Katie Freeman, a 44 year-old white British woman received horrific abuse in the street as she spent a week living as a Muslim for the Channel 4 documentary.
She was called a “f***ing Muslim” and comments such as “Are you going to blow us up” were directed at her as she walked around the city center wearing a hijab.
She was totally stunned by the abuse that she faced. “That's what they [Muslims] have to put up with all the time, don't they? What harm am I doing walking down there? Absolutely no harm,” Katie said on the show.
“And what did they [mean] about blowing things up and stuff like that? F***ing idiots. It just sickens me the stuff they've shouted to me but it's only a few days isn't it? I can take this [the hijab] off and go back to being Katie and they probably wouldn't even make a comment would they?” she further added.
Following her week as a Muslim, Katie started to see things differently and admitted that earlier she was prejudiced toward Muslims.
She said that the whole Muslim community should not be blamed for one person's “mindless act of terror”.
“Just because they choose to live their life differently from mine doesn't mean they're any less welcome to be here. We have to be strong and put on a united front,” Katie said.
TV producers at Channel 4 admitted they wanted to make the show to challenge perceptions and "educate" the country.
The show received an avalanche of responses after the audience saw what abuse Katie had faced. Many expressed how "ashamed" they felt after watching Katie Freeman being harassed just for looking like a Muslim woman.
— maggie (@maggiecrowley_) October 23, 2017
"The ignorance and outright hate is SO horrible. It’s so sad and embarrassing and I hope they’re ashamed,” one Tweet read.
Another one said, "Just watched about a minute of ‘My week as a Muslim’ and what I witnessed is absolutely shocking behaviour."
— জাভেদ Ⓥ (@sighyalater) October 17, 2017
Another simply wrote: "Wow. People are so ignorant."
Some viewers admitted it had been "eye opening" and "thought provoking".
"My week as a Muslim on @Channel4 was a good watch and a eye opener for a lot of people,” one Tweet said.
— Riaerhys Targaryen (@riamichaelss) October 23, 2017
