A York man has talked of his shock and sadness after he was security checked while buying a bladed article – ‘because of his appearance’.
Azzadean Hadrami said the intervention “made me feel that I was categorised as a terrorist”.
Mr Hadrami, of Tang Hall, was doing some DIY work in his kitchen. He went into the B&M store at Foss Island Retail Park in York to pick up a tool to strip off the wallpaper.
And that’s when things took an unpleasant turn.
“When I got to the till the cashier pressed a button and the alarm went off,” he told YorkMix.
“It calls for the manager to come. And she wanted to verify whether it was OK to sell me this particular product.
“And the manager nodded and said it’s OK. But I was curious to know why she needed to query me. And I said, ‘is it an age restriction?’
“I wanted to confirm I was well over the age of 18! And she said no, it was because of the way I looked.
“That is a clear indication that, because I have an Asian background with a beard, and I am a Muslim, it was the profile she was referring to.
“It made me feel that I was categorised as a terrorist.”
‘Horrified and embarrassed’
Mr Hadrami said he felt “horrified, saddened by the fact that it was happening.
“I was quite embarrassed, because there’s quite a lot of people behind me in the queue.
“It stopped the whole floor with the sounding of the alarm, and the manager having to come.
“It felt uncomfortable. I was quite shocked, to be honest with you.”
A spokesperson for B&M said the security check was based on the Challenge 25 initiative – where a supervisor is involved if people who appear to be underage try to buy a bladed article.
Mr Hadrami said he initially assumed “it was an age restriction thing” and was quite flattered – because he is 46.
“That wasn’t the case. She said it wasn’t down to age, but down to the way I looked.”
He is going to complain to the store and write to his MP about his treatment.
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, told YorkMix:
“It is deeply concerning that Mr. Hadrami was targeted due to his race.
Not only should the store apologise, but they need to take a serious look at the way they train their staff.
It is completely unacceptable.
“I am seriously troubled by the number of racist incidences that I am hearing about in the city and I am working with local organisations about how we can truly live up to being a Human Rights City where we promote equality for everyone.”