be higher. We favour and advocate modesty for women but firstly we advocate a humane view of women, a view that respects their abilities, their wishes and their thinking.
What is really saddening is that the Wahabi extremism which is spreading throughout the world with oil money and which gives Muslims a bad image is as far as can be from the real teachings of Islam. Anyone who reads the history of Islam fairly has to be impressed by the high status it accords to women, because from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fall of Andalusia, Muslim women mixed with men, were educated, worked and traded, fought and had financial responsibilities separately from their fathers or husbands. They had the right to choose the husband they loved and the right to divorce if they wanted. Western civilisation gave women these rights many centuries after Islam.
Finally, let me say that religious extremism is the other face of political despotism. We cannot get rid of the extremism before we end the despotism.
Democracy is the solution.
For 50 years, Egypt's government has subsidised basic food items for the poor.
Today, 65 million Egyptians benefit from the subsidies.
But there is growing criticism that the government is not doing enough to guarantee that the cheap food rations are distributed to those who really need them.
Critics say even some rich people can buy subsidised food and that some of it is sold on the black market.
Al Jazeera's Amr El-Kahky reports from Egypt.
From Salman’s childhood, his father loved him more than he loved any other. As time went by, his love for Salman became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose him or have anything happen to him. So he kept him at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.
He became so devoted to the Magian religion that he attained the position of custodian of the fire that they worshiped.
Then he encountered some Christians and learned from them about their religion and embraced it.
He was told that Christian religion had originated in Ash-Sham (Greater Syria). He did not go to his father’s estate that day and returned home at night. He told his father about his meeting with the Christians and how impressed he was by their religion. His father became upset and afraid that he would leave their religion. So he kept him locked up in the house and put a chain on his feet. Salman managed to unfetter himself and, in disguise, accompanied a caravan to Syria . He was directed to the bishop of the church and told him that he wanted to become a Christian and would like to attach himself to his service, learn from him, and pray with him.
The bishop agreed, but later Salman found out that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in charity while holding out the promise of blessings to them and keeping the money for himself.
After the bishop’s death, Salman continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. Salman was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company. After his death, Salman attached himself to various Christian religious figures, in Mosul , Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one told him about the appearance of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs who would have a reputation for strict honesty, who would accept a gift but would never consume charity (sadaqah) for himself.
A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah, and Salman asked them to take him with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money he had. They agreed and he paid them. When they reached Wadi Al-Qura (a place between Madinah and Syria ), they broke their agreement and sold him to a Jew. Salman worked as a slave for him but eventually he was sold the man’s nephew who belonged to the tribe of Banu Qurayzah. This nephew took him with him to Yathrib (later known as Madinah), the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian at Ammuriyah had described it.
At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam, but Salman did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties that slavery imposed on him.
When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his hijrah from Makkah, Salman was doing some work at the top of a palm tree belonging to his master, while his master sat below. A nephew of his came up and said, “May Allah declare war on the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By Allah, they are now gathering at Quba to meet a man who has today come from Makkah and who claims he is a prophet.” Salman felt hot flushes as soon as he heard these words and he began to shiver so violently that he was afraid that he might fall on his master. He quickly got down from the tree and said to his master’s nephew, “What did you say? Repeat the news for me.”
His master was very angry and gave him a terrible blow. “What does this matter to you? Go back to what you were doing!” he shouted. That evening, Salman took some dates that he had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet was staying. He went up to him and said, “I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as sadaqah. I see that you are more deserving of it than others.” The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it. Salman gathered some more dates, and when the Prophet left Quba for Madinah, he went to him and said, “I noticed that you did not eat of the sadaqah I gave. This, however, is a gift for you.” Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.
The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam.
Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet, who paid his Jewish slave owner a stipulated price and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure Salman’s manumission. After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was, “I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam.”
Salman played an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim state. At the Battle of Khandaq (Trench), he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. He suggested digging a trench (khandaq) around Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the trench, he said, “This stratagem has not been employed by the Arabs before.”
As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom. `Ali said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Ka`b Al-Ahbar said, “Salman is stuffed with knowledge and wisdom like an ocean that does not dry up.” Salman had a knowledge of both the Christian scriptures and the Qur’an, in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman, in fact, translated parts of the Qur’an into Persian during the life-time of the Prophet. He was thus the first person to translate the Qur’an into a foreign language.
Salman, because of the influential household in which he grew up, might easily have been a major figure in the sprawling Persian Empire of his time. His search for truth, however, led him, even before the Prophet had appeared, to renounce a comfortable and affluent life and even to suffer the indignities of slavery. According to the most reliable account, he died in the year 35 AH, during the caliphate of `Uthman, at Ctesiphon.
Despite efforts by Muslim Tatars to have a mosque in the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, the cherished dream is dying down on the rock of political differences in the eastern European country. “Everyone realizes that their opposition doesn’t make sense, because they had already given us permission,” Muslim leader Refat Chubarov told The New York Times on Friday, October 30.
“Behind the scenes, they are saying: ‘Crimea is Russian Orthodox land. If they want to build a mosque, they should build it where no one can see it.’ "
The government gave permission to Muslim Tatars in 2004 to build the mosque in 22 Yaltinskaya Street in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea.
But the project stalled by the Simferopol local council on claims of opposition from locals.
“The mosque will be built, but only after taking into consideration the views of the public,” said Simferopol’s mayor, Gennady Babenko.
He said that the city council has suggested other sites for building the mosque.
The mosque plans are vehemently opposed by ethnic Russians, who make up the majority of the Simferopol residents.
They fear that the mosque would signal the revival of Muslim Tatars, who were brutally expelled from Crimean by former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
The Tatars, who have inhabited Crimea for centuries, were deported in May 1944 by Stalin, who accused them of collaborating with the Nazis.
The entire Tatar population, more than 200,000 people, was transported in brutal conditions thousands of miles away to Uzbekistan and other locations. Many died along the way or soon after arriving.
The Soviets confiscated their homes, destroying their mosques and turning them into warehouses. One was converted into a Museum of Atheism.
It was not until perestroika in the late 1980s that most of the Tatars were allowed back, a migration that continued after Ukraine became independent with the Soviet collapse in 1991.
More than 250,000 Tatars now live in Crimea, about 13 percent of its population of 2 million people.
The Tatars’ return has repeatedly touched off legal clashes over restitution of land and property, much of which is now owned by ethnic Russians.
Muslim leaders blame political forces for blocking their dream to have a mosque in the peninsula.
“There are many, many political forces that want the strains to remain,” Mustafa Dzhemilyov, chairman of the Tatar legislative council, said.
“I am referring to the Russian-speaking and Russian separatist organizations, which are supported by and fed by the government of Russia.”
Some groups in Crimea are demanding to secede from Ukraine to region Russia.
Crimea was transferred by Nikita S. Khrushchev, then the Soviet leader, to Ukraine in 1954, a move then thought to be a formality, since it remained in the Soviet Union and was populated mostly by ethnic Russians.
Tatars have better ties with the Ukrainian government, and are often seen by ethnic Russian nationalists in Crimea as Kiev’s proxies.
The three sides jockey for power on the peninsula, and the mosque has been one focal point.
Hoping to see their dream fulfilled, every Muslim Tatar in Crimea has brought a piece of brick to build the mosque.
“From each Muslim, one stone,” said Chubarov, the Muslim leader.
As the deadlock still remains, the mosque site has turned into a mountain of limestone pieces, with Muslims still waiting for a way-out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Crimean Tatars therefore understandably put the stress on "Crimean". In fact, there is a growing movement to call "Crimean Tatars" (Qirimtatar, plural Qirimtatarlar).
Simply, they use "Crimeans" or even "Tavreans" (Tavry ) after the Greek name "Taurica " for the broader region.
The very word "Crimea" comes from the Crimean Tatar word Qirim.
This reflects the idea that the Crimean Tatars are in fact a multi-ethnic conglomerate.
Anyone who adopted Islam in Crimea in the Middle Ages supposedly and automatically became a Crimean Tatar.
Read more here.
“Arabic, the language of the Qur’an, has become a window for many Ukrainians to know Islam,” Dr. Shadi Shawer, the head of Human Development Department at the Federation of Social Organizations in Ukraine (Arraid) and the schools supervisor, told IslamOnline.net.
He said the weekly schools help many Ukrainians to better understand the Muslim faith.
“The schools have become one of our tools to promote Islam and show its true image.”
Shawer said there are 45 weekly schools across the country that teach Arabic language, eastern culture and Islamic sciences over a period of three years.
Most of the students enrolled at the charges-free schools are university students and professors who attend classes once a week.
“Many enroll to know the Arabic culture to better communicate with Arab students at Ukrainian universities,” he said.
“Others are interested in knowing more about Islam.”
The Muslim leader notes that some students end up embracing Islam during or after the course.
Ukraine is home to some two million Muslims making up 4 percent of the estimated 48-million population.
There are up to 200 mosques and 20 Islamic centers in the country.
