(ALPHARETTA, GA – 11/25/2019) The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is investigating an incident of anti-Muslim harassment that allegedly occurred at a Nordstrom Rack department store in Alpharetta last week.
VIDEO: Anti-Muslim Incident at Nordstrom Rack
On Saturday, Nov. 16th, a Georgia Muslim family was visiting Nordstrom Rack North Point Market Center located at 6200 North Point Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA 30022 when an unidentified customer harassed them.
While three Muslim children aged 11 to 13, including two girls wearing hijabs, were sitting on the floor in the toy aisle reading a book, an unidentified white female walked past them multiple times, left the aisle, and then returned.
The woman then kicked a box across the floor; it slid past the children, nearly hitting one of them. When the children looked up at the woman, she asked why they were staring at her. The children said they were not staring at her, at which point the woman said to the girls wearing hijabs, “Who looks different here? Me or you?”
One of the children left to alert their parents, who found the woman in a clothing section. When the parents asked the woman whether she had a problem with black people, she responded, “I love black people. I have a problem with Muslims.” She also said the children were “sitting on the floor like rugrats,” and proceeded to make bigoted remarks about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (may peace and prayers be upon him).
The family captured the aftermath of the incident on a cell phone camera. The footage shows the parents arguing with the woman about her conduct. It also shows a Nordstrom security guard ordering the family to leave instead of the woman who started the incident.
The security guard and store manager later apologized to the family. Nordstrom’s corporate office has told CAIR Georgia that it is unable to identify the customer because she did not purchase any goods, and that security camera footage only captured the aftermath of the incident because some cameras in the store were not functioning.
Email [email protected] or call 404-419-6390 if you have any information about this incident.