Social Experiment
Hamdi Mahisen dressed as an Imam and walked around in Milan as part of a social experiment.Reuters

As part of a social experiment, when an Egyptian student braved the streets of Milan dressed as an Imam, he was branded "Taliban Sh*t" and "ISIS" by the public. A hidden camera recorded the reaction of the public as Hamdi Mahisen, dressed in white robes, walked around in Milan carrying a Koran.

Mahisen, 30, walked around the north Italian city for over five hours in a bid to estimate the general sentiment of the public towards Muslims, reports Internation Business Times. Some called him a "Taliban s**t", while one asked: "Have you seen the Isis?" Another wondered, "Imagine if he has a gun under his tunic."

Following the emergence of the Islamic State in Syria and the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks, there has been a surge in Islamophobia in Europe.

"This social experiment was to check the tolerance of Milan's citizens towards Muslims or someone who is dressed as an Imam," Mahisen told La Repubblica.

Last week, French Jewish Journalist Zvika Klein had released a similar video. Klein had donned a kippah for his social experiment and recorded the insults he received while walking the streets of Paris for ten hours.

Meanwhile, a Swedish journalist who was conducting a social experiment along the same lines was attacked in the Swedish city of Malmo.