US Muslims Kick off Outreach Campaign

DALLAS – A leading US Muslim organization has kicked off recently an outreach campaign around Dallas to convey the true message of Islam in response to rising hate fueled by presidential election campaign.

“To combat discrimination and racism, Islamic Circle of North America, Dallas (ICNA) has put up several billboards on October 24th, 2016 along major DFW highways,” the group said in a statement on its website.

“The message is “#YouDeserveToKnow, Islam = Racial Equality”.

The campaign started on October 24th, 2016 and it will continue through November.

It came in response to the presidential election campaign’s speeches and debates, which have fueled hate and intolerance, particularly racism among the people of United States.

Along with billboards, the group was organizing other events in November with the coordination of various Islamic centers.

“The first open house event is scheduled for November 5th, 2016 at Islamic Association of North Texas (IANT), Richardson (840 Abrams Rd, Richardson, TX 75081),” the group said.

“Another open house is scheduled for November 19th, 2016 at McKinney Islamic Center (2940 Eldorado Pkwy, McKinney, TX 75070).”

ICNA urged donations to continue its efforts to spread true Islam.

“The success of this campaign will require your support. Your donations will help us to continue our effort in spreading the message,” it said.

Over the past months, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been accused of fueling anti-Islamic sentiment, pointedly calling for Muslims to be prevented from entering the United States in December last year.

The rhetoric has made a surge in anti-Muslim attacks.

In a 2015 hate crime statistics report, 16.1 percent of 1,140 religious hate crime victims were Muslim, up from previous years, despite the fact that overall hate crime numbers among other religious groups were declining, the FBI said.