Woman, 29, wearing a head scarf to protect herself from the sun is left shaken after being mistaken for a Muslim and told to 'go home'

  • Atheist Erin Murphy was told to 'go home' as she sat in a car with her husband
  • The 29-year-old woman wears a head scarf to protect her skin from harsh sun
  • Bundaberg, Queensland resident has had 10 moles removed since childhood
  • A teenage boy on a bicycle took exception to her covering and yelled at her  

By Stephen Johnson For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 00:01 EST, 20 November 2018 | Updated: 01:01 EST, 20 November 2018

An atheist with pale skin who wears a head scarf to protect herself from the sun was confused for a Muslim and abused on the street.

Erin Murphy, who lives at Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, was with her husband, sitting in the passenger seat of their car, when a teenage boy took exception to her pale, blue head scarf.

The youth on his bike yelled 'go home' to the 29-year-old woman, who wears a head covering to protect her neck from the sun, following a long history of having pre-cancerous moles removed.

An atheist with pale skin who wears a head scarf to protect herself from the sun was confused for a Muslim and yelled at on the street

An atheist with pale skin who wears a head scarf to protect herself from the sun was confused for a Muslim and yelled at on the street

'I s*** you not my darlings, I just had some teenage **** stain on his bike - without his helmet done up - tell me to "go home",' she told her Facebook friends minutes after the encounter.

Ms Murphy said the episode on Targo Street, near Bundaberg's Hinkler Central mall on Monday afternoon, shortly after 4.30, had left had shaken, even though she isn't a Muslim.

'I was bewildered. I was angry and it left me frustrated and generally perplexed,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday. 

'I don't know that person. They don't know me. They can't just assume because I'm wearing a scarf over my head to protect myself from the sun, automatically makes me Muslim.' 

Erin Murphy (pictured), who lives at Bundaberg a four-hour drive north of Brisbane, was with her husband, sitting in the passenger seat of their car, when a teenage boy yelled at her

Erin Murphy (pictured), who lives at Bundaberg a four-hour drive north of Brisbane, was with her husband, sitting in the passenger seat of their car, when a teenage boy yelled at her

The atheist, whose Irish father converted to Islam, said the episode reminded her of the discrimination Muslims faced in Australia.

'Considering my dad was Muslim and I've got a couple of Muslim friends, that's not okay,' she said.

'Although I'm an atheist myself, people have the right to be religious.

'Even if the hijab wasn't a religious thing, it's more of a modesty for women to feel more comfortable going out into town, it's frustrating. It really freaking is.'

A teenager on his bike yelled 'go home' to the 29-year-old woman, who wears a head scarf to protect her neck from the sun (Facebook post describing the incident pictured)

A teenager on his bike yelled 'go home' to the 29-year-old woman, who wears a head scarf to protect her neck from the sun (Facebook post describing the incident pictured)

The woman also suffers from anxiety.

For the past six years, she has worn a head scarf to protect her pale, Irish-Celtic complexion from the sun.

'It actually covers my neck and sunscreen, it's not as effective in physically covering your skin,' she said.  

She has had 10 moles removed, including six which were pre-cancerous.

The first one was removed when she was just five years old.

The atheist (pictured), whose Irish father converted to Islam, said the episode reminded her of the discrimination Muslims faced in Australia

The atheist (pictured), whose Irish father converted to Islam, said the episode reminded her of the discrimination Muslims faced in Australia

'Because I've already had pre-cancerous moles removed, I've got to be extra careful,' Ms Murphy said.

'It's a trait on my father's side of the family for melanoma and cancer in general.'

Ms Murphy, who was born in Sydney and grew up in Bundaberg, said she was no longer angry at the boy, who appeared to be 15 or 16.

'I wouldn't necessarily be angry at him. I'm be angry at how society has demonised people from other countries,' she said.

'I'd probably just sit down with him and say, "Why do you think these things?"

Erin Murphy (pictured), who was born in Sydney and grew up in Bundaberg, said she was no longer angry at the boy, who appeared to be 15 or 16

Erin Murphy (pictured), who was born in Sydney and grew up in Bundaberg, said she was no longer angry at the boy, who appeared to be 15 or 16

The woman had support on Facebook, with a Muslim nurse telling her Islamic women who wore hijabs regularly encountered this kind of abuse

The woman had support on Facebook, with a Muslim nurse telling her Islamic women who wore hijabs regularly encountered this kind of abuse

'"Why do you assume that just because I'm wearing a piece of cloth on my head that I need to go home? This is my home".'

The woman, who also has indigenous heritage, had support on Facebook, with a Muslim nurse telling her Islamic women who wore hijabs regularly encountered this kind of abuse. 

'Unfortunately that's what a lot of us Muslim women go through on a daily basis wish it didn't have to be that way,' she said.

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Atheist wearing a head scarf confused for a Muslim and told to go home by teenage boy on a bicycle

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