WASHINGTON: Photographs of 24-year-old Muslim woman from Washington, D.C., is going viral for her response to anti-Muslim protesters group with kindness.
Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a behavioural therapist for autistic children, in an interview toBuzzFeed News told that she had been attending an Islamic Circle of North America convention on 20th April when saw there was a group of men with signs protesting Islam outside.
She said that the men brandishing anti-Muslim signs and yelling at conference attendees. Ms Ismaa’eel felt prompted to combat the “hatred” with kindness and peace and asked a friend to snap the viral photo on the third day of the convention.
“I yelled to my friend Jamilah, ‘There they are! Can you take a picture?’,” she told the publication.
Ms Ismaa’eel also posted the image on Twitter, and captioned it: ‘On April 21st I smiled in the face of bigotry and walked away feeling the greatest form of accomplishment.’
https://twitter.com/ShaymaaDarling/status/1120624558657163264
The image is so powerful that immediately went viral online, racking up over 177,515 likes on Twitter with 51,069 retweets and 148,879 likes on Instagram as of Wednesday afternoon.
This is what the bigot’s America has produced at the Icna Convention in DC. Bigots with loudspeakers harassing Muslims verbally without stop since yesterday. Shame on them and the politicians and Islamaphobes who sow discord. Cc @Stonekettle @MalcolmNance @mehdirhasan pic.twitter.com/kDk2IqusAg
— Owaiz Dadabhoy (@owaizdadabhoy) April 20, 2019
Ismaa’eel’s photos also won overwhelming response from the online community.
I WAS THERE TOO. didn’t give them any attention, but hopefully their hearts change. pic.twitter.com/uDPxEcSAU3
— yousef🍥 (@LowkeyYousef) April 24, 2019
https://twitter.com/trueintegrity87/status/1120828233757417473
https://twitter.com/marsopeilami/status/1120689145746206720
https://twitter.com/Savannha_XVII/status/1120760821829783552
https://twitter.com/Norahabdela/status/1120675294359228418