Two Muslim tourists were asked by a security guard, “Where’s the ticker?” and “Where’s the stick of dynamite?”
sparked a racism controversy at the British Museum.
On Thursday, the event happened while Birmingham natives Altaf Kazi, 37, and Umar Malik, both from Birmingham, were traveling to London for a work “away day.”
When the security guard asked each of them in turn about “bombs,” Mr. Kazi, the Blood Transfusion Service’s head of communications and engagement, and Mr. Malik, the organization’s partnerships manager, were having their bags searched.
Four coworkers were lined up and waiting. According to Mr. Kazi, two of my coworkers checked their baggage without being questioned before me.
The security guard opened my suitcase as I was about to place it on the table and asked, “Where’s the ticker?”
“You shouldn’t be killing all of humanity, but saving all of humanity,” he continued.
Mr Malik then walked up for his security check and was asked: ‘Where’s the stick of dynamite?’
Mr. Kazi expressed his shock at the manner in which he was questioned in a post on his LinkedIn profile.
We both left the room in utter disbelief at what had been spoken. We actually laughed and spoke about, “Did that just happen?”
‘After we recovered from our astonishment, we informed management and the information desk. They were horrified by what we had just gone through and took swift action.
Another coworker who witnessed our reaction later revealed to us that yesterday on a stall, he had been urged to return to his rightful place. The day is different, same s**t.
Mr. Kazi, a resident of Handsworth Wood, said: “After the incident, my colleague and I were debating whether or not we should bring this up as a concern. Then we were reminded of the saying, “The standard you accept is what you’re willing to walk past.”
This caused us to raise our voices and speak to the information desk.
Even the receptionist was embarrassed by what she was hearing. Our initial reaction was shock, which later gave way to acceptance.
Regardless of who you are or what you do, we must always report these incidents.
We wondered what it would mean for us to ignore this incident and whether we should accept it. We shouldn’t, either.
The British Museum expressed regret for the incident today.
Visitors to [the] Museum encountered inappropriate behaviour at our search facility on Thursday, June 30.
They reported the incident right away, and a senior security manager arrived right away to discuss it with them and offer an apology on behalf of the Museum.
Despite the fact that they opted not to file a formal complaint, we took the situation seriously because we do not tolerate inappropriate behavior and moved quickly to address it with the employee in question.
We would like to reiterate our sincere apologies for their experience and state that the Museum is an inclusive space for all communities.
When the exchange was shared on LinkedIn and Twitter, people were shocked.
The community organizer for Citizens UK Birmingham, Saidul Haque Saeed, responded, “The brazen nature of this. Not the slightest concern about the repercussions of expressing this to someone.
Hasan Patel, a communications specialist, continued, “British Museum, I really hope you act and investigate into what happened. Racism in any form is unacceptable.
Muslims are the second-least popular group in the UK, behind Gypsies and Irish Travelers, according to a recent University of Birmingham study on public attitudes toward various ethnic and religious groups. 25.9% of the British public has a negative opinion of Muslims.