۹ فروردین ۱۴۰۳ |۱۸ رمضان ۱۴۴۵ | Mar 28, 2024
Human Chain Formed around Muslims Praying during Travel Ban