Muslim man in 'Welcome to Heathrow' poster targeted by trolls

Описание: James O'Brien is joined by in an interview with Syed Usman Shah also known as 'The Date Sultan' to discuss how the 'opportunity of a lifetime' became a 'nightmare.'

When Heathrow Airport invited Syed Usman Shah to front its “Welcome” campaign, it was, he says, “probably one of the highlights of my career… one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.”

The 35-year-old entrepreneur, known as The Date Sultan from Borough Market, was photographed in traditional dress, smiling and waving at arrivals. His parents called it “the happiest day of their life.” But days later, he woke at 4am to a flood of notifications.

“I click on the links and I see my images have been shared and I… have been targeted heavily by the far right,” he said... “people are just judging me based off the color of my skin… by the fact that I was Muslim.”

Among the comments: “Why is a brown person there? Why are we celebrating a Muslim?”

As abuse mounted, including threats that “now you’re a target… we can find your family,” Heathrow offered to remove his poster. “I said, no, I don’t want to take it down,” Shah told O’Brien. “Don’t let the opinions of a few put you down.”

Instead, he responded publicly: “I’m not going to fight hate with hate… whoever said all this nasty, racist stuff to me, I forgive you.” He invited critics to meet him for free dates and conversation.

The response went viral, but this time in support. “I’ve just been blown away,” he said. “It really, really makes me feel proud to be British.”

Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewl...

#TypeInPresenterName #TypeInTopic #LBC

LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.

Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/
Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup