Bringing My Mesage to West Virginia

Last week, and after the recent New Zealand Mosque Attacks, I decided it was time once again to take out my sign, “I’m a Muslim and US Marine, ask anything” and take it to another state. So I hopped in the car and headed to Martinsburg, West Virginia. 

As I took to the streets of Martinsburg, I definitely got some pretty weary and unpleasant looks, but I also got some high-fives, hugs and a little “thank you for your service.” The conversations were wonderful. Believe it or not West Virginia was my 25th state visit with the now famous, “I’m a Muslim and US Marine, ask anything” sign! 

Oh yeah, the local news service (LocalDVM) also decided to come out and run a story on my visit...

Bringing my Message to Trenton

I spent this Thanksgiving Eve in Trenton, New Jersey. Per usual, I went out with my sign and talked to locals about True Islam, why being a Marine goes hand in hand with being a Muslim, and more. Wishing a very Happy Thanksgving to everyone reading!

Bringing my Message to Charlottesville

This week I headed down to Charlottesville - home of UVA and the recent White Supremacist protest. Despite the cold weather, I was met with a warm welcome from locals, who asked me all sorts of questions! 

Bringing my Message to The Carolinas

I visited both North and South Carolina this week! I spent time in Charlotte and Columbia, respectively. While there, I made sure to emphasize that, just like the Propeht Muhammad (sa), my purpose is not to convert anyone, but to spread the message! The people I met in Charlotte and Columbia were receptive to my message of True Islam, asking engaging questions and showing that they too stand on the side of peace!

Bringing my message to Missouri

This week I traveled down south to give a talk at Westminster College in Missouri. This is the 19th state I've visited! While there, I took to the streets of Missouri with my sign and conversed with locals about true Islam!

Bringing my message to Baltimore

This Saturday, the youth auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community held a nationwide "Meet a Muslim" day. Our Baltimore chapter took to the streets of the Inner Harbor, and since it was so fitting, I brought out the Muslim Marine sign. It felt good to talk to fellow Baltimoreans about Islam, especially with my Muslim brothers by my side!

Bringing my message to New England

This week I hit New England, raising my grand total to 18/50 states visited!

My first stop was Rhode Island on August 13th.

I moved on to New Hampshire the next day.

I finished off the three day tour in Massachusetts.

Bringing my message to California

This week I visited the beautiful state of California & answered questions from locals and tourists on Hollywood Blvd!

Bringing my message to Wisconsin and Illinois

This month I hit to road to meet locals in two more states, bringing my grand total to 13 of 50 states. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there!

Here are a few photos of me in Milwaukee on July 12.

The day before that, I headed to downtown Chicago to meet some folks and change some minds. And while in the Windy City, I spoke at the Roosevelt University.

Bringing my message to Pennsylvania

I spoke to students at East Stroudsberg University April 20. While in Pennsylvania, I took my sign out to Harrisburg and spoke to folks on the street.

Bringing my message to Georgia

I spoke at Georgia Gwinnett College on April 4. While I was in Georgia, I also hit the streets with my sign.

Bringing my message to Alabama

I had the honor of speaking at the University of Alabama of Birmingham on April 3, and while I was in Birmingham, I took to the streets with my sign once more.

Bringing my message to Kentucky and Tennessee

This week I traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, where I brought my sign downtown. 

While in Kentucky, I had the opportunity to speak at the University of Louisville.

Read more about my work in Kentucky here.

On the 22nd, I also took my sign to Tennessee.

Bringing my message to New York City and Baltimore

Recently, a news crew from PBS Newshour joined me on a trip into Baltimore's Inner Harbor, where I met passersby on the street with my "I'm a Muslim and a U.S. Marine, Ask Anything" sign. You can watch PBS's video about my work here.

Last week I also had the opportunity to travel to New York City, where I took my sign downtown. A team from BuzzFeed joined me there – watch their video here.

Making these trips to meet real Americans on the ground has been such a rewarding and educational experience. I'm planning to make similar trips to D.C. and Philadelphia shortly – stay tuned for updates!

