The stabbing in a London subway station on Saturday drew a defiant response from one bystander that has resonated with people throughout Britain: “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv.”
According to police, a 29-year-old man allegedly shouted “this is for Syria” before stabbing a man and threatening others with a knife before police subdued the attacker with a stun gun.
Prosecutors have called the attack an “act of terrorism.”
READ MORE: UK police say stabbing at London Underground a ‘terrorist incident’
Several witnesses took posted a video of the incident to Twitter that showed police officers taking down the knife wielding man.
In one video posted to YouTube, a man can be heard yelling out “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv,” to the suspect as he is arrested.
“You’re no Muslim, bruv. You ain’t no Muslim.”
“Bruv” is London slang, similar to “bro” or “brother” in North America.
The hashtag #YouAintNoMuslimBruv quickly spread through Twitter as a way of condemning violent attacks as having nothing to do with Islam.
The colloquial phrase even received praise from Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron who called the statement “brilliant.”
“Let me also pay credit to the person – you can’t quite see who it is from the film – who made that brilliant statement about ‘you ain’t no Muslim,'” Cameron told reporters during a press conference Monday.
“Some of us have dedicated speeches and media appearances and sound bites and everything on this subject, but ‘You ain’t no Muslim bruv’ said it all much better than I ever could. Thank you, that will be applauded around the country.”
The attacker in the stabbing incident has been identified as Muhaydin Mire and has been charged with attempted murder. He appeared in court on Monday where prosecutors called Saturday’s knife attack at Leytonstone Underground station “an act of terrorism.”
*With files from the Associated Press
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