Many Ukrainians credit the Arabic schools for changing their misconceptions about Islam.
“I used to have a negative view about Islam from the local and international media,” Irina Sladkikh, a university students’ affairs secretary, told IOL.
“But this has changed after attending the school,” added Sladkikh, who is set to graduate from the Arabic school this year.
Dr. Igor Vlasov, a physician, agrees.
“The school has brought me closer to the Arab world,” he said.
“I feel that I know much about Islam and the Muslim community.”
Thanks to the schools, many Ukrainians now have better understanding of the Muslim faith.
“I was surprised to know the true image of Islam after joining the school,” says Julia Bondinia, a university teacher.
“This has motivated me to invite two colleagues to enroll.”
Vikyoria, a third-grade student at the Faculty of Medicine, joined the school to better know the Arabic culture.
“Now I feel the school has become inseparable part of my life.”
Israeli authorities have torn down several Palestinian houses in occupied east Jerusalem, defying international calls to halt the demolitions in the disputed city.
Gidi Schmerling, a Jerusalem municipality spokesman, said the houses in the Shuafat, Zur Baher, Silwan and Jabel Mukabar neighbourhoods were pulled down on Tuesday because they had been built illegally.
"All the houses were demolished in accordance with a court order," he said in a statement to the AFP news agency.
Palestinians say that the municipality discriminates against them, making it virtually impossible for them to get legal permits for new homes or extensions to existing ones.
As a result, thousands of effectively illegal structures have been built in recent decades with Israel responding by destroying dozens of houses each year.
"The UN reiterates its call for an immediate and unconditional halt to such actions and urges the state of Israel to protect the civilian population in OPT [occupied Palestinian Territories] from further displacement and dispossession."
At least 600 Palestinians ave been displaced by eveictions and demolitions since the beginning of the year, according to OCHA, and many thousands more may be at risk.
The United States, which is seeking to revive peace talks in the long-standing dispute, called the latest demolitions "unhelpful".
The forced evictions and demolitions have raised tensions in the eastern half of the city, which Palestinians see as the capital of any future independent state.
The situation has prompted a number of protests and Palestinians have attempted to challenge the municipality's actions in the courts.
'Irresponsible step'
An Israeli rights group, Ir Amim, said the demolitions were "an irresponsible step that could escalate the situation in the city and bring it to a new boiling point".
Palestinians and human rights groups have condemned Israel's demolition policy, accusing it of using the demolitions to shift east Jerusalem's demographic balance.
"International bodies and the United Nations Security Council should intervene to stop Israeli authorities from carrying out these criminal actions," Adnan al-Husseini, the Palestinian-appointed governor of Jerusalem, said.
A UN report in May showed that 1,500 demolition orders issued by the Jerusalem municipality were pending for illegal Palestinian dwellings.
The report said that if the orders were implemented, about 9,000 Palestinians would be displaced.
There are about 200,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem, alongside an estimated 250,000 Palestinians.
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During a swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem last Thursday, two soldiers held up a banner that sparked a wave of condemnation by soldiers and civilians alike. The slogan on the banner – "Shimshon [Brigade] does not evacuate Homesh" – referred to the prospect of the soldiers being ordered to evict settlers from an illegal outpost on the site of the former Homesh settlement.
Homesh was dismantled during the disengagement of 2005 but since then settlers have repeatedly returned to the site and erected makeshift homes, asserting their claim of a God-given right to live there, as well as throughout the rest of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
On the surface, the IDF's decision to jail the protesting pair suggests a refusal to bow to insubordination within the army's ranks. But set against the wider context of army collusion and co-operation with settler activists, it is hard to regard the verdict as ushering in a new dawn of tough love towards the settler movement. It is more likely that army chiefs disapproved of the troops' particularly public display of support for the settlers, rather than the underlying sentiment they expressed.
Given that the resettlement of Homesh has taken place under the benevolent gaze of the IDF, there is no doubt that the military authorities are still prepared to turn a blind eye to the disobedience of settlers and their supporters – so long it happens in the relative obscurity of the West Bank, rather than in the heart of Jerusalem in full view of both press and public.
I was part of the initial evacuation of Homesh during my army service, and our unit was split by many of the religious members of my brigade refusing to participate – a stance that the Shimshon soldiers this week threatened to repeat. However, instead of standing up to the mutiny, our commanders gave them the kid glove treatment. Their anxiety to avoid an internal confrontation overrode their adherence to army guidelines.
