Australian Woman Celebrated for Defending Muslim Couple

In an incident caught on tape, a Sydney woman defends a Muslim couple from an elderly woman’s disrespectful criticisms.

Riding home on the train one day, Sydney Eden Clark noticed an elderly woman speaking to a Muslim woman wearing a Hijab, or headscarf, as she rode home with her husband. The elderly woman began to harshly criticize her religion, and went so far as to blame her and her husband for the many horrible things occurring overseas. Unable to listen to such disrespect, Clark instantly took action to defend the Muslim woman, who had remained silent throughout the entire interaction. A video posted to YouTube, as well as Facebook, displayed the entire situation.

Everyday People

Though Clark has received a number of grateful messages, and well wishes, she remains firm that she is “not a hero”, but rather “an everyday person.” She feels that the entire situation was disrespectful, and “people deserve respect, that’s what I believe.” The video on CNN reveals the full tirade the elderly woman unleashed against the other woman. She went off for a while, asking her “why are you wearing it for a man who married a six-year-old-girl?” in reference to her headscarf. The Muslim woman didn’t respond, and Clark couldn’t help but jump in to defend her fellow trainmate.

“She wears it for herself, she wears it because she wants to be modest with her body, okay? Not because of people like you who are going to sit there and disrespect her,” Clark told the elderly woman. The woman simply continued on her tirade, “they’re killing each other in Syria.” When asked what that had to do with the other woman, the elderly woman admits “Nothing”, but persists in her arguments.

Clark ended things with “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything,” something many people can do with remembering. She spoke with ABC news in Australia, saying that she had seen the elderly woman touch the Muslim woman’s hijab. Once she had realized the woman was being abused, she couldn’t sit there and just keep watching. She said it was bugging her really badly to see the way the elderly woman was treating her.

Hafeez Ahmed Bhatti made his thanks known across his Facebook page when he shared the video from the train. He said, “This is what happened to us on a Sydney train, God bless Stacey Eden she supported us.” Many who connect with the situation have expressed gratitude to her, and some have even felt strengthened by her show of support.

Resources

• CNN
• Huffington Post

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