The couple that was the target of an anti-Muslim rant at a Walgreens in Fort Lauderdale said they forgave the woman who hurled the insults at them.
Nahla Ebaid and her husband and friends were on vacation in South Florida on March 31 when Luba Bozanich started hurling insults in the checkout line.
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"God, you’re ugly, no wonder people hate you," Bozanich is heard saying in the video. "I’m getting away from the Muslim."
Ebaid pulled out her phone and started recording. The video has since gone viral.
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"I was shocked, it’s disgusting," Ebaid said. "She was aggressive and she started insulting my clothes my hijab, my friends, my religion."
The video goes on to show Bozanich calling police, telling the dispatchers that she was the one being threatened.
Police say this all started when Bozanich refused to put on a face mask even after employees asked her to do so.
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When officers arrived, they took Bozanich into custody and planned to charge her with battery for spitting on Ebaid's husband.
But then the couple changed their minds.
“She apologized and we accept her apology," Ebaid said. "This is from our religion, we have to forgive and give another chance."
Bozanich, a licensed therapist, told NBC 6 she didn't wear her mask because of a medical condition.
“I apologized for what I said," Bozanich said. "It was wrong of me -- period.”
As ugly an encounter as this was for Ebaid, now she is hoping to turn insults into something empowering.
“Don’t be scared to stand for your rights because we as Muslims, Americans, as a human, we have all the rights, equal rights," she said.
