This photo of a young woman smiling in the face of an EDL (English Defence League) member at a march in Birmingham has been shared over thousands of times on the internet.
Saffiyah Khan from Birmingham was captured by Press Association photographer, Joe Giddens, smirking at newly elected leader of the EDL, Ian Crossland on Saturday. Ms Khan, who is of Pakistani and Bosnian ethnicity, said she interrupted when a woman in a headscarf was the subject of an angry EDL member’s rant.
Ms Khan told BBC News that she had remained quiet and didn’t say anything at the protest until she saw the woman being harassed. As seen in the picture, Mr Crossland is pictured as quite aggressive, with Ms Khan adding, “He put his finger in my face. It was very aggressive. A police officer was there and the man took his finger out of my face. I wouldn’t have responded violently.”
Ms Khan’s ability to remain calm and defiant whilst facing the hate-fuelled, Islamophobic slurs of Mr Crossland has been praised by many on various social media platforms, including Piers Morgan and Labour MP Jess Phillips.
**PHOTO OF THE WEEK**
Enraged EDL racist stared down by amused, contemptuous Asian woman. #Birmingham
(via @AlexisTrust) pic.twitter.com/5kBdrrgvGf— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) April 8, 2017
Who looks like they have power here, the real Brummy on the left or the EDL who migrated for the day to our city and failed to assimilate pic.twitter.com/bu96ALQsOL
— Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) April 8, 2017
Members of the EDL have reacted in many different ways. Many of them have tried defending Mr Crossland, saying that Ms Khan was part of the group that interrupted the minute silence observed for the victims of the Stockholm attack, however, Ms Khan told the BBC that she wasn’t present at the protest during the minute silence. Tommy Robinson, founder and former leader of the English Defence League, was one of the few EDL supporters to acknowledge the truth behind the picture.
https://twitter.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/851344951329923072
Mr Crossland, also shared his views on the photo via Facebook.
"She's lucky she's got any teeth left". Vile #EDL leader responds to the heroic woman who defied him in Birmingham. Via @hopenothate pic.twitter.com/Vq8VuG0dcI
— Bob From Brockley ? (@bobfrombrockley) April 10, 2017
Just from reading the Facebook post, we can already feel the aggression and hate Ms Khan had to face during the march, but her unfazed expression tells us how she didn’t let it get to her. And for that Saffiyah Khan is truly iconic. Never stoop to the level of a small-minded racist.
