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There’s something in her casual stance — her hand looks like it’s in her pocket — and the fact that she is quite literally looking down on the irate man that makes the image so eye-catching. A photo of Saffiyah Khan’s now-famous smile has been shared thousands of time on social media after a Press Association photographer snapped the standoff between her and the English Defence League’s leader at a Birmingham, U.K. rally.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Birmingham woman stares down far-right protester with a cheerful grin in viral image from U.K. rally Back to video

Khan told the Birmingham Mail she was observing the English Defence League rally and counter-protest on Saturday when she felt the need to step in and help a woman in a headscarf. The “terrified” woman, who caught the far-right demonstrators’ attention after shouting “racist,” was surrounded by EDL Leader Ian Crossland and 20 supporters, Khan told the newspaper. She felt she had to intervene after police stood by for a couple minutes.

Khan said she was “was not scared in the slightest” in coming face-to-face with Crossland. “I stay pretty calm in these situations. I knew they were trying to provoke me, but I wasn’t going to be provoked.”

The BBC reports that the EDL claimed on Facebook Khan had been part of a group that had interrupted a minute’s silence in memory of the Stockholm terror attack victims.