Muslim Man Spat At Woman Over Community Center's Christian Poster
A Muslim man spat on the face of a woman after they had a row over an erected Christian sign in a multicultural community center located in Hartlepool, England.
Said Amed Latif, 36, admitted to spitting on the face of a fellow Muslim woman and calling her an "ignorant Muslim," reported The Daily Mail. The row came about after he got distressed over a sign that stated, "Church of God," which was erected in the Salaam Community Center by a Christian gospel group that was also using the venue.
Prosecutor Holly Commons recounted to Tesside Magistrates' Court that Latif approached the woman and asked if he could speak to her. The woman motioned for him to come inside the center where they could talk.
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But when Latif came in, he got angry and started screaming at the woman.
"When inside the office, Latif began shouting, 'Why are you letting them use the center?'", recalled the prosecutor.
The suspect then called the woman an "ignorant Muslim" as he continued his verbal abuse. Commons also said the man told the victim she is in the wrong place.
"'You shouldn't be here, you're upsetting us young Muslims,'" Commons recounted to the court.
After the verbal tirade, Latif was said to have raised his hand and was about to slap the victim when he changed his mind and spat on her face instead.
The incident shocked the woman. "I was really upset about what happened. In 15 years I've never had anything like this happen to me," she said in a statement. "He tried to bully me and certain members of staff to only let in certain members of the community."
The suspect initially denied the accusations but later admitted and said he was only provoked when the victim called him an "extremist."
He explained his side to the judge and said that the victim's story is inaccurate.
"We are a small ethnic community, they've put a church group sign up saying 'Church of God' right next to the door to the mosque," said Latif.
He said he requested for the sign to be moved but instead the woman started screaming at him and called him an "extremist."
The man eventually admitted his act, "I plead guilty, I did spit at her – I lost my temper."
The court handed him a 60-hour unpaid work penalty and was ordered to pay £50 to the victim as compensation, reported IB Times.
