A Saudi woman claims to have suffered humiliation and abuse at a German airport for refusing to take off her veil in public for a security inspection. Saudi daily Al-Watan reported on Wednesday that the incident occurred two days ago at Munich airport, exposing the growing animosity and anti-Muslim sentiment in Western countries.
The paper quoted the woman as saying that she and her daughter were returning home after spending time in Germany for medical treatment. They stopped at the inspection point and the mother asked a female inspector if she needed to take off her coat but got no answer, while another female employee answered brusquely that she had to remove it.
“After we crossed the inspection point,” the woman said, “an employee came to me and asked to remove my veil, which I refused to do, asking her to use the electronic detector and pass it on my head. “The employee refused and started yelling at me, attracting the attention of the people around, so I asked her if I can do it in an isolated place or behind a curtain … So she started cursing me as she indicated a small room,” the woman said. “I was trying to fight my tears and told her that her behavior is not respectful and does not reflect the democracy they talk about,” she said.
The woman then said that “a man came close to me and also started yelling at me and hitting me on the shoulder screaming ‘this is Germany’. “Then,” the woman said, “the supervisor intervened and called on the employee who hit me to apologize, but he refused and started yelling again without taking into considering my old age and illness”.