Moroccan telling cashier to wear headscarf to be deported

Çetin Aydın - ISTANBUL

A Moroccan citizen filmed at a supermarket in Istanbul while trying to convince a female cashier to wear a headscarf will be deported.

“They sell alcohol and cigarettes in this market. Normally you don’t need to show your hair. It’s a sin. Why are you?” Marouane El Alagui said to the cashier in Esenyurt district. He was detained after the video footage sparked great reaction on social media.

El Alagui was handed over to the removal center in Tuzla district for deportation procedures.

A customer who witnessed the event reacted harshly to El Alagui and started recording with her phone camera. “This is the Republic of Türkiye, are you aware?” she said, and “I know where I am. Thank God there is Islam here, right?” he replied.

Continuing to shoot, the woman said, “We live here in a democratic country. It’s none of your business who works where or what they do.”

After the video spread on social media, the police teams identified the foreign national and detained him on the charge of “provoking the public with grudge and hate speech.”

It has turned out El Alagui has made similar remarks to another female cashier previously.

Nearly 1.3 million legal foreigners are living in Istanbul, the city with a population of 16 million, according to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management. However, foreigners can no longer apply for a residence permit in eight of Istanbul’s districts, Esenler, Küçükçekmece, Başakşehir, Bağcılar, Avcılar, Bahçelievler, Sultangazi and Zeytinburnu.