Anti-Muslim protester won over by hugs and debate at Noor Islamic Centre
The unidentified woman was taking part in a day of anti-Muslim protests across the US
For the woman determined to protest about the ‘dangers’ of Islam outside the Noor Islamic Centre in Ohio, things did not go quite according to plan.
Firstly, she was met with counter protesters who wanted to passionately, but peacefully, explain her misconceptions about their religion.
Then, she was given a hug by one of the members of the mosque. Finally, she accepted an invitation to step inside the building where she was greeted by loud applause, according to CounterCurrentNews.com.
The white woman — identified on social media simply as Annie - had arrived at the centre in Dublin, Ohio, with placards saying ‘No Shariah Law’ on the day of anti-Muslim protests that had been organised across the US and named the Global Rally for Humanity.
The centre’s supporters engaged the middle-aged woman in a talk about President Barack Obama, the Koran and the situation in the Middle East. "That is how we work. A lot of people with these ideas have not actually met a Muslim," the mosque's spokesman, Adnan Mirza, told The Independent. "We focus on the similarities rather than on things that divide."
Confronted by a Muslim woman wearing a hijab who offered to pose with her for a photo by saying,”I’m an American too,” Annie accepted an invitation to enter the mosque and meet its members. As she entered the building they cheered.
Annie told the mosque’s members that her husband and her pastor did not want her to come to protest. Either way, she then said things had not turned out as she had anticipated.
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