Officers from Greater Manchester Police tasered a man who attempted to assault a 12-year-old Muslim girl following a sustained campaign of harassment against her and family which began earlier that evening in a branch of McDonald’s.
The incident took place on June 27.
Speaking to Tell MAMA, her mother described how several students from her daughter’s year group had targeted her and a friend in a local branch of the fast-food giant.
One of the students had, in a sarcastic manner, asked her daughter about their name and replied: “Oh, I thought your name was Quran!”.
The group of students then surrounded the young Muslim girl and her friend, which escalated further, when a male from the group stepped forward to grab her hijab and tap her head on repeated occasions, in a threatening manner.
Management then requested that the group leave after her mother became aware of the incident and complained.
When her daughter left, however, to use the toilet facilities, the female members of the group followed her and continued the harassment and intimidation.
Upon leaving the branch of McDonald’s the mother, daughter, her aunty, and her school friend walked towards the local mosque, when the group of students returned to harass them, this time, riding bicycles.
Upon entering the adjacent park, they noticed how adults had joined the group of abusive students, which they discerned were likely some of their parents or relatives.
The daughter then witnessed her mother and her aunt have their hijabs pulled by individuals in the group, and the threat of violence ceased once the police had arrived at the scene and made arrests.
Tell MAMA has declined to reveal the details of the family to protect their identities. And we continue to support them. Her mother added that the Islamophobic bullying and harassment had begun in school, but a failure from staff to address their multiple complaints had served to exacerbate the situation.
A failure to deal with the bullying has seen the family remove their daughter from the school, as they are now educating her at home.
The mother described that the perpetrators were white, and a range of ages and genders.
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