Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, shown on video assaulting Shohel Mahmud after he began reciting prayer in Arabic

Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, shown on video assaulting Shohel Mahmud after he began reciting prayer in Arabic

A New York woman who pepper-sprayed a Muslim Uber driver while he was praying has been indicted by the Manhattan district attorney on hate crime charges.

Jennifer Guilbeault, 23, is shown in a surveillance video repeatedly pepper-spraying her Uber driver, Shohel Mahmud. The assault took place in August on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, near the corner of east 65th Street and Lexington Avenue, shortly after Mahmud began reciting a prayer in Arabic.

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Guilbeault’s former employer, the public relations and marketing firm D Pagan Communications, wrote on X it is aware of her actions and “don’t condone this behavior”.

  • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
    110·
    7 hours ago

    Hmm bad Muslim then, as I’m lead to believe from all the Muslims friends I have. You specifically don’t need to pray while traveling. Actively driving would obviously qualify.

    • mosiacmango@lemm.ee
      7·
      7 hours ago

      I’m not going to speak to whether he was required to pray in that instance or not, but the fact remains she heard Arabic from a Muslim man and attacked him.

      I assume him being a “bad Muslim” in your eyes doesn’t excuse the attack, right?

      • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
        22·
        4 hours ago

        I already said it was wrong. Just because someone is a victim doesn’t make their behavior also not wrong though. There’s a time and a place for religious behavior.

        • wildcardology@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 hour ago

          So according to you praying randomly is bad religious behavior? Maybe he’s going through something and a silent prayer gives him relief.

        • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
          3·
          3 hours ago

          Per the first amendment, that time and place are whenever and wherever you want. I’d assume that applies to inside of your own damn car.

          • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
            1·
            23 minutes ago

            Not when your car is your workplace. We’ve seen what happens when people are allowed to practice their religion however they please. Being 2 feet away from someone in a moving vehicle that you’ve paid for transportation is not appropriate. We’ve learned the 1st amendment doesn’t permit you to practice your religion under whatever circumstances you wish. ALSO the law should never be used as a barometer for right and wrong. We often hope it aligns but far too often we see it does not.