Muslim couple in Aldi remain calm in face of racist tirade in West London
After her niqab was branded 'disgusting', the Muslim woman replies by saying that she decides what she wears
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Muslim couple remained calm and composed in the face of a tirade of racist abuse which was caught on film at a supermarket in west London
As they went to pay for their shopping at the Aldi in Feltham, a woman at the opposite checkout began shouting and screaming at them – branding the wife’s niqab “disgusting”.
The husband responded by asking if she thought “freedom of choice” was disgusting, telling her her attitude was "disgusting".
She screamed back that he should “not allow [his] wife to go around like that” to which the wife responded that she decides herself what she wears.
“Why should he be my boss, he’s not my boss”, she said.
The husband then told the woman she should educate herself to which she asked him if he had read the Quran because he was “supposed to be a peaceful person”.
She then pointed at the wife and said: “You shouldn’t be around like that, you look like a bloody pillar box”.
The husband then said it is his wife’s choice to wear the niqab while the woman continued to shout “disgusting, absolutely disgusting”.
Another man’s voice, believed to be an Aldi employee, is then heard telling the woman to stop shouting “otherwise you are going to get banned”.
The footage of the incident, which is believed to have happened earlier this week, was uploaded to Facebook by the couple’s friend – Federica Lucarelli, where it has since been viewed over 19,000 times.
She said no one intervened to stop the woman before the Aldi staff member.
The Independent has contacted Aldi for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments