Muslim passenger allegedly told to get off bus for playing Qu’ran recitation

The Daily Mail reports on a suspected racist incident on board the 105 bus service from Southall to Heathrow where a passenger was allegedly ordered off a bus because the driver took objection to his listening to “music” though he was actually listening to recitation of the Qur’an.

Footage captured by a fellow passenger and a female witness to the incident are cited in the news story although no date is offered as to when the incident occurred.

The newspaper reports the alleged victim accused the driver of being “racist” after the driver mistook the recitation of the Qur’an on the victim’s phone for music and ordered the passenger to desist playing and get off the bus. The driver is alleged to have stopped the bus and refused to drive further until the passenger got off.

A fellow passenger on the bus told the paper: “A male passenger on the bus was playing the Koran on his phone, not loud at all. The bus driver asked the passenger to turn it off and he turned it off without questioning him.”

The witness claims the driver then told the victim that he was “uncomfortable” driving the bus with loud music at which point the victim accused the driver of being “racist” because he wasn’t listening to music at all. The victim protested at the driver’s demand that he get off the bus saying he had paid his fare and had complied with the driver’s request to turn the “music” off.

The driver is alleged to have repeated his demand for the victim to get off the bus and threatened to call the police to which the victim is said to have responded: “call the police I have my rights you’re being racist because all I did was play the Koran.”

The MailOnline has posted footage from the incident on its website showing the row between the driver and passenger, although the passenger is seated and out of view.

A witness to the incident told the paper, “The passengers knew the bus driver was in the wrong then the bus driver said ‘it’s not even about the music it’s about your attitude.”

The witness also said police were “unhelpful” when they arrived and effectively told the passengers that it was up to the driver “whether he wants to drive the bus or not.”

The Metropolitan Police said they had no record about the alleged incident while Transport for London told the paper “We are looking into this incident alongside the operator Metroline.”