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Home / World

Muslim-American woman films man who calls her a 'b****' - before asking if she has a green card

Daily Mail
30 Jan, 2017 11:48 PM5 mins to read

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Hijab wearing woman was asked if she had a green card while sitting in an Atlanta cafe

A video showing a Muslim-American woman remaining calm while being harassed and called a "b****" in an Atlanta-area coffee shop has gone viral.

Asma Elhuni was sitting at a table in Joe's Coffee Shop in the East Atlanta Village on January 28 when a man, later identified by several news outlets as Rob Koehler, apparently took a photo of her.

Elhuni, who was working on her computer at the time, told Creative Loafing that she looked up and saw the man aiming his phone at her as if he was taking a photo.

The 39-year-old then started recording a video when she asks him what he's doing.

"Hi Rob, you like taking pictures?" Elhuni asks him. "You like taking pictures of me in particular?"

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The man laughs and asks "are you getting offended?" while putting his phone away.

Elhuni, an American citizen and a Georgia State University political science graduate student who is also a legislative intern for State Representative Brenda Lopez, said no and wondered why he was taking a photo of her.

The man continues to stand there and laugh before saying "that's a good question".

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Elhuni then says "This is Rob from Atlanta", to which he denies being from the city and claims to be from Detroit instead.

"Why are you so uptight?' he asks Elhuni. "Yeah, what's got you off-kilter?"

Elhuni responds, "I'd like to know why you're coming in here taking a picture of me."

Rob, who by now is sitting in front of Elhuni, states: "I'm standing in a coffee shop, which I thought was interesting.

"I see this guy sitting here looks like he's the DJ, and I thought it was a really chill place, so being from Detroit I took a shot of the coffee shop and that guy sitting there, who's obviously not the DJ, and we were going to have a laugh.

"I was going to share that on Facebook. And then you started acting like a b****."

Elhuni then calmly asks, "so now I'm a b****?", to which he simply says "yes you are".

"Because I asked you why you're taking a picture of me, I'm a b****?' she asks Rob for a second time.

He replies, "very nice to meet you," and motions as if he's going to get up from the table.

Elhuni then asks Rob what his occupation is, but he replied asking her "do you have a green card?"

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Elhuni, who is an American citizen, asks incredulously, "So you think I'm not American?"

Rob was then corralled away by another man and they exited the coffee shop together.

Elhuni shared the shocking video on her Facebook page on January 28 and it's already been viewed more 1.3 million times.

"Fight back with your cameras y'all. This is Rob from Detroit. He came in and thought it's ok to take his camera out and take a pic of me," Elhuni wrote on the post.

"I asked are you taking a pic of me? He said yes. I said why, he said I want to.

"So I took out my phone and started recoding [sic] him. spread widely. Racists feel emboldened now."

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Elhuni, a Muslim who wears a hijab, has received an outpouring of support since sharing the exchange on social media.

Facebook user Mais T Salman-AbuJrees posted a screenshot in the comments on the video showing a photo of the same coffee shop and a message from a man named Rob Koehler describing the incident as him being "confronted by a Muslim activist".

"I was confronted by a Muslim activist at this coffee shop. She was concerned I was taking her picture," the message posted from a Facebook profile allegedly belonging to the man reads.

"As you can see by this image she was not even in it. I thought it was a really neat environment and I was going to share it on Facebook. Asma Elhundi then accosted me for simply taking a picture.

"Her radical friends then started contacting me and telling me they were going to kill me. I could say at this moment that I agree with Donald trumps [sic] stance on immigration.

"But the truth is I don't, this is a land of immigrants. To all my friends, family, colleagues, clients and vendors my apologies.

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"I could've handled the situation better. I will get better and be better from this experience. Thank you Asma I have learned and I will grow from this experience."

DailyMail.com has tried to contact the man reportedly identified in the video as Rob Koehler.

Joe's Coffee Shop wrote on Facebook: "There is a video floating around on Facebook of an encounter with one of our dear customers and a man saying horrible things to her.

"We DO NOT condone such behavior and are, frankly, disgusted by it. Joe's is a welcoming place, a SAFE space for people of all races, colors, and sex, etc.

"If you are ever in our store and feel threatened or uncomfortable please tell a staff member. PLEASE remember to love people and show kindness always."

The confrontation comes on the heels of President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration that bans entry into the country for people travelling from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Libya, where Elhuni is originally from.

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His ban sparked protests across the country and world over the weekend.

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