Saffiyah Khan Tells the Story Behind the Viral Photo of Her Laughing in the Face of the EDL

The woman photographed smiling in the face of the English Defence League’s (EDL) leader has revealed the story behind the viral image, after she attracted an overwhelming amount of support on social media.

The photo, taken by the Press Association’s Joe Giddens, was widely shared on Twitter and Facebook after the EDL’s march in Birmingham. It shows Saffiyah Khan calmly smiling while being confronted by Ian Crossland, the leader of the far-right group, while a police officer stands between the pair in an attempt to separate them.

The image has since been shared on Twitter by the likes of Labour MP Jess Phillips and Piers Morgan, who noted Saffiyah Khan’s “contemptuous” smile while staring down a vehement Crossland. Now Khan has spoken out about the story behind the viral photo, saying that she was “was not scared in the slightest” while observing the EDL’s march.

Khan, who was born in the UK and is half-Pakistani, half-Bosnian, told the BBC that she had stepped in to “defend a fellow Brummie” after a counter-protester wearing a blue hijab was surrounded by EDL supporters. Khan, who revealed that was “quite surprised” by the reaction to the photo, said: “I don’t like seeing people getting ganged up on in my town.”

She added that she initially kept away from the protest, but stepped in after a woman who had shouted “Islamophobe” at the EDL protesters was promptly surrounded by them.

“A group of 25 quite big-looking EDL lads, they surrounded her,” she said. “She was 360 surrounded… I stepped forward and identified myself as someone who supported her and contradicted them.”

She added: “He [Ian Crossland] put his finger in my face. It was very aggressive. A police officer was there and the man took his finger out of my face. I wouldn’t have responded violently.”

In a photograph taken after the confrontation, Khan is shown being escorted away from the EDL march by a police officer. The EDL have claimed that Khan was part of a group who had interrupted a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the Stockholm attack, though other members and some of the group’s official Twitter accounts have claimed that it was held in memory of the Westminster attacks.

https://twitter.com/EssexEdl/status/851166032203051013

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson tweeted out against the group’s behaviour, confirming that Khan was “defending a woman in a navy hijab.” In another tweet, he added: “I don’t care how many people don’t like me saying that, the truth is the truth. & the picture is embarrassing.”

Featured Image Credit: Facebook / Saffiyah Khan