UK: Drunk woman who assaulted employee, shouted racial slurs gets religious exemption

A UK woman last week who drunkenly assaulted a bowling alley employee and shouted racial slurs in public dodged an abstinence order because she is Muslim.

Husina Hussain, 20, was arrested in September at Hollywood Bowl in Greater Manchester after she violently attacked Assistant Manager Ami Singleton. Singleton had approached Hussain, who was drunk and swearing loudly, to remind her that she was in a family-oriented bowling alley. Hussain then slapped Singleton and threw her to the floor, hitting her repeatedly and pulling her hair.

When police arrived, Hussain tried to attack them too, reports the Daily Mail. She then started shouting racial epithets: “You f******g whites, go f**k yourself” and “'You stupid n*****r mother f*****r”.

In 2021, British courts began punishing alcohol-related crimes with Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirements (AAMRs). These prohibit the convict from drinking alcohol for 120 days, enforced by a “sobriety tag” — an electronic ankle bracelet which checks the wearer’s sweat every 30 minutes for traces of alcohol. If alcohol is detected, an alert is sent to the authorities.

But Hussain was spared the AAMR punishment last week after her lawyer, Seraj Khan, told the Tameside Magistrates' Court that it would interfere with her Friday prayers at mosque. Muslims wash their hands and feet before prayer, and Hussain wouldn’t be “fully clean” if she were wearing a sobriety tag. 

“Her faith had got stronger since the incident,” Khan told the judge. “The prospect of wearing an alcohol monitoring tag is causing some concern to her as she now prays regularly and must wash herself fully as part of this. She feels she wouldn't be able to fully clean unless she was able to remove this tag.”

The judge agreed to spare Hussain from an alcohol monitoring program. She also was allowed to complete only 15 days of rehab out of her nine-month community order. After pleading guilty to assault by beating, assault by beating of an emergency worker and racially aggravated harassment, Hussain was ordered to pay £600 ($775) in fines and damages.

Netizens on social media reacted strongly to the news, noting that racial offenses in the UK are typically treated harshly. British citizens who so much as “misgender” online can be arrested in their homes.

But those same actions and views, when espoused by British Muslims, are perceived with a more tolerant eye by authorities. 

According to surveys, over half of British Muslims openly believe same sex attraction (SSA) should be illegal, and nearly half believe one who struggles with SSA should not be allowed to teach in schools. In a 2009 study, 100% of the British Muslims surveyed called SSA immoral. In 2013, 400 Muslim leaders in the UK published an open letter opposing a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. In February, the Association of British Muslims expressed “deep concern” about the Church of England’s embrace of gender ideology and asserted that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. 

While such sentiment would normally be categorized as “hate” and carry harsh repercussions, it is accepted and even respected by British authorities as an integral part of Islam.

This could be attributed to the high level of Muslim integration in British society. Comprising 6.5% of the population in England and Wales, they are the second largest religious group. At least nineteen Muslims serve in the UK Parliament, and Muslim Labour Party member Sadiq Khan has been serving as London’s mayor for nearly a decade. The Muslim name “Mohammed” has been the most popular name for baby boys in England for the last seven years.

But Islamic financial interests in the UK, which began to surge in the seventies, may also be a large factor in the British government’s attitude towards its Muslim citizens.

Qatar, for instance, is the tenth largest landowner in the UK, with 23 million square feet of Britain belonging to the Qatari government. Kuwait is estimated to own roughly £17 billion ($22 billion) in British assets, including shares in British Petroleum, Vodafone, and HSBC. British investments of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE total over £140 billion ($181 billion). The British government also reportedly owes Iran a debt of £400 million ($517 million).

The UK accounts for about 85% of all Islamic banking assets in Europe, according to estimates, more than any other European country (excluding Turkey). There are at least five banks in the UK fully compliant with Sharia law. According to TheCityUK, “the UK is the main hub for Islamic banking in the Western world.”

This week the British government gave billionaire Asif Aziz — considered the seventh richest Muslim in the UK — the green light to convert London’s landmark Trocadero complex into a three-story mosque.