Bringing my message to Portland and Seattle

Earlier this month I spent some time in Houston and Denver, as part of a quasi-tour I'm doing across the country while carrying a sign reading "I'm Muslim and a Marine. Ask anything." Over the past couple of days I had the opportunity to spend some time and spread some love in the beautiful cities of Portland, Oregon...

...and Seattle!

It was such an amazing experience to meet and interact with you all there. I learned so much, and can only hope you took just as much away from our encounters, too.

I'm back at home on the East Coast now. Insha'Allah – God willing – I plan to hit the downtown Baltimore and New York City this week! If you're in the area then, keep an eye on my Twitter feed. I'll be updating you all with more information there.

Bringing my message to Houston & Denver

For the past week or so I've been doing some traveling around the country. While in Houston and Denver, I decided to take to the streets with a sign reading "I'm a Muslim U.S. Marine. Ask anything." I was joined by my good friend Harris Zafar, the author of Demystifying Islam.

You can watch a live Periscope of our work in Houston here.

You can watch a live Periscope of our work in Denver here.

This was totally unlike anything I've done before, whether it's here in Baltimore or virtually via Periscope. I've been so moved by the reactions and responses of the people I meet on the ground that I'm considering branching out for a full U.S. tour. (I spoke about that a little on my interview with NPR today – you can listen to that here.) So if you're interested in collaborating with me in your city, university, place of worship or organization, please reach out to me. Let's work together.

Working with Vets for American Ideals

Over the past several weeks, I've been speaking with the non-partisan, 501(c)(3) human rights organization Veterans for American Ideals, a group of vets working together to advocate for policy changes and actions to make America a better place. They're rallying vets in support of causes like refugee protection and U.S. leadership against enabling mass atrocities in Syria. It's an organization and mission that only grows more vital in the world's current political climate.

As November ended, I had the honor of joining about 30 veteran leaders at VFAI's Leader Convening in Washington, D.C. There, I spent two days lending my efforts to help develop their initiatives to combat Islamophobia and push for an expansion of the SIV program.

Spreading peace in Baltimore alongside Sen. Ben Cardin

The weekend before Eid-ul-Fitr, I had the opportunity to stand alongside Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and spread the message of love for all, hatred for none.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Baltimore hosted an iftar and Ramadan Q&A session Sunday, July 3 at Masjid Baitus Samad. The keynote address was by none other than Sen. Cardin, who was joined by staffer Rev. Jerome Stephens.

I was also interviewed by WBALTV during the event.

Video: Stand With Me

I was honored to be a part of this short video, produced by James T. Elric, that preaches the message of love.

"This is a call to action. We must speak out against the fear mongering and bigotry that is surging in America. Please help share this video and help inspire people to stand together and stand against those who try to divide us. Islamophobia is rampant and precipitating heinous crimes against innocent people. It is also driving us to turn our backs on refugees who deserve our compassion. Please support Syrian refugees and support Muslims in America. Let's not make the mistakes of our past. The news media can choose to promote fear, but they cannot stop a video from going viral."

Bringing #FreeIceCream and #LoveForAll to Baltimore

Baltimore was left in a state of shock in the wake of explosive protests over Freddy Gray's death. The atmosphere was tense for weeks after the height of the riots. My brothers and sisters in faith at Baltimore's Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and I realized that the real victims of the riots were the city's most fragile citizens: its poor, its elderly, and its children.

"We're not just giving away a free ice cream. We are also spreading love."

So members of our community delivered hot meals to more than 60 senior citizens at a local shelter near pharmacy that burned down in the riots. But what about helping heal tomorrow's generation?

That's when we got an idea. We rented out an ice cream truck, printed out a sign that read "Free Ice Cream for Kids," and began driving around the city.

Unsurprisingly, the kids loved it.

After seeing the reception to our project, we kicked it up a notch. We spent 18 days traveling around 18 of Charm City's schools and parks to bring a little of its sweetness back.

"We're not just giving away a free ice cream. We are also spreading love, making friends, healing wounds," I told Shahina Bashir for her piece in the Baltimore Sun. "We are not giving out pamphlets; we just want to give the children hugs and tell them, 'we love you.'"

City officials also lent us their support. We had the opportunity to speak with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at City Hall about our project.

And at our Roosevelt Park stop, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby swung by with her husband Councilman Nick Mosby their two children.