Arabic version: الشرطة تحقق في حادثة انتزاع الحجاب في بريسبان
Queensland Police are investigating reports of a woman trying to snatch a hijab from a teenage girl on the Manly foreshore in Brisbane. According to ABC News, video footage shows the woman accusing the girls of trying to “take over the country.”
Police have received a report of an incident at a park on the Esplanade, Manly, about 9 PM on Saturday, 21 February. Although the video does not show the actual attempt to snatch the hijab, it does depict the girls accusing the woman of having attacked their 14-year-old friend. Additionally, the footage shows the woman allegedly trying to snatch a phone from one of the girls.
Ayesha, a 16-year-old whose voice can be heard in the video, shared her perspective on 612 ABC Radio Brisbane, stating that their group was simply enjoying their Iftar dinner and had not provoked the woman. “We had done nothing wrong that day. We were all just playing card games as normal kids do,” Ayesha explained.
Ali Kadri, the chief executive of the Islamic College of Brisbane, praised Ayesha for her composure during the confrontation. He expressed concern over the increasing hostility faced by Muslim students, attributing it to the current political climate in Australia. Kadri noted that such incidents of verbal abuse towards students have become more frequent and reflect a troubling normalization of hatred in society.
