American Muslims Stage Rally to Protest Rising Islamophobia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Hundreds of American Muslims and members of inter-faith organizations have staged a rally in the US capital to condemn terrorist attacks attributed to Muslims, as well as rising Islamophobia in the country.
The protesters gathered on Saturday at the National Mall in downtown Washington, DC, as part of 'The American Muslim March on Washington'.
The participants held banners and chanted slogans, denouncing the mainstream media's discriminatory attitude towards Muslims.
The protesters rejected hate and intolerance, and condemned terrorist attacks in all forms.
The mainstream media in the US often portrays Muslims in a negative context and constantly accuses them of staying silent after terror attacks are carried out falsely in the name of Islam.
Last month, an attack on a club in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people dead, unleashing a wave of anti-Muslim propaganda.
“The media does not highlight the religion of the perpetrator if he’s not Muslim,” a protest organizer said, Press TV reported.
“The shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at the movie theater was by a white Christian person who killed 12 people and wounded many but when the person has any remote connection, even a name, like the shooter in Orlando, who was not a Muslim, was not practicing, none of our community knew him, but just because of his name, the media insisted he was a Muslim terrorist.”
After the mass shooting in Orlando, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the US was being threatened by what he called radical Islam.
Trump’s presidential campaign has been marked by controversial statements, including disparaging remarks about women, Mexican immigrants and Muslims.