Man Jailed After Attacking Muslim Teen With Bacon And Shouting ‘ISIL Scum’

A London man was jailed after he attacked a Muslim teen with an open packet of bacon. Alex Chivers, 36, has been sentenced to 26 weeks in jail after attacking 17-year-old Ikram Ali — who was with her mother and sister — while shouting “You deserve this” and “ISIL scum,” apparently referencing the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Former President Barack Obama called the terrorist group ISIL during his presidency.

The Guardian reported Friday that the event occurred June 8 in Enfield, north London at around 4:40 p.m. local time. Chivers reportedly attacked the women while his friend, who is still at large, filmed the incident.

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Chivers resides in Waltham Cross, roughly two miles north of where the incident occurred.

Ali spoke with BuzzFeed News about the incident and said she was “suffocated” by the meat product after the man allegedly shoved it into her mouth. Ali was en route with her mother and sister to a polling station at the time she was attacked, at which time she recalled feeling something on her face.

“I was unable to see and breathe for a while and at this point I couldn’t understand why,” Ali said. “I was being suffocated. I thought I was dead. I didn’t know what hit me. It was only when the bacon peeled off my face and it fell to the ground, and the male behind me started shouting ‘bacon, bacon, it’s bacon’ that I started to grasp what was happening to me.”

As per religious rule, Muslims are prohibited from eating pork products.

According to BuzzFeed News, Ali turned around and saw a tall white man wearing a motorcycle helmet. He was pointing at calling her the Islamophobic slur. Ali said that neither passersby in cars nor pedestrians across the street attempted to intervene.

“No one in cars stopped to help, no one across the road tried to help, no one,” said Ali.

Ali also shared her experience on social media, which was in turn shared by members of the Muslim community across multiple platforms.

“This was a truly shocking incident,” said DC James Payne of the Enfield community safety unit. “The victim was out with her mother and getting on with her day when Chivers abused her and then set upon her with something he knew would both upset and offend her.”

He added, “We know other people were present during this attack, including an associate of Chivers who filmed the incident. Inquiries are ongoing to trace these people, and if you have any information that may assist in identifying them, please contact the community safety unit at Enfield via 101.”

“The community safety unit here in Enfield would encourage all victims of hate crime to contact police so that the culprits can be identified and brought to justice,” he said.

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Chivers was sentenced Thursday at the Highbury Corner magistrates court, according to the Guardian. He pleaded guilty to one count of racially or religiously aggravated common assault, and one count of causing racially or religiously aggravated alarm or distress.

Chivers was sentenced to six months in jail for the assault against Ali and her mother and 12 weeks’ imprisonment for a public order offence, which he will serve concurrently. In addition, Chivers was ordered to complete a subsequent year-long supervision order and must pay £115 (roughly $150) for a victim surcharge.