WATCH: Niqab confrontation sparks debate on Islamophobia in South Africa

In a video going viral, a woman shopper confronts two diners at a Tasha's restaurant who are wearing full niqabs.

She is heard accusing them of failing to 'show respect' to the 'Western' country that has 'given them a home'.

The women's comments are being widely condemned.

While South Africa has long prided itself on constitutional protections for religious freedom, the video has raised questions about whether everyday intolerance toward Muslims is becoming more visible.

Professor Emeritus Farid Esack, a leading scholar in the study of Islam and former Gender Equality Commissioner, calls the incident a 'blip on the screen'.

"In the last 20 years or so, we have seen a growing rise in the irrational fear of Muslims," he says, while adding that in South Africa, on the whole, Islamophobia has been 'completely inconsequential'.

"In the larger scheme of things, if you look at how big our population is, the presence of Muslims in South Africa, and you look at the reported incidents of people who were personally discriminated against, this is relatively absent."

Moreso, says Escack, in relation to incidents of Islamophobia in the rest of the world.

Much of the criticism directed at the woman in the video has been around her description of South Africa as a 'Western country'.

Esack says the video shows a person who is feeling a sense of discomfort in their whiteness in a South Africa that is becoming more and more democratised and inclusive.

"And so what they do is they pick on what they think is another racial minority that they think has less social currency than what they have."

It's not the fear of Islam, but rather racism that is seeking an 'outlet point', explains Escack.

"It is the frustration that they can no longer assume that the colour of their skin will give them currency in this society."

To listen to Esack in conversation with CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit, click below: