Photos / Internet
United States-when Shaymaa Ismaa’eel ‘ eel attended a Conference of the Islamic circle of North America in Washington on Sunday, saw a group of demonstrators with signs against the Prophet Muhammad and the Muslim faith.
Then he asked his friend to take him a photo while it showed a smile squatting before them.
“Really wanted to fight their hatred with kindness, honestly,” said Ismaa’eel ‘ Ethe, 24 years old, to CNN via Instagram. “I wanted to see my face and simply walk wasn’t enough.”
Ismaa’eel ‘ eel, who works as a therapist with children on the spectrum of autism in the Washington area, published the photo on Instagram along with a quotation from the Prophet Muhammad saying: “kindness is a brand of faith. Those who are not friendly do not have faith.”
The image became viral on the platform to share images, with more than 100,000 “like me”, and on Twitter, where he had more than 150,000 like me.
“April 21, I smiled before intolerance and I came away feeling more how to win,” he wrote in a Tweet accompanying the image.
Photo / Instagram
Ismaa’eel ‘ eel told CNN that he noticed protesters for the first time on Saturday, the second day of the Convention, and added that most of the people was very upset by his presence and did not seem to know how to react. She said that some teens tried to approach the men, but the majority of people simply walked without pay attention to them.
For his part, Ismaa’eel ‘ eel said that continued thinking protesters during the Conference, which included sessions on different topics, such as the Koran, the life of Muhammad, the lessons of the shoot-out in Christchurch, etc.
The next day, after seeing them as he left the main building, he asked his friend Jamilah it to take a photo.
“My face is honestly brightened when I saw them,” she said. “I walked as they continued shouting his hateful speech. I asked the police officer if I could stand on the sidewalk facing the men. The officer said ‘no’, and in that moment I felt like the biggest rebel.”
“I smiled much in the image and the man began directing his discourse to me. Things silly like ‘your face should be covered,’ ‘ and ‘know that it is a cult to sales when walking with Pajamas’ “.”
He said that it was not the first time that take a photo like this. “I published a photo in 2017 when I was in college. It was basically the same message. Smiles, to intolerance,”he added.
But still it is surprising how much attention has received this photo. “I’m a person of low profile. It still amazes me has reached more than 200 “likes”. It is refreshing to see so many people supporting”.
On April 21st I smiled in the face of users and walked away feeling the greatest form of accomplishment. pic.twitter.com/Dbrtk7MDAw
-شيماء (@ShaymaaDarling) April 23, 2019
Photo / Twitter
His mother sent him a message when the publication was around the 3,000 I like, urging a: “Please keep in mind your surroundings”. “It definitely is nervous because it is clear that people not so tend to be the most friendly. Remember me constantly pray for myself”, said Ismaa’eel ‘ eel.
Friends and family have experienced many cases of sexual harassment or discrimination, he added. “This summer, my mother and his students from the camp were subjected to discrimination in a public swimming pool. So definitely it happens”.
Fortunately, the therapist said that so far it had not received any threat after the mail. “My sister and my brother are patrolling my account for the most part. I had to take a step back because some of the comments are interesting and I’m still telling me that not entertaining anyone.”
Source: CNN in Spanish
