Man holds sign reading 'you belong' outside mosque in Texas

Social media users describe man holding sign as 'the real America'

Man pictured outside of the Irvine Mosque in Texas holding sign (Facebook)

An image of a man holding a sign saying 'you belong' outside a mosque in Texas has been shared by tens of thousands of people.

Pictured outside the Islamic Centre of Irving, the man is shown holding a sign that says: “You belong. Stay strong. Be blessed. We are one America."

The photo has been posted on several social media platforms and has been shared tens of thousands of times already.

A spokesman from the mosque told The Independent the man stood outside for three to four hours and was speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump.

Although the identity of the man remains unclear, social media users have described him as "the real America".

One user, named as Dvde O'Brien, responded to the picture on Facebook and said: “Imagine how bad things are when people are considered brave and extraordinary because they do the right thing."

The mosque was the site for an armed anti-Islam protest after the Paris attacks in 2015. The organiser, David Wright, said he was convinced the Irving centre had established the country’s first Islamic court.

“They’re mostly for self-defence or protection. But I’m not going to lie. We do want to show force… It would be ridiculous to protest Islam without defending ourselves,” Mr Wright told the Dallas News.

The viral image comes as the US has reportedly witnessed more than 700 incidents of hateful harassment since Donald Trump’s election.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), which is tracking and collating hate crime reports, claims 65 per cent of the 701 incidents were recorded in the three days following Mr Trump’s win.