Feeling Uneasy After a Strange Encounter - Salam

Salam Alaykum, I’m a sister who wears hijab and lives in America, and I had a weird moment today. I was stopped at a red light when I heard a man shouting “hey! Hey!” from my left. I looked over and this white man was staring at me - not openly aggressive, but he looked unsettling. I think he said something that sounded like it wasn’t English, maybe “astaghfirullah” or something similar, and he was waving his hand like he wanted me to roll my window down. When I didn’t, he shouted something that sounded like “molla! molla!” I’m not sure what he meant by that, and I’m hoping it wasn’t hateful, but it left me feeling shaken and reinforced my worries about being a visible Muslim in public. I drove forward to put some distance between us, but because I was alone I was scared he might follow me. To be honest, I often feel anxious about the possibility of hate crimes and sometimes avoid going out even though I live in a decent neighborhood. Wearing the hijab can feel heavy at times and make me feel exposed to people’s negativity. I’ve been trying to build my confidence and remind myself that some fears are more likely than others, but incidents like this bring back that tension. Alhamdulillah for the safety we do have, and may Allah (swt) protect all of us. Ameen.