After GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump proposed a plan that would require Muslims to wear ID badges in the US, one young Muslim girl came up with a great response.
Marwa Balkar, a California resident, welcomed Trump’s proposal and posted a picture of herself on Facebook wearing what her ID badge would be: a peace sign. By doing so, Balkar hoped to send a message to Trump, reports a news portal attn.
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"Dear @realdonaldtrump, My name is Marwa and I am a Muslim. I heard you wanted us to start wearing ID badges, so I decided to choose one for myself." Balkar said on Facebook.
"I am not easily identifiable as a #Muslim just by looking at me, so my new badge will let me display proudly who I am. I choose the peace sign because it represents my #Islam. The one that taught me to oppose #injustice and yearn for #unity. The one that taught me that killing one innocent life is equivalent to killing humanity,” Balkar added.
As Islamophobia sweeps over the nation, Trump too it seems is riding the wave and told NBC News that he would work to implement a database system that would track Muslims.
"I heard you wanted to track us as well. Great! You can come with me on my Cancer Awareness at the local middle school, or you can follow me to work where it is my job to create happiness. You can also see how my local mosques can make PB&J sandwiches for the homeless and interfaith dinners where everyone is welcomed. Maybe then you'll see that me being Muslim doesn't make me any less American than you are. Maybe if you walk in my footsteps, you can see that I am not any less human than you are."
Balkar signed the post with the Arabic expression "Salaam Alaikum," which means "peace to you."
Over the course of four days Balkar's post has received more than 300,000 likes, including a like from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, reports attn.
Other Muslims are protesting Trump’s comments on Social Media
Balkar is not alone and hundreds of other Muslims have been tweeting pictures of themselves displaying some form of an ID badge with the hashtag #MuslimID.
According to attn, former US marine Tayyib Rashid posted a tweet of his old ID card from the US military.
A Muslim student from Princeton University and Massachusetts of Institute Technology tweeted their student IDs.
Eventually, many Muslims from all over started using the hashtag to proudly display their Islamic faith and American citizenship.
After mounting backlash over his comments, Trump attempted to clarify his position in a tweet.
