“Hello, I am a Muslim”

by Aysha Qamar

Throughout Europe, “Hello, I am a Muslim”, an initiative to promote understating and cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims, is taking the streets by storm.

The event launched in London’s central King’s Cross Station depicts young people promoting unity and communication in public places between individuals. Beginning in the United Kingdom, it has now spread to neighboring countries including Germany, the Netherlands, France and Austria.

The initiative started by the Islamic Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) group aims to build empathy, understanding and communication between faiths and individuals.

In a media statement the ICMG said, thousands of young Muslims world wide will rally and publicly deliver “their ‘Hello, I am a Muslim’ message to introduce themselves”.

“We have prepared the ‘Hello, I am a Muslim’ events to encourage mutual communication and cooperation between Muslims and non-Muslims,” said Kemal Ergun, the group’s president.”Contacting people individually is the most natural and the best way of promoting understanding and empathy,” the ICMG said.

Over 500 mosques across Europe will also take part in the initiative, according to the ICMG statement. 

Studies have shown that in the last three years hate crimes against Muslims have drastically increased.

According to the Council of American and Islamic Relations (CAIR), in the United States alone, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes committed rose 91 percent in the beginning of 2017.