A Muslim man who organized a Taraweeh prayer gathering in Times Square, New York, recently had to deal with an irate passerby who seemed to disagree with what his religion stood for — or what he believed it stood for. The man had previously promoted the voluntary Ramadan night prayer on social media, and although it drew criticism from people who warned they might try to disrupt the gathering, many still showed up in Times Square to join him in prayer as planned.
It’s not clear whether the confrontation happened before or after the prayers, but as he was recording, one very angry New Yorker began confronting him about Muslims. In the short clip the man shared to TikTok, the individual loudly called Muslims pedophiles and claimed they “hate dogs” and “don’t respect women.”
The Muslim man appeared puzzled by the remarks about dogs and asked, “Who hates dogs?” He then blew a kiss toward some dogs nearby being held on leashes by their owners to signal otherwise. Still, the New Yorker continued pressing him, repeatedly asking whether he believed in Sharia law and accusing him of ignoring the questions when he did not respond.
The man ultimately chose to walk away after briefly interacting with another passerby, refusing to escalate the already tense situation.
Online Reactions to the Times Square Incident
In the comments under his TikTok post, netizens were divided on who to support. Some felt the New Yorker’s behavior was uncalled for, with one person writing, “People have no respect man 😔.” Another said, “What’s best is too [sic] walk away from nonsense.”
A few also pushed back against the accusations he made towards Muslims during the confrontation. “They don’t hate women..Every store I go into they are actually nice,” one comment read. Someone else remarked, “Epstein files are out and Muslims are still called pedophiles.. What?”
At the same time, a portion of viewers did side with the New Yorker, with one saying he was “1000% right,” while another added, “Thank you my true fellow New Yorker.”
