In the wake of the tragic Orlando nightclub shooting and the stoked fears of those who reserve disdain for Muslims, an ugly incident in New York took a turn for the better thanks to MTA train riders. Passengers on the F train defended a pair of Muslim women who were verbally assaulted by a racist white man pushing a baby in a stroller.
F train passenger Amaira Hasan posted an account last Monday (June 13) of the event to her Facebook page, making the status public. The status has since gone viral, and the New York Daily News spoke with the 25-year-old Hasan, who is also Muslim.
From Hasan’s Facebook:
Just now, on my way to work, a man got on my train yelling as he came onto an incredibly packed train for the “two terrorist foreigners to go back to where they came from.” These two “terrorist foreigners” were two (understandably terrified) hijabi Muslim women. Before I could say anything, the entire train erupted in anger. A black man, a Romanian, a gay man, a bunch of Asians, and a score of others came to their defense demanding that this man leave these women alone and get off this train. The man insisted that the two women go back home and take their bombs with them.
After some back and forth, one man said, “This is New York City. The most diverse place in the world. And in New York, we protect our own and we don’t give a f–k what anyone looks like or who they love, or any of those things. It’s time for you to leave these women alone, Sir.”
NYDN exclusively interviewed Hasan, who elaborated on the events of that day. She also stated that she too has faced religious discrimination during times she wore headscarves. Hasan said that while she appreciates the support her post received, she says that the passengers who stepped up deserve the most praise.
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Photo: CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=723091
