ANN ARBOR — A Muslim woman was stopped while driving home from work here on Sunday by a man who pointed a gun at her after making racial comments. 

The 21-year-old woman asked not to be identified and wears a traditional Islamic headscarf. She was stopped at a red light when the man started honking his car horn at her. According to the Council on American Islamic Relations of Michigan (CAIR-MI) the alleged assailant then shouted “you don’t belong here,” “your people need to be killed,” and “you’re a terrorist.” 

He swerved towards the woman’s vehicle and pointed a handgun at her. After the man saw her on the phone calling police he drove off.   

The woman tells The Arab American News she’s concerned that the Ann Arbor Police Department stopped working on the case Monday and apologized for not being able to help her further. She managed to get the plate number on the man’s car, but police were not able to track it down. It may have been taken down wrong while the victim was in a state of panic. 

CAIR-MI has requested a federal investigation on the incident from the FBI.  A representative from the Muslim civil rights group said the FBI’s involvement would send a message that the nation will not tolerate the targeting of religious minorities. 

The woman said she is not afraid of continuing to wear her headscarf in public. “I am who I am and I’m not going to change my faith,” she said. The woman claims after her name was disclosed in a news report she started receiving hate-filled voicemails and messages on Facebook. She says it’s unfortunate some were from Muslims condemning her for discussing the incident publicly. “They said it makes us look bad. It doesn’t make us look bad.” 

She stands by her decision to report the incident and encourages others to do the same when they become the victims of hate crimes. The woman said speaking out against hate crimes will help put an end to the growing anti-Muslim sentiment growing around the country.   “That’s why we are where we are…no one stands up,” she said.

CAIR has called on the FBI to investigate vandalism at a mosque in Iowa as a hate crime. It also asked the agency to investigate a Tennessee road rage incident involving a Muslim woman and her son who claim they were targeted with death threats and anti-Muslim slurs by a driver carrying a knife.