Caught on camera: Man hurls insults at Muslim women praying in Alpharetta
Angry tirade targeting Muslim trio caught on cam
A viral video shows a man verbally attacking a group of Muslim women who were praying. FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Eric Perry brings us an interview from the women involved as they explain what happened.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Three Muslim women say they were violently verbally attacked by a man while they were praying in an Alpharetta parking lot.
This is the first time they're showing their faces and telling their story.
What we know:
The women say the man went out of his way cursing and hurling racist remarks at them in the parking lot of the Avalon Shopping Pavilion on Sunday. They want action taken.
They provided FOX 5 Atlanta with a video of the incident.
WATCH: Praying Muslim women verbally attacked by stranger
Three Muslim women say they were verbally attacked by a man while they were praying in an Alpharetta parking lot. They shared video of the incident with FOX 5 Atlanta.
What they're saying:
"We are here today to stand up for our community, and we realize it's important to stand up for our community and for ourselves," Amna, one of the victims, said.
"We came here just to enjoy some desserts," another victim, Nesrine, said. "It was time for one of the prayers to end, so we wanted to make sure we reached it. We set our carpet up, our prayer rug, right next to our car in an empty parking spot tucked away in the corner."
Three Muslim women said they were verbally attacked by a stranger in Alpharetta while praying.
"The first thing I thought of was recording just in case he did try to physically assault us, or pulling out a gun on us or hurt us in any way," Amna said.
The women say they tried to walk away but say the man kept following them.
"You're worshiping a false god," the man can be heard saying in the recording. "Go back to your country."
"In Georgia, over the last two years CAIR Georgia has recorded a 250% increase in anti-Muslim incidents," Azka Mahmood said.
Azka Mahmood, the executive director of the Council for American Islamic Relations
Azka Mahmood is the Executive Director of the Council for American Islamic Relations has called for action over the incident.
"I feel very concerned that people feel comfortable enough and bold enough to spew such hatred in a public space," Mahmood said.
"This is not behavior that should be normalized, and this is not behavior that we are going to allow in our community. We believe at the very least the Avalon Property should speak up and ban him from this property moving forward," Attorney Ali Awad said.
Meanwhile, the women say they simply want a public apology.
"We don't want this to happen to any other Muslim or any other woman. We are just three women that a grown man talked to. There's fear as a Muslim, and then there's fear as women," Nesrine said.
Alpharetta police respond
What they're saying:
FOX 5 reached out to Alpharetta police and they sent this statement saying:
"The comments made in the video circulating on the internet are disgusting and do not reflect the diversity and understanding that Alpharetta values. However, in our community all speech is protected - even the speech we may not agree with. After thoroughly watching the video, we have determined no crime was committed. And, while we do not condone activity like this, absent any new information coming forward, our investigation is closed and no criminal charges will be made."
What's next:
The women and their attorneys feel differently. They say they want the man to apologize. If he doesn't, they say they will be looking at further actions they could take.
The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta's Eric Perry spoke exclusively to with Amna, Amira and Nesrine, the three victims of the alleged verbal abuse in a parking lot at the Avalon Shopping Pavilion.