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This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

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This Sunday Shaymaa Ismaa’eel – a 24-year-old behavioral therapist for children with autism woke up to a pleasant surprise as one of her tweets, or picture to be exact, went viral. The day before Shaymaa went to the Islamic Circle of North America convention she encountered a group of men with protest signs standing outside the venue. One of the signs read “Islam is a religion of blood and murder! The blood from Jesus is given as a ransom for all mankind” and another one read that “Jesus is the only begotten son of God.” In that instant, Shaymaa decided to fight bigotry in her own way.

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This 24-year-old went to the Islamic Circle of North America convention and was met with a group of men protesting outside

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: ShaymaaDarling

Shaymaa later revealed to the media that people attending the convention felt uncomfortable and were visibly getting upset. She also mentioned that, while walking by, her friends were told by the protesters that they were going to hell.

Shaymaa decided to combat the hatred with kindness

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: ShaymaaDarling

So, she asked her friend Jamilah to snap a picture of her in front of the hateful protesters. Shaymaa walked up while the men continued yelling and asked a police officer whether she could stand on the curb in front of the men. The officer declared ‘no’ blatantly and this incited a rebellious feeling inside Shaymaa. She later recalled to one media outlet: “I smiled so hard in the picture and the man [started] directing his speech toward me. Silly things like ‘your face should be covered.’”

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The woman posted the picture to her Instagram and later to Twitter and both of the posts soon went viral

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: ShaymaaDarling

“On April 21st I smiled in the face of bigotry and walked away feeling the greatest form of accomplishment,” Shaymaa’s caption on Twitter read. She was soon flooded with responses and support from hundreds of people.

She later tweeted that she wasn’t ‘expecting this AT ALL!’

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: shaymaadarling

“The positivity from this is very uplifting and it’s making me happy to know that the youth can see someone being unapologetic in the face of people who hate their religion,” Shaymaa said to the media.

Shaymaa thanked everyone to the overwhelming amount of support she received over the weekend

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

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Image credits: ShaymaaDarling

And clarified that the photos were not Photoshopped or altered in any way

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: ShaymaaDarling

Other people who went to the convention also shared their experiences

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: bnnbtm

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This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: owaizdadabhoy

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: maryamUMD

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

And some were even inspired to recreate Shaymaa’s picture

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

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Image credits: YungCocoaButter

People were impressed and some called Shaymaa’s move ‘bold’

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: Norahabdela

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: AverageSociopat

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: UkohaChidinma

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: Chloe_Hilliard

This Muslim Woman Took A Smiling Stand Against Anti-Muslim Protesters And Went Viral

Image credits: trueintegrity87

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Neringa Utaraitė

Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.

Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.

What do you think ?

Mike Crow 5 years ago

Anyone else notice one of the protestors had a T-shirt that said “women belong in the kitchen”?

60points

blugeagua 5 years ago (edited)

No surprise there at all. To them, anyone who is not a straight white man, is not a real human being.

37points

Load More Replies...

Ozacoter 5 years ago

Right wing... Always pushing women and 'different' people down..

17points

Sugar Latte 5 years ago

Yes I saw it! Although I am a Christian, I feel this is very insulting to all females. This has to change.....

6points

OI Loi 5 years ago

O my god

5points

Lingon 5 years ago

Well, then he would get poisoned really quickly if he was married to my mother. Thankfully, my father isn't a bigot, so I survived my childhood.

4points

Noez 🇸🇪 5 years ago

Yup I saw it.

4points

Pretty Pangolin 5 years ago

Yes! Ugh.

3points

Janine Randall 5 years ago

And I'm sure all their wives still sign there names Mrs. John Doe, instead of Mary Jane Doe or whatever. They have no identities outside their husbands.

0points

elfin 5 years ago

But what if she earns more than you? For that matter, why would any woman want anything to do with you.

0points

Brina Healy 5 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

-1point

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Cassie 5 years ago

"Islam is a religion of blood and murder" - This man apparently doesn't know much about how self-proclaimed Christians have behaved over the years or maybe he just enjoys being a hypocrite. This behavior is not Christian nor is this how Christianity should be shared.

