A Muslim man was verbally harassed by a fellow commuter for reciting the Quran while traveling in the London Underground, according to the Daily Mail. A video of the incident that took place near Monument station in central London on November 27 shows a man hurling an anti-Islamic rant, telling the Muslim man reading Quran that he has 'no respect for other people.'
The video shows that as the Muslim passenger continued reciting the Quran, the man harassing him went on to say that 'this is a Christian country' and that he should 'behave in our manners and the way that we do things.' The furious commuter then told the Muslim man that he cannot do it [recite Quran] on public transport. "You don't even have the decency to ask me if you can do it," he said.
Privacy invasion
In the video, when the Muslim man tried to tell the enraged passenger that he doesn't need his permission, he clapped back that he [the Muslim passenger] is invading his privacy. "Do you see anybody of any other faith sitting here doing their morning prayers?" the angry commuter asked, before telling the Muslim man that he's got no respect for other people.
'This is a Christian country'
When the Muslim commuter told him to calm down and 'act his age,' the infuriated passenger told him that no one else is telling him to stop because they are too careful. "This is a Christian country, you behave in our manners and the way that we do things," the passenger said. As the Muslim man continued reciting his prayers, the irate commuter asked him to do it in his house from next time.
Investigation
The Muslim man narrated the incident on his social media handle and clarified that neither he was loud nor he was disturbing the peace while reciting his prayers. He also noted that at 6:40 am in morning the train was 70 percent empty and he was reciting the Quran quietly enough to hear himself. "He just wanted me stop reading the Quran because he believes ''we shouldn't be allowed to read our prayers (read Quran) on TfL,'" the man wrote. He added that the irate passenger even followed him when he got off the train and complained to London Underground.
A spokesperson for the British Transport Police told Mail Online that they're aware of a video depicting a 'hate incident' on board a District line Tube between Mile End and Monument stations and the incident is being investigated. "This behavior will not be tolerated on the railway," the spokesperson added.
