I had a duty to do it, says Muslim who came to aid of Jewish family
THE MUSLIM woman who came to the defence of a Jewish family as they suffered antisemitic abuse has said she felt she had “a duty” to do it.
Asma Shuweikh, 36, from Birmingham, was filmed confronting a man who was abusing a kippah-wearing father and his two sons, reading them Bible verses.
After the video went viral, Ms Shuweikh met the father — who has asked not to be named — in Manchester to thank her for her intervention during the incident, which happened on the Northern Line on Friday.
“To be honest I thought it is my duty as a mother, as a practising Muslim, as a citizen of this country, to have to say something,” she told the BBC.
She told Sky News she feared the incident could get “very violent” if no one intervened.
“It was really not nice to see that as a mother… [The children] did actually get quite scared,” she said.
The father issued a statement through the Campaign Against Antisemitism, in which he said: “We are certain that without her intervention and distraction, he would have continued his abuse which could have escalated to physical violence.
“This Tube journey has left me with mixed feelings about society... On the one hand my wife, my children and
I were subject to vile abuse in a full Tube carriage, however I am grateful for those who stood up for me.” “Shomrim North West London have been supporting me and encouraged me to report this to police, and to them I am very grateful.
“This Tube journey has left me with mixed feelings about society. On the one hand my wife, my children and I were subject to vile abuse in a full Tube carriage, however I am grateful for those who stood up for me.”
Police arrested a 35-year-old man from Hillingdon in Birmingham in connection with the incident.
It was really not nice to see that as a mother’