49points

Malakai 5 years ago

As a Wiccan, I'd like to upvote this x3

4points

Load More Replies...

seriously tho 5 years ago

Ikr, as a Christian, this is not how we are taught to share His word. Especially when one of my church member is a missionary in Indonesia. Of course, as I am a Baptist, so maybe our teachings are slightly different from what these hypocrites. But look over past history, so maybe Islamics have caused many wars, but so have the Christians, Jews, and literally every religious group. Even atheists have gone to war. As an Indonesian, some of my friends are Muslims, and maybe I don't bond as much as my friends from school. And even then, one of my best friends is buddhist. As a Houstonian, I experience people from many different religions. Our mission is to share God's word and His promises, not abuse others. As a Baptist, all mankind is equal and is not separated by sex, social status, or anything. So women should have the same rights as men, but use their given traits to help run a family, stay organized, and share the Word. It gets really complicated, but bottom line is these men are wro

2points

Natasha Forchione 5 years ago

105 Christian churches/buildings are burned or attacked every month. 345 Christians killed for faith-related reasons every month. Why does the most persecuted religious group in the world receive the least sympathy after every attack?

-3points

Natasha Forchione 5 years ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Octavio Díaz 5 years ago (edited)

As a Christian myself, what I love about this is watching the protesters using the "blood of Christ" as an argument, and saying muslims are killers and ignorant animals and etc., and quite conveniently forgetting that most of the bloodiest, deadliest actions in human history have been executed precisely for this "blood of Christ"... Do they really thing Christ, or any other deity from any other religion, would look with good eyes all the BS we've done in their name?? They're all supposed to preach love and we interpret "love" as f#ck everyone who doesn't believe what I believe. As a christian myself, I'm increasingly convinced that what we all need is atheism...

19points

Lingon 5 years ago

What is far more interesting, is that they have no clue what so ever, on the fact that muslims believe in Jesus to.

18points

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Mike Crow 5 years ago

Anyone else notice one of the protestors had a T-shirt that said “women belong in the kitchen”?

60points

blugeagua 5 years ago (edited)

No surprise there at all. To them, anyone who is not a straight white man, is not a real human being.

37points

Load More Replies...

Ozacoter 5 years ago

Right wing... Always pushing women and 'different' people down..

17points

Sugar Latte 5 years ago

Yes I saw it! Although I am a Christian, I feel this is very insulting to all females. This has to change.....

6points

OI Loi 5 years ago

O my god

5points

Lingon 5 years ago

Well, then he would get poisoned really quickly if he was married to my mother. Thankfully, my father isn't a bigot, so I survived my childhood.

4points

Noez 🇸🇪 5 years ago

Yup I saw it.

4points

Pretty Pangolin 5 years ago

Yes! Ugh.

3points

Janine Randall 5 years ago

And I'm sure all their wives still sign there names Mrs. John Doe, instead of Mary Jane Doe or whatever. They have no identities outside their husbands.

0points

elfin 5 years ago

But what if she earns more than you? For that matter, why would any woman want anything to do with you.

0points

Brina Healy 5 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

-1point

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Cassie 5 years ago

"Islam is a religion of blood and murder" - This man apparently doesn't know much about how self-proclaimed Christians have behaved over the years or maybe he just enjoys being a hypocrite. This behavior is not Christian nor is this how Christianity should be shared.

49points

Malakai 5 years ago

As a Wiccan, I'd like to upvote this x3

4points

Load More Replies...

seriously tho 5 years ago

Ikr, as a Christian, this is not how we are taught to share His word. Especially when one of my church member is a missionary in Indonesia. Of course, as I am a Baptist, so maybe our teachings are slightly different from what these hypocrites. But look over past history, so maybe Islamics have caused many wars, but so have the Christians, Jews, and literally every religious group. Even atheists have gone to war. As an Indonesian, some of my friends are Muslims, and maybe I don't bond as much as my friends from school. And even then, one of my best friends is buddhist. As a Houstonian, I experience people from many different religions. Our mission is to share God's word and His promises, not abuse others. As a Baptist, all mankind is equal and is not separated by sex, social status, or anything. So women should have the same rights as men, but use their given traits to help run a family, stay organized, and share the Word. It gets really complicated, but bottom line is these men are wro

2points

Natasha Forchione 5 years ago

105 Christian churches/buildings are burned or attacked every month. 345 Christians killed for faith-related reasons every month. Why does the most persecuted religious group in the world receive the least sympathy after every attack?

-3points

Natasha Forchione 5 years ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

John Smith 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Octavio Díaz 5 years ago (edited)

As a Christian myself, what I love about this is watching the protesters using the "blood of Christ" as an argument, and saying muslims are killers and ignorant animals and etc., and quite conveniently forgetting that most of the bloodiest, deadliest actions in human history have been executed precisely for this "blood of Christ"... Do they really thing Christ, or any other deity from any other religion, would look with good eyes all the BS we've done in their name?? They're all supposed to preach love and we interpret "love" as f#ck everyone who doesn't believe what I believe. As a christian myself, I'm increasingly convinced that what we all need is atheism...

19points

Lingon 5 years ago

What is far more interesting, is that they have no clue what so ever, on the fact that muslims believe in Jesus to.

18points

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