American Muslims Take To Times Square To Speak Against Extremism On New Year’s Eve

In case the media failed to tell you this, we are telling you now. The recent spate of attacks by self-proclaimed Islamic groups such as ISIS on people in the West are disturbing many discerning Muslims

The Paris attacks in France and the San Bernardino mass shooting in the United States were all believed to have been motivated by extremist groups. These incidents therefore are shaking concerned Muslims who believe extremism has no place in Islam.

In the United States, as the Republican Party hopeful, Donald Trump and his right-wing elements continue to advocate for division between Muslims and non-Muslims in the West, many Muslims on the other hand are advocating for unity in order to defeat the radical groups killing innocent people.

On 31^st December 2015, when many Americans had gathered waiting to cross over into the New Year at the famous Times Square in New York City, some concerned American Muslims too were there to show solidarity with victims of the recent extremist attacks, and take the opportunity to speak against such acts.

The Good News Network reports that despite the backlash Muslims have suffered in the West due to the attacks, some Muslims flocked to the Square with message of peace for the New Year.

The initiative to show the world that Islam is nothing but peace was done by members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA. The group carried banners demanding an end to extremism across the world.

The group was led by Salaam Bhatti, a 29-year-old man from Queens who works as an estate planning attorney. Bhatti and his fellow Muslims gathered around Bryant Park, a few blocks from the center of the New Year’s festivities that Mayor Bill de Blasio had said will have “extraordinary” security measures to protect against terrorism.

And wearing T shirts with inscription, “True Islam” in bold white lettering against a blue background on the front and with the word “extremists” crossed out on the back, the group distributed out flyers with what they called the 11 clear points that separate true Islam from the extremists.

Among the 11 points are: Islam rejects terrorism, promotes women’s equality, and supports freedom of conscience, religion and speech among others.

The flyers were also part of a new national campaign called “True Islam and the Extremists” which began some weeks ago at the Baitul Hameed Mosque in San Bernardino County. The campaign aims to dispel what Bhatti called misconceptions about the Islamic religion.

The group has also planned to take the anti-extremism campaign on the road to its mosques and the communities around them, and is gathering signatures in support of the 11 points.

The group said their objective was to educate non-Muslims that what the extremists are doing is never part of the religion God gave to the world through the Prophet Muhammad.

“It’s a day where the world converges for one day. So if we can get a few seconds to say we exist and we are here and we are peaceful, then we’ve accomplished something”, Bhatti explained.

After the New Year celebration, it is said the group returned to the Square to help clean up the tons of litter left behind.  And Bhatti said helping the community demonstrates that good deeds are the true heart of Islam throughout the year.

According to the Huffington Post, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community has some 70 mosques across the United States. They are estimated to be around 20,000 members out of the more than 2 million Muslims in America.

Ahmadiyya group is an Islamic religious movement founded in Punjab in the then British India near the end of the 19th century. The movement originated from the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies of the world’s reformer during the end times.

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