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A local Muslim group trying to clear misconceptions and educate others about bigotry was confronted and verbally attacked by a woman over the weekend. The Bridging Gaps Foundation was on Robson Street Dec. 27 with their “Meet a Muslim” initiative, which offers a chance for others to ask questions and have an open dialogue with them about Islam.
“We on the street talk to people about Islam and clarify misconceptions,” says Adnan Akiel, the group’s Program Manager, in a video posted to the foundation’s YouTube. But a woman approached their table and went on an Islamaphobic rant. The woman in the video yelled expletives, telling the group to “Go home,” and said she would drive them to the airport.
In one part of the video, she says she’s enjoying the interaction despite several requests for her to leave the table. “What you think is not important in the country,” the irate woman yelled. “You need to understand that what you think is zero, dog. You’re a dog.” She is shown yelling at the team members, saying “everyone hates Islam” because it is “against women and children,” while taking issue with prayer. “And also we don’t want to see people’s butts in the air on the street in public. Take your butt out of our faces. Go pray in your Mosque.”
A voice in the video tries to tell the woman the conversation isn’t productive and asks her to leave. She refuses and doesn’t seem concerned the encounter is being filmed for most of the interaction. People walking by join in asking her to leave, telling her she’s being racist, which she argues isn’t true. The video switches back to Akiel, who shot the footage of the woman, as he explains there’s never cause for this kind of behaviour.
“Every single one of us, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, we have a responsibility to ensure that our communities are safe and free from bigotry of this nature,” he says. Akiel says in the video it serves as an example that bigotry is alive and well in our community, but can still be addressed, “if we ground ourselves in education, in knowledge, and general mutual respect and understanding.” He calls the incident disheartening, saying people can disagree, but they must also coexist.
