JEDDAH: In London wearing too much clothing in hot weather is not only a fashion crime, but may also leave you being stopped and searched by police.
A Muslim man discovered this the hard way when he was stopped, handcuffed and searched in a London street by officers as he walked to a nearby mosque to pray.
The police claimed the unnamed man was stopped because the three layers of clothing he was wearing in the height of summer, with temperatures peaking at 25°C, gave cause for suspicion.
In a statement released by the man through Documenting Oppression Against Muslims (DOAM), he said he was rushing to the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park for Friday prayers. “I was rushing to Jummah Salat (Friday prayer) and, when I was near the Masjid (mosque) all of a sudden the police come and put handcuffs on me,” said the man. “The woman (who stopped me) — the undercover police officer said I was wearing too many clothes… but I was wearing two layers of clothes.”
In a video shot by a man, who said he was Muslim and wanted to document the encounter, the police can be seen searching the handcuffed man’s clothes.
“The police falsely accused me of carrying a weapon,” the man’s statement added. “They searched me and found nothing as usual.”
He was released shortly after. “They took my date of birth, address and name and they let me go,” he added.
Muslim man stopped, handcuffed and searched because he was wearing too many clothes!
— DOAM (@doamuslims)
