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Not Guilty! Muslim Faced Life Imprisonment After A Handshake

Yousef Mohammad Muslet was accused of burglary & battery after a conversation with a man about Allah and a handshake

Yousef Mohammad Muslet
Yousef Mohammad Muslet sitting in the middle with his attorneys, @ytelsum1/Instagram

On the 20th of December 2015, Yousef Mohammad Muslet, from South Florida, was outside of his home with his two children when a truck departing from his neighbor's house honked at Yousef and his two children. Yousef stopped the truck and had a conversation with the two men inside.They conversed about Islam and Mr. Muslet spoke about his desire to visit the local church, during the conversation Mr. Muslet mentioned Allah and the men shared a handshake.

On December 29th, 2015, nine days after the seemingly normal event, Palm Beach County Police had a warrant issued for the arrest of Yousef Mohammad Muslet. Hal Howard, the 65-year-old man from the truck had contacted the police and accused Yousef of battering and burglarizing him. The 65-year-old man was scared that Mr. Muslet, who was dressed in traditional Islamic clothing was a radical Muslim because he had mentioned Allah during their conversation.

CAIR(Council on American-Islamic Relations) reported, that Hal's claims of battery came from Mr. Muslet shaking his hand violently when he tried to leave the party, during the trial Hal emphasized the basis of the report being that Yousef was Muslim.

Mr. Muslet faced life imprisonment if he was found guilty of the events, CAIR's Florida division aided Mr. Muslet during his trial by providing attorneys to assist him.

The court heard five hours worth of witness testimonies and recorded evidence. The Judge found Yousef Mohammad Muslet not guilty and acquitted him of all charges.

Lead Defense Counsel Flynn Bertisch told CAIR, "Handshakes are meant to bring us together; not tear us apart,".

I would like to thank @cairflorida especially Thania Clevenger, Omar Saleh and Flynn Bertisch. They represented me in my case. I found Not Guilty on all charges. I was facing up to life in prison if convicted. It's been 9 months and 9 days since my arraest on the 29th of December. I want to also thank everyone who kept me in their prayers. #handshake #trial #islamophobia #truth #justice #alhamdulillahforeverything

A photo posted by Yousef Mohammad Muslet (@ytelsum1) on