Police frisk man in Muslim dress – moments after letting him walk past in Western clothes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRLkwkG5nPE&list=UU0W6NYJ_y7cd3laVfaSOl0A

A shocking video that apparently shows a New York police officer pushing two Muslim men up against a wall just because of how they are dressed has sparked fury online.

YouTube star Adam Saleh uploaded the video to the internet after claiming he had had enough of police officers ‘racially profiling’ him when he is dressed in traditional Muslim clothing.

Adam runs a YouTube account called TrueStoryASA with his friend Sheikh Akbar where the two young men make funny and prank videos.

However, they decided to make a new video for their 650,000 subscribers after becoming frustrated at police following them when they are dressed in traditional Muslim attire.

In the three minute video, branded “messed up and cruel” by online fans of the pair, the two young men are first seen wearing western clothing and having an argument in American accents.

A police officer stands close by and appears to watch as the two play out a row that, at one point, gets physical. Despite Adam ‘threatening’ and pushing Sheikh, the officer does nothing.

Just 20 minutes later, the two young men have changed into traditional Muslim dress and are walking past the officer again. They again pretend to have an argument but the officer, who appears to have no clue it is the same men as earlier, instantly steps in and demands to know what is going on.

The officer, whose face is blurred throughout, asks the men what is going on, but when he is told it’s nothing, asks sternly: “What’s all the arguing about, why are you dressed like this?”

Adam and Sheikh attempt to tell the officer there is nothing going on and walk off, before the cop demands they not walk away and pushes them up against the wall. He is then seen frisking Adam, asking: “What is this? Is it a gun? Is it a knife?”. It was a mobile phone.

Sheikh is then pushed up against the wall and searched before Adam takes off his headdress and tells the officer: “I’m the same guy as before. I came 20 minutes earlier, we hit each other and you did nothing.”

In a posting on his Twitter account, omgAdamSaleh, Adam said: “And this doesn’t just happen to me, it also happens with Muslim women wearing hijab and people with a skin color that isn’t white. Don’t think this is gonna stop me from wearing my Arab clothes…Ima continue to wear it and film what I want without any harm to anyone.”

Viewers immediately took to Twitter to attack the officer’s behaviour, which many claimed was depressingly familiar.

One user, adams_habibi, said: “These words literally show how intolerant that officer was, I can do nothing but shake my head”, while another called ThatAriHipster, said: “Really sad of what this world has come to this need to be stopped”.

Daily Mirror, 19 October 2014