Hijabs Torn Off as Muslim Women Attacked at World Cup
CAIR-LA says Muslim women were assaulted, spat on and had their headscarves torn off during matches in Los Angeles, prompting calls for a criminal investigation and stronger security measures.
By Abdullahi Yusuf
Women wearing the hijab were allegedly punched, kicked, spat on and stripped of their headscarves during matches at the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles, prompting a leading Muslim civil rights organisation to demand a criminal investigation into what it described as targeted anti-Muslim attacks.
The incidents reportedly took place during and after Iran’s World Cup fixtures against New Zealand and Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where several Muslim women and supporters carrying Iranian and Palestinian flags were subjected to physical assaults and verbal abuse.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), which documented the allegations through witness accounts and evidence gathered from victims, said the attacks extended beyond the stadium into coordinated online harassment campaigns.
According to the organisation, some victims were later subjected to doxxing, with their home addresses, telephone numbers and workplaces allegedly circulated online in an apparent attempt to intimidate them.
CAIR-LA has called on the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, the Inglewood Police Department and World Cup organisers to launch a full investigation, prosecute those responsible and strengthen security arrangements to protect spectators attending the remaining tournament fixtures.
Among the incidents highlighted was a confrontation following Iran’s match against New Zealand on 16 June, which was captured in a widely shared video.
The footage showed an Iranian-American activist, described as holding monarchist political views, confronting a woman wearing the hijab while carrying an Iranian flag.
The activist repeatedly called the woman a “terrorist”, filmed her while shouting insults and later defended her actions on social media.
According to CAIR-LA, the activist subsequently published what she claimed was the woman’s professional profile and encouraged authorities to examine her immigration status, an action the organisation described as targeted intimidation.
The reported attacks come against the backdrop of longstanding political divisions within sections of the Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles, particularly between opponents of the Iranian government, including some monarchist activists, and other members of the Iranian community.
Those tensions have increasingly surfaced during Iran’s World Cup matches, where demonstrations, political slogans and protests against the national team have accompanied several fixtures.
Some protesters have also displayed the pre-revolutionary Sun and Lion flag, a political symbol whose display has been restricted by FIFA at tournament venues.
However, CAIR-LA argued that political disagreements cannot justify violence directed at Muslim women or spectators expressing their religious identity.
The organisation said assaults targeting women because they wear the hijab amount to acts of Islamophobic violence rather than legitimate political protest, warning that treating such incidents as an inevitable consequence of political divisions risks normalising attacks on Muslims.
The group urged law enforcement authorities and tournament organisers to ensure the safety of all spectators regardless of their religion, ethnicity or political views and to take stronger measures to prevent similar incidents during the remainder of the competition.
The reported assaults have renewed concerns over the safety of visibly Muslim women attending major international sporting events, particularly amid rising incidents of anti-Muslim hatred and religiously motivated harassment in several Western countries.
No arrests or official findings relating to the reported incidents had been announced at the time of reporting. World Cup organisers and the relevant law enforcement agencies have yet to publicly respond to CAIR-LA’s calls for an investigation.
SPONSORED
SPONSORED
