The woman, identified as Annie, showed up Saturday at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in Dublin, Ohio, as part of a nationwide protest against Muslims in the US. The lady, who carried two heavy picket indicators, was the one one to indicate up.
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Although Naziri, a PhD candidate with a focus on Near East religions at Antioch University, disagreed with her, he welcomed her and admired her courage. “She wasn’t being belligerent or imply”. She was being polite. “She wasn’t screaming. She wasn’t getting up in your face”. With her heart and mind full of all that is wrong with Islam and its followers, she came armed with placards as well as a huge chip on her shoulder. She wasn’t listening to it.
“I’m hoping this will be a journey to friendship, rather than further disorientation”, he said. He also repeatedly invited Annie to go into the Cultural Center for coffee and bagels, which she also declined.
“Something came over me and I went up to her and asked if I could give her a hug. Allah? I don’t know”.
The point of connection came when Annie was able to begin to see “Cynthia” as a human being. “If you’re Muslim, we can’t be friends”, she said when he approached her.
“I asked if I look scary to her”.
“I felt her body go from tense to soft and I asked her to please come inside with me”.
Ms Boutinkhar approaching the protester to request a hug. “That’s it?” de Boutinkhar told ABC News Wednesday.
She and others on the mosque stated the lady recognized herself as “Annie” from Lancaster. However, the people there refused to give up and kept her engaged in light-hearted conversation and trying to dispel some of her misconceptions. “After everyone went about their day, myself and a brother took Annie into a conference room to continue the discussion FOR TWO HOURS!”
She noted that Annie left the mosque without her signs. One thing simply got here throughout me.
“He did, happily. Then he presented Annie with her very own English Quran”.
“Love smiles and hugs are contagious”, Malik said. “I asked if she’d like a tour and to my surprise, she agreed”.
“Groups across the nation started bombarding the hate groups with love. You’ll hear people say, ‘This doctor saved my mother’s life'”. “Peace, that’s what Islam is all about”.
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Various protests throughout the nation reportedly ended with related outcomes.
