A recent story published by MailOnline and The Sun reposted an argument between TfL passengers from December 14, 2014.

The respective headlines gave weight to the ‘You white sl*g!’ and ‘Don’t call me a white b***h!’ comments. We are then informed that ‘Two white women and two women wearing hijabs fired insults at each other while a horrified onlooker filmed the whole thing’. And ‘Shocking moment ‘racist’ Muslim women face off with white women in vicious confrontation on a London train’.

Both journalists make efforts to transcribe the argument, its insults and abuses. Yet the MailOnline copy makes little effort to highlight the abusive comments directed at the Muslim women. It acknowledges that they experience a ‘torrent of racist and Islamophobic abuse’; but does little to provide readers with statements until the end of the article.

Missing from the MailOnline copy are these statements:

“I don’t care if that’s your family or not or one of yous (sic), I don’t give a s**t she’s sitting there with her headscarf on being racist.”

“She’s sitting there with a headscarf on like I’m going to be threatened.”

“You’re a Muslim p***k, with that s**t round your head.”

To the Sun’s credit, the journalist did acknowledge that the argument was not quite so one-sided. But the accusation of racism remains directed solely at the Muslim women, abusive statements directed at the Muslim women are not afforded the same scrutiny, even when the MailOnline article acknowledges that the Muslim women experienced racist and Islamophobic abuse.

The MailOnline copy did acknowledge that the video surfaced in December 2014; but you’d need to read further down the article to learn this fact. The Sun, however, made the odd claim that  ‘an eyewitness filmed the altercation in March but the footage has only just surfaced online’. This may owe to the fact the article appeared a day after the MailOnline version appeared online.

In a heated and unpleasant argument where neither side comes across well, the context of what triggered the argument eludes both articles. That context does appear in the original video description.

YouTube user Jo Hip wrote that the argument had started ten minutes before they hit record. According to Jo Hip, “it all started when the white girl noticed the somalian girls steering at her and making comments under their breaths, after a while the white girl asked them, ‘Why do you keep on looking at me?. The Somalian girls responded by saying, ‘We’re free to look at whoever we want’”.

The description then adds:”After a while the white girl said ‘ I’ve dealt with many people like you and I won’t be intimidated’. When the Somalian girls heard the White girl say ‘People like you’, they assumed she was talking about their religion or race, they then said’ What do you mean people like us? Somalian? Muslim?? Well you’re nothing but a ‘White Slag’.”

Only after hearing the utterance of ‘white slag’ did the video record. The justification for filming was “to show the ignorance of people. Ignorance knows no colour or religion.”

This distorted framing of the article perhaps influenced some the comments from MailOnline readers. It reflected their own anxieties towards multiculturalism. Others recycled myths that the police would favour the Muslim women. It also captured their pessimism and fatalism. Soon it became clear that the comments focused less on the content and more on their own broader concerns and biases.

A bigger question, however, remains: why was a video uploaded in December 2014 reposted in 2016?

The post How a MailOnline article distorted a video from 2014 to highlight ‘racist’ Muslim women appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We received a report today about an assault on a Niqab wearing female which took place yesterday at around 7 pm on the 2nd of December 2015.

The witness to the assault was on the 333 bus from Tooting and she was travelling towards Elephant and Castle when a white male aged between 50-60 years old made his way towards the exit of the bus and where a woman who was wearing a Niqab was standing. Overweight and scruffily dressed, the white male suddenly assaulted the female and punched her twice in the back as the bus doors opened and he calmly walked off the bus and muttered something to the victim. Individuals on the bus witnessed the assault, yet no-one helped the victim.

Seeing this violence, the witness who reported in this incident asked if the Niqab wearing female was ‘ok’ to which she nodded and she later got off at her stop and walked off into the distance.

Time and time again, women who wear the Niqab have told us that they suffer numerous anti-Muslim hate incidents and crimes against them, many of which involve assaults.

Rightfully, as a society, we abhor violence against women, yet, why do some males in our society think that it is appropriate to target, humiliate and harm a female who covers her face and body? Such actions are unacceptable and deserve nothing but our contempt as a society. No individual should be targeted for their identity though assaults against females should rouse us into action since it touches on the core of our values, the protection of women’s rights. The non-action of members of the public on the bus yesterday may well have given the green light to this woman beater that it is acceptable to target Niqab wearing women. It is not acceptable and we need to make that clear to thugs like him.

The post Assault on Niqab Wearing Women Shows the Male Violence Many Suffer appeared first on TELL MAMA.

After the shock and horror of so many innocent lives lost, the faces of young people stare back at us reminding us that the brutality of IS was spread into the heart of Paris. The whole of our nation stood still and reflected and mourned with the people of France.

At this time, we must keep things in context and the reaction against British Muslims continues to be monitored by us and whilst reports have come in, many of them have involved threats and general abuse. The most violent case to date has been a serious assault to a couple who run a takeaway in Fife as they were set upon by a mob of 15 people. We must also ensure that we do not downplay this incident and no doubt, we look forward to arrests on this case by Police Scotland.

