Woman attacks Muslims in California Park after seeing them praying

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Wednesday 09 Dec 2015 - 12:30 Makkah mean time-27-2-1437 Image from The Arab American News Alameda County, California, (IINA) - It was supposed to be another normal Sunday at the park of Alameda County in California for Rasheed Albeshari and his friends, until they were attacked by a local woman because of their Islamic faith, The Arab American News reported on Tuesday. Albeshari and his pals frequent often Lake Chabot, a quiet regional park in Alameda County. But around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, they were attacked by a woman who appeared disgruntled after she witnessed Albeshari’s pals praying on grass. Albeshari was waiting in the car for his three friends to finish their prayers when he saw a woman confront them. She had been walking on the sidewalk and appeared ruffled that the Muslim men were praying the park. “She was saying ‘you are all murderers,’ Albeshari recalled. Albeshari went up to the local woman and began taping the confrontation on his cell phone. “One of my friends was trying to tell her ‘We believe in Jesus. We love Jesus,’ Albeshari said. But those words fueled the woman’s animosity even more. A park ranger disrupted the argument and asked the woman to move away from them. Instead, the woman assaulted Albeshari with an umbrella and threw coffee in his face. He captured the tail end of the incident on video. Police were called onto the scene and a report was filed. According to Albeshari, the District Attorney’s office was looking into the incident for a possible hate crime charge. Following the mass shootings in San Bernardino last week where a extremist couple killed 14 people at the Bernardino county health department, California Muslims fear they might be discriminated against or targeted because of their faith. Albeshari had moved from North Carolina to California in 2011. Believing it to be the most progressive state in the country, he said he would’ve never imagined being targeted because of his religion or ethnicity. "That's one of the main reasons why we love the Bay area. It's people from all around the planet," said Albeshari. “I never thought this would ever happen to me here. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling.” Albeshari still believes the majority of Americans are more accepting than what had transpired with the woman at the park. He was relieved to see an outpour of support from Americans when he posted the video of his encounter on Facebook. “I see a lot support and I like how people have reacted to it,” Albeshari said. “It made me feel safe. But after this point, you still have to be very careful. What if it was a woman or a kid in my situation, what would’ve happened?” SM/IINA