Muslim students at the University of Michigan pray the Ishaa prayer on campus.
Source: Huffington Post
This is what solidarity looks like.
In outright defiance of the rising levels anti-Muslim hate in America, University of Michigan students joined forces on Monday to protect their own.
After hearing that a Muslim student had reportedly been threatened for her faith, hundreds of students and faculty showed up to stand guard around classmates who had gathered in a main square to perform one of Islam’s five daily prayers.
The public Ishaa prayer, or nighttime prayer, was organized by the university’s Muslim Student Association. Club president Farhan Ali, a junior, told The Huffington Post that members of his group wanted to show the campus that they were proud to be Muslim.
“Some individuals were afraid that we might be vulnerable during our prayer, so we had the idea of calling allies to support us and create a circle around us while we prayed and they ensured our safety,” Ali told The Huffington Post in an email.
But Ali wasn’t expecting such a strong and substantial turnout, from the Muslim community and from allies.
“Hundreds and hundreds of people came out for both prayer and showing their support,” Ali wrote. “The amount of support was overwhelming and absolutely wonderful, and it brought some ease to the Muslim students [and] showed that we have other individuals who are willing to stand with us.”
Categories: Islamophobia