Likewise, every time I witness settlers assaulting and abusing Palestinians in the West Bank, soldiers are always on hand to provide armed cover for the attackers, refusing to intervene on the victims' behalf, and revealing the true level of support the army continues to offer to the settler camp. Such actions speak far louder than the words spouted this week by Major General Avi Mizrahi, who said: "We must ensure that the IDF is not dragged into the political discourse and guard against the creation of factionalism in the military, which is the people's military."
Not only is the IDF dragged into the political discourse day after day, but the army has also been riven by factional splits for years, largely as a result of the infusion of religious dogma into what was, and should remain, a secular institution of the state. As noted by the leader of the New Movement-Meretz party, "instead of religious Zionism adopting the values of the IDF and the country, the IDF and country are adopting the values of religious Zionism, in its nationalist and orthodox version. If this trend continues, the IDF may be transformed from an army of the people to Phalangists carrying religious artefacts."
Furthermore, a Guardian interview with army judge Adrian Agassi reveals in even more detail the influence of religious-nationalist politics on the IDF when it comes to the military's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Agassi, who has a long history of supporting land confiscations from Palestinian owners, declared that the ancient land of Israel was "given to us by the Bible, not by some United Nations", and that "if we would have named it the State of Jews [rather than the State of Israel], the Arabs would have understood that this land belongs to the Jews".
In his eyes, implanting Jewish settlers across the West Bank is more important than all other biblical commandments, and only when it is done can they have "a promised land and a promised life". With lawyers and judges such as himself at the helm of the military legislature, settler leaders are unlikely to be losing much sleep over the prospect of any serious threat to their wave of illegal construction and land-grabs, despite the slaps on the wrist for the two banner-wielding Shimshon soldiers.
While the rest of Israel fiddles, the West Bank continues to burn – both literally, in the scores of cases of settlers setting fire to the crops and homes of Palestinian farmers, and metaphorically, as the prospects for peaceful resolution go up in smoke the longer the settlers are given free rein to thumb their noses at the law and run riot in the area. On ground level, as well as in the political arena, the authorities seem perfectly content to offer the occasional fig leaf to international pressure to clamp down on the settlers, while never implementing concrete measures to end the overall injustice. Who this charade is fooling is anyone's guess, but the longer it continues, the more certain it becomes that the state's kowtowing to the settlers is driving yet another nail into the peace process's coffin.
A man accused of killing a pregnant Egyptian woman in court in a frenzied anti-Islamic attack has gone on trial in Germany in a case that inflamed tempers throughout the Muslim world.
Prosecutors say the defendant, identified as Alex W, stabbed Marwa el-Sherbini, who was wearing a hijab, at least 16 times on July 1, in the same courthouse in the eastern city of Dresden where the trial has opened.
El-Sherbini bled to death at the scene watched by her three-and-a-half-year-old son, Mustafa.
Prosecutors say the attack was motivated by "a pronounced hatred of non-Europeans and Muslims".
Elwy Ali Okaz, who was stabbed as he tried to protect el-Sherbini, his wife, was then shot in the leg by police who apparently took him for the attacker.
Testifying on Monday, Okaz said: "The perpetrator suddenly attacked my wife, he hit her several times and when I tried to help he hit me too.Okaz said the alleged attacker continued stabbing his wife even after she was on the ground.
Egyptian media quickly dubbed el-Sherbini a martyr and there were huge protests against the murder in countries including Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
Amr El-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo, said: "Since the killing of Marwa el-Sherbini in Dresden, every Egpytian has been angry and they are all asking for justice.
"The picture of Marwa el-Sherbini has been published in most of the papers ... everyone is waiting to see what this man will plead in the case."
El-Sherbini and the defendant met in August 2008, when she asked him to clear a playground swing where he sat smoking a cigarette so Mustafa could use it.
He refused, calling el-Sherbini an "Islamist", a "terrorist" and a "whore". She pressed charges for defamation and he was fined $1,170.
An appeal against the conviction brought them together again in July.
The defendant allegedly plunged an 18cm kitchen knife into the chest, back and arm of el-Sherbini, 31, three months pregnant at the time with her second child.
"He stabbed them out of pure hatred against non-Europeans and Muslims. He wanted to annihilate them," Frank Heinrich, a prosecution lawyer, told the court on Monday, where many people were wearing badges with el-Sherbini's face.
About 200 police officers were on hand as the defendant entered the court in a hooded top and sunglasses, which Birgit Wiegand, the judge, asked him to remove.
He lowered the hood but kept the glasses on, prompting Wiegand to give him a $75 fine.
She threatened him with another fine when he refused to confirm his name or place of birth.
