A Muslim bus driver in Stockholm refused to let a woman board his bus as he and another two others began praying in the vehicle.
The incident took place on Friday evening with the woman later saying that she thought no one would believe her story.
On Monday, local Moderate Party politician Kristoffer Tamsons confirmed the story, stating on Facebook that the driver’s actions were “unacceptable”.
He stated that he had begun an investigation into the matter to seek clarification on how employees are allowed to practice their religion while onboard public vehicles and the standards of the transport boards in general.
According to news website Nyheter Idag, the woman said that she found the driver, along with two boys, kneeling on the seats of the bus engaging in prayer. When she attempted to board and knocked on the door of the bus, they ignored her and left her outside in the rain.
She said that while she was let on the vehicle after the trio had stopped praying, the driver became aggressive because she had disturbed him during his prayer.
The woman, uncomfortable about riding on the bus with the man, called her friend who came and picked her up in his car.
Moderate politician Hanif Bali, known for his outspoken anti-mass migration views, posted a picture of the bus driver praying on the bus saying: “A woman was not allowed on a bus in Värmdö late at night, the bus driver had prayer time with his children. After the prayer time, he acted threateningly against the woman. I guess it’s Mormons.”
The Islamic call to prayer made headlines in Sweden last year when police in the Swedish city of Växjö agreed to let the local mosque publicly broadcast the call after requests from the local Muslim community, despite some resistance from locals.
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