Washington: Billboards with messages of equality between Islam and Christianity have been put up in various US cities including Texas. One such board can be seen on a busy highway in Houston, attracting the attention of thousands of drivers. On this board, below the message ‘Muslims love Jesus’ (Muslims love Jesus) is written – ‘The message of one God and his prophethood’. Gainpeace, an Illinois-based Islamic education center, is putting up similar billboards across the US, including in Chicago, Dallas and central New Jersey, to highlight the religions’ shared roots and dispel misconceptions.
One hoarding depicts Mary wearing a hijab and reads, ‘Lucky Mary wore the hijab. Will you respect it?’ A similar hoarding carried a picture of the building of the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia, considered the holiest site in Islam, and the message, ‘Built by Ibrahim, dedicated to the worship of one God, millions The place of annual pilgrimage of Muslims.’
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Who put up posters in the cities?
‘Genpeace’ is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to inform the general public about Islam and remove any doubts or misconceptions regarding it. He chose cities where the organization has a strong presence and a sizeable Muslim population to put up the billboards. A volunteer for ‘Genpeace’ in Houston said that he has been receiving calls from people trying to find out what the Muslim and Islam religions have in common.
Promotion of the positive face of Islam
He said, ‘When we explain that to be a Muslim, we have to believe in Jesus and Mary, they are astounded.’ ‘Islam is often misunderstood, leading some people to have a biased view of Islam and discriminate against Muslims and view them with suspicion,’ said Dr Sabeel Ahmed, director of Genpeace. “Through this advertising campaign, Islam has been shown to the general public in a new and positive light through the simple messages displayed on these hoardings,” he said.