Court psychiatric experts who examined the defendant, who is also charged with attempting to kill Okaz, say they found no evidence of diminished responsibility.
Germany criticised
The attack, and a slow reaction by the German media and political class, sparked accusations of neglectful handling of hate crimes against Muslims.
Thousands also rallied in Dresden in el-Sherbini's memory.
The Egyptian government on Sunday demanded the maximum sentence under German law, life in prison, for the attack.
Asked what ordinary Egyptians hoped would emerge from the trial, Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, Egypt's ambassador to Germany, said: "This was a heinous crime and they are expecting justice to be administered in a swift way."
El-Sherbini's family appeared in Dresden as co-plaintiffs, represented by lawyers hired by the Egyptian government, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, adding that it was "confident in the German justice system's impartiality".
Representatives from the prosecutor's office in her hometown of Alexandria were also in the courtroom, as were Egyptian reporters.
El-Sherbini worked as a pharmacist while her husband is a geneticist working on his doctorate in Dresden.
The unemployed defendant, who arrived in Germany from Perm in the Urals in 2003, reportedly struggled with bouts of depression.
"In this trial we will try to get to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding the death of a young woman who was deeply integrated in her family and society," Wiegand said.
A verdict is expected on November 11.
She is marrying a man recommended by her sister-in-law to help feed her two orphan children of a previous marriage.
The young woman lost her husband, the love of her life, two years ago to the violence that has been plaguing her country since the 2003 US invasion.
"When he died I decided never to marry again. We had a stable and lovely relation," she recalled tearfully.
For the past two years Haifa has been struggling to feed her kids, spending every penny they once had.
But without work or help from any one, she is accepting to remarry at the advice of her deceased husband's sister.
"I’m being forced to change my mind in exchange for a better life for my sons."
Haifa only saw the future husband once and never spoke with him, insisting it's a marriage of convenience for both of them.
"My sister-in-law told me that he also lost his wife and he is a good man who carries four children in his baggage," she said.
"Maybe it is too precipitated and latter on, I might regret, however, it is better to take care of six children than see your two sons hungry and unable to go to school," Haifa reasoned.
"I’m glad to find someone willing to take care of them but being happy is another issue that I prefer to keep for my own."
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs estimates there are nearly two million widows and five times kids living without fathers in the country.
"Widows are a serious case in Iraq. Our ministry is trying to help but the lack of proper budget is seriously affecting our work," said a senior officer, requesting anonymity for not being allowed to speak to the press.
"More widows will be added to this group and to help them the parliament should focus on their problem, create enough conditions for them to work and feed their children."
Debate
Haifa represents a new trend in Iraq which is encouraged by religious leaders who have been advising single and widower men to marry widows as a way to help them.
"Those women are victims of the violence in our country," Sheikh Abdul-Kareem Rafel, a religious leader at Sadr City, told IOL.
"The government isn’t offering them enough help to raise their kids alone and advising Iraqis to marry them is a nice way to prevent millions of kids from being raised without a father and prevent women from becoming prostitutes to support them."
Rana Lattif, a local woman activist, opposes such second marriage arrangements.
"Instead of encouraging women to remarry, we have to force the government to help them, offer stable living conditions and open job places as the majority became widows because of the unfair war in the country," she told IOL.
"Of course there are women who prefer to be in such unacceptable situation but they are few and the majority is marrying again because it was the only choice found," she contends.
"If the government takes responsibility towards them, I’m sure this number would decrease impressively."
Sara al-Azza, a member of a charity that has nearly 1,200 widows registered with more than half willing to remarry, disagrees.
"We cannot keep waiting for the government to take an action," she told IOL.
"The women come to us after deciding to remarry and what we do is just look for men who have a good background, true good intentions and are able to support her family," she explains.
"No one is forced to marry but we have made many arrangements with the both sides happy to start a new life together.
"Since we started working on this issue, we never had a complaint from any of the parties. It is a serious matter and we are happy to help."
Rhim Abdel-Rassoul Rabia’a, a 41-yrea-old mother of three who lost her husband three years in a Baghdad bomb attack, is waiting for a second husband.
"After years of looking for a job, I got desperate and that’s why I started looking for a second marriage even though that was the last thing I would like to do," she told IOL.
"I was told that women over 40 take more time to find a husband but this is my only hope. I just want a man to look after me and my kids, even if I marry without love."
Rhim says when she was a young girl she dreamed of a life of happiness, studying and working to become someone important in life.
"I know that none of my dreams can come true but at least I can help my kids become able to support themselves without the need to remarry for that."