Yet, the reaction by members of the British public to anti-Muslim bigotry has been heartwarming. There are some groups who campaign against Islamophobia and who do not reflect the fact that many non-Muslims regularly stand up against anti-Muslim prejudice and do so out of a conviction that prejudice must be addressed and countered.

For example, we received a report by a member of the public who stated that he had, “witnessed some behaviour that I consider to be threats and abuse directed towards people based on the assumption that they were Muslim.”

The perpetrator boarded the train close to the Welsh border and was verbally aggressive and abusive to two Kuwaiti men, (aged 20-25), whom he mis-identified as Saudi nationals. The perpetrator stated threats of physical violence which he directed against these men and drew this into a general tirade about ‘what happened last night,’ (meaning the attacks in Paris). The abusive man identified himself as Columbian.

The specifics of the abuse focused on abuses of human rights in Saudi, (specifically, ‘raping pregnant women’), with reflections on Saudi masculinity and the masculinity of Muslims in comparison with the masculinity of South American men. The threats and abuse carried on for an hour and other passengers intervened and protected the Kuwaitis as the perpetrator walked around them. Some of these passengers even tried to draw the perpetrator away from the two Kuwaitis, showing the spirit and courage of members of the public.

Eventually, the perpetrator was arrested as the train reached its final destination. Members of the public also gave statements to the police to ensure that the evidence was relayed to law enforcement.

What this incident shows, is how public action can protect the victims and reduce the chances of a serious assault taking place. The British public have once again, made us proud.

The post The British Public Stand For What is Right appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Another video has surfaced showing anti-Muslim bigotry on what seems to be, a train to Bushey. The abuse is clearly anti-Muslim in nature though the perpetrator seems somewhat unstable and either seems to be intoxicated or may have other issues related to his well-being. The video has some explicit language on it and we would urge listeners to be aware of this.

It is the nature of the words that consistently are used. ‘Terrorist‘ and ‘bomber‘ are terms that the perpetrator uses and what is also sad, is that people can be heard laughing at the behaviour of the individual.

This is another in a line of shocking videos that have surfaced, though this case may involve someone who may be vulnerable themselves. It does however underline the abuse and rhetoric that comes from individuals when they see people that they perceive to be Muslims.

We would urge anyone who suffers anti-Muslim prejudice to get in touch with us. You can contact us on 0800 456 1226 or info@tellmamauk.org. Alternatively, you can tweet us on @tellmamauk or SMS us on 0115 707 0007.

Credit for picture to ‘AidforAids’ and video-credit for video to @doam

The post Anti-Muslim Abuse on Train to Bushey, Though Perpetrator May Have Issues appeared first on TELL MAMA.

This is a case that came into Tell MAMA a few days go. Nazleen (the identity has been altered), wears a Niqab and an Abaya, (the black body over-garment) worn by more socially conservative Muslim women. Nazleen is 22 years old and she was travelling on a bus when a white female, aged around 40 plus years of age, started to look at Nazleen in an aggressive manner. She then started to say something to Nazleen, who took off her headphones, and the female perpetrator stated, “you wearing that Niqab is going back to the traditions of the Victorian era. We women fought hard for women’s rights, so why would you do this?” The perpetrator also went onto state, “you could be hiding a gun under your garment.” The abuse continued with the perpetrator stating that she felt scared by Nazleen and that she felt intimidated by her. She also stated that Nazleen looked like she was a ‘ghost’.

The intimidation and abuse of young Nazleen continued as the female perpetrator then said that Nazleen probably could not read or write and that she was being manipulated by men.

As Nazleen went to get off her stop, in a moment of empathy a passenger asked her if she was ok and Nazleen alighted from the bus.

In contacting Tell MAMA Nazleen stated, “I’m not hurt or upset by this incident. I’m used to it to be honest but with the rise in Islamophobic attacks I thought to report it so more awareness is created of incidents like this.”

The post “You Wearing That Niqab is Going Back to Traditions of the Victorian Era,” Says Perpetrator appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Another video has come to light with graphic terms used to abuse what seems to be a Turkish Muslim victim of anti-Muslim hatred. This coming to light so soon after the previous video of abuse against a Muslim female and where an arrest has been made regarding the perpetrator. The perpetrator seems to be a young black man sitting on a bus whilst he shouts obscenities to the victim. The video of the hate crime is listed below and is graphic language is used, so please be aware of this when you press the link:

Remember, if you have been subjected to such anti-Muslim abuse, report it in and we can assist you. Alternatively, you can call the police on 101. We are here to assist and after the last incident, we reported the anti-Muslim hatred to the police to ensure that justice was done. The police acted swiftly with an arrest and someone has been charged in relation to that specific offence.

Credit for the video is due to @doammuslims

The post Another Video Comes to Light Showing Obscene Anti-Muslim Bigotry. Black on Black appeared first on TELL MAMA.