Muslims try to spread message of peace
BOSTON — Dozens of billboards with Muslim themes are sprouting in the U.S. and Canada, proclaiming what organizers say is the true message of Islam and its prophet, Muhammad: peace and justice, not extremism and violent jihad.
The New York-based Islamic Circle of North America has erected 100 billboards over the summer that feature statements such as: “Muhammad believed in peace, social justice, women’s rights” and “Muhammad always taught love, not hate; peace, not violence.” Also listed is a website and a phone number people can call for more information.
The billboards are in cities including Calgary, Boston, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, Cleveland, Las Vegas and more.
The group’s president, Naeem Baig, said the idea for the campaign arose after January attacks in Paris by Islamist militants on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery store killed 17 people, plus the three attackers.
The perpetrators wrongfully understood the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Baig said, and the North American Muslim community wanted to reclaim the message.
“As a Muslim, it hurts me when I see someone abusing my faith, abusing the teachings of the Prophet,” Baig said.
He sees those who resort to violence “as people who are lost, who have no direction in their life, people who have their own challenges in their life, who are using faith as an excuse.”
Bilal Siddiqui, a college student who volunteers for ICNA in Boston, said some callers vent and “spew hatred.” But after speaking to a knowledgeable person on the hotline, “oftentimes their approach becomes softer and they’re more keen to learn more,” he said.
While praising the billboard campaign as a “laudable effort,” the leader of Boston’s biggest mosque said his institution prefers a different approach.
“We feel our actions speak louder than words,” said Yusufi Vali, executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. The group aims to live the faith’s values through its food pantry and its work on affordable housing and criminal justice, Vali said.
“People appreciate your being real a lot more than the messaging and marketing,” Vali added. “I think the way we change people’s hearts is through our actions and deeds.”
“As a Muslim, it hurts me when I see someone abusing my faith, abusing the teachings of the Prophet.
NAEEM BAIG PRESIDENT, ISLAMIC CIRCLE OF NORTH AMERICA