A Muslim woman was criticised after she wore a burka emblazoned with weapons in a TV interview about the Manchesterterror attack.
The woman, named only as ‘Sid’, was part of a group of Muslims interviewed by Channel 4 News journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy in the Rusholme area of Manchester, which is home to the largest Libyan community in Europe.
The group vehemently condemned the Manchester Arena attack by 22-year-old suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who is of Libyan descent.
But some viewers criticised Sid over her decision to wear a burka printed with a pistol, grenade, knife and machine gun spelling the word ‘love’.
One wrote: ‘Channel 4 news contributor in full hijab, top to toe with comedy glasses, images of knife & hand grenade emblazoned across the front! Ffs.’
Another Twitter user said: ‘Channel 4 actually broadcast this. Nothing says love like a hand grenade & flick-knife.’
Others branded Sid ‘disgusting’ and accused her of ‘taking the p***'.
The interview formed part of a programme broadcast on Wednesday evening.
In it, Sid said she was ‘devastated’ by the news and urged people to ‘stand together’.
She said: ‘I don’t need to prove anything. I’m a good Muslim, I know I’m a good Muslim, my friends, everyone I interact with, they know I’m a good Muslim.
‘I’m not here to prove anything, but I’m here to say that we need to stand together, stand united, and help fight this. As Manchester, we are standing together.
‘I was at the vigil yesterday, fantastic crowd. We were there together to support each other and that is what we are here for. We will tackle it together.’
Commenting on the decision to include Sid in debate, Channel 4 said: ‘when it was brought to our attention that the woman being interviewed by Krishnan Guru-Murthy was wearing a gun-themed t-shirt, we removed the online versions to investigate.
‘We are now satisfied that the intention of that image is to subvert weaponry and is an anti-violence protest t-shirt.
‘The image was made famous in 2013 when the singer Jennifer Hudson was pictured wearing a very similar design, which spelled out the word “love” in guns and other weapons. She told fans “it’s time to turn all of that into this LOVE”.
‘In this debate members of the local Muslim community gave their reactions to the bombing and the “backlash”. Among the contributions, several spoke of their devastation and also took the chance to speak out against extremism.’