Egyptian woman faces racism in Florida

CAIRO - 14 April 2020: The American "Newsweek" magazine shed light on the exposure of Egyptian-American Muslim Nahla Obaid to a racist attack while she was in a Walgreens store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Obaid published the videos that the magazine described as "horrific" on April 4, urging those who had been subjected to a similar assault to turn to the police.

The video showed a blonde woman assaulting Obaid and her husband and insulting their nationality and religious beliefs.  When Obaid asked the woman to wear a mask, she replied angrily, addressing the store employee, "They are over here in our country."

Newsweek stated that it was ironic that the woman wore a shirt with "Tokyo" written on it.

"I wish I were from your country so that I wouldn't have to wear a mask," said the woman to Obaid and her husband.

"Oh, I like your clothes," she said to Obaid sarcastically, before ordering her to "Take it off." In another shot, she described Obaid as "ugly" over and over again then asked her, "Why are you wearing clothes like this?"

When the employee asked the blonde woman to wear the mask again, she refused and began insulting passers-by, saying, "What a bunch of idiots here." During her phone conversation with the police, she repeatedly referred to Obaid's family as "Muslims" and accused them of threatening her verbally and physically.

But her decision to summon the policemen did not come in her favor, as the video shows the blonde woman being tied up by several officers and while some people claimed that she wasn't racist because she has “Muslim friends”.

In a post on April 6, Obaid said she posted the videos to raise awareness of Islamophobia in the United States.

Obaid's Facebook post read, "I am Nahla, and this experience happened to me. I am the one who recorded the videos, and I wanted to publish this video to inform every Arab or Muslim or anyone who meets a person with this sick mentality not to fear calling the police to get their right."