DAR AL HARB - SWEDEN: "HEAD TO TOE BAG" TRIES TO BOAR A BUS, THE BUS DRIVER STOPS IT, NOW HE IS FIRED

Bus driver sacked after Muslim veil incident

A Malmö bus driver has been fired from his job following revelations that he stopped a woman from boarding his bus because she was wearing a niqab, a form of Islamic headdress that covers the face.

The bus company, Arriva, has elected not to extend the driver's contract, suggesting that this was not an isolated incident.

"What happened last week was the straw that broke the camel's back," spokesman Daniel Stjernfeldt told newspaper Punkt SE. The incident occurred last Tuesday morning when 'Leonora' boarded the number 35 bus on her usual route between the Rosengård housing estate and the city's central station. According to Leonora, the driver stopped her from boarding, saying that her niqab made her hard to identify.

"I have never before needed to identify myself on a public bus. This wasn't a weapon I was carrying," she told The Local.

Leonora stayed on the bus anyway, but claims that the driver mocked her and looked at her angrily."I can understand that people don't like it, but I think they should leave their prejudices at home," she said.

While admitting that it was inappropriate not to let the 22-year-old woman board his bus, the driver does not think he deserves to lose his job. "I have nothing against her personally, or her religion," he told Punkt SE. According to the driver, it was the first time that a woman wearing a niqab had tried to board his bus. He found her clothing inappropriate and felt very uncomfortable.

He also said that he had read that about it being illegal to cover your face in public.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Bus driver sacked after Muslim veil incident