Russian woman attacks Muslim passenger, tries to rip off her niqab

In Moscow, a 61-year-old woman attempted to snatch the niqab off the head of a woman passenger whom she found suspicious while riding the metro. The incident was captured on video.

The footage shows the elderly woman trying to pull off the Muslim woman's head dress. The Muslim woman's companion punches the pensioner in the head and drags her by the hair into the aisle while yelling. Several passengers try to restrain the man.

"This is my dignity! What are you doing? ***** [You scum]! This is my dignity! Who are you touching by the hair?" the man shouts, as the woman in the niqab steps away from the scene, keeping her religious covering on.

According to eyewitnesses, the pensioner's tablet — which she was using to film the incident — was broken.

"That man was hitting her and pulling her hair, and then she tried to defend herself by ripping off the woman's niqab. He knocked her down and kicked her. He had already taken her tablet and smashed it. The woman in the niqab was just sitting calmly; no one was bothering her,” a witness said.

According to Ostorozhno, Moskva Telegram channel, the woman pensioner was sentenced to seven days of administrative arrest. The court found that she attempted to snatch the niqab off her head during the altercation. The elderly woman was charged with petty hooliganism. It is unclear whether any action has been taken against the man who assaulted her.

Previously in Russia, a boy was forced to kneel and apologize for removing a hijab from a female peer.

Beaten Russian woman had survived terrorist attack in 1995

The victim was identified as former photojournalist Natalya Medvedeva, who was among the voluntary hostages during the Budyonnovsk terrorist attack in June 1995. The attack was carried out by militants led by former Chechen "terrorist number one" Shamil Basayev.

The woman explained that after surviving the attack, it was hard for her to stand the sight of people wearing traditional Muslim clothing in public places.

The woman attempted to rip the niqab off the head of the female passenger whom she found suspicious. The Muslim woman’s companion intervened in her defense, punched the elderly Russian woman in the head and dragged her by the hair into the train aisle while shouting.

Witnesses to the altercation called the police.

After some time, the Muscovite was summoned to court, which sentenced her to seven days of administrative arrest.

The man who punched her and broke her tablet was also arrested and sentenced to 13 days in detention.

The accused woman said she had filed an appeal against the court’s decision, but it was rejected. She now intends to take her case to higher authorities. She also expressed outrage that recording someone on video was deemed an act of hooliganism.

Medvedeva was held hostage during the June 1995 terrorist attack. At that time, Shamil Basayev and 200 of his militants attacked the town of Budyonnovsk in the Stavropol region of Russia. They seized a hospital and took around 2,000 hostages, including pregnant women and newborns. The attackers demanded the withdrawal of federal troops from Chechnya and the recognition of the independence of Ichkeria. Nearly 130 people were killed.

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A niqāb or niqaab, also known as a ruband, is a long garment worn by some Muslim women in order to cover their entire body and face, excluding their eyes. It is an interpretation in Islam of the concept of hijab, and is worn in public and in all other places where a woman may encounter non-mahram men. Most prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula, the niqab is a controversial clothing item in many parts of the world, including in some Muslim-majority countries. The use of face veils has been documented in various ancient cultures, including the Byzantine Empire, Persia, and Arabia. Historical sources mention women’s practices of face veiling. Additionally, Biblical references in Genesis highlight the use of veils, indicating their significance in the cultural traditions of these regions. Coptic Orthodox Christian women traditionally wore dark garments with veils, white for the unmarried and black for the married.