Abuse meant I had to change my way of life
A SCOTS-BORN Muslim woman has told of the sustained racist abuse she has suffered – facing Hitler salutes, terrorist jibes and even being spat on. Linsay Taylor, 41, left, said constant Islamophobia changed her way of life as she had to stop using buses and trains. She said: “I don’t use public transport. I don’t walk about streets I am unaware of. It has altered my behaviour.” The environmental project coordinator, who lives in Glasgow’s Pollokshields, has worn the hijab for four years. She said she noticed people muttering racist remarks about her when she started to wear the Muslim headdress. Recalling an incident in Glasgow, she said: “I was with my mum in town and a woman spat on me. My mum was so upset.”
The abuse escalated after she got a job in Falkirk and had to use public transport to travel there.
She said: “As I stepped out of the train station at Falkirk, I saw this guy waving down the pavement. I knew he was coming for me.
“He came right up to my face and actually I thought at one point he was going to hit me.
“He started screaming in my face that I should go home, that I was a terrorist.
“He used the P-word, swearing at me, telling me I wasn’t welcome here.”
The abuse was reported but was repeated weeks later near the train station.
Linsay said three young men made “Hitler salutes” at her but stopped when she started taking pictures.
Her husband was so worried about her safety that he urged her to get a car.
Asked about the number of incidents, she said: “Depending where I am, it can be on a daily basis or a weekly basis or a monthly basis.
“It’s the little things, like people not sitting next to you on the bus.”
Asked what needs to happen to combat Islamophobia, she criticised politicians like Boris Johnson and the media for fanning the flames. Linsay said: “The media need to change the way they portray Muslims.”
She said of her religion: “I’m not trying to get in anyone’s face about it. This is just for me and people have an
issue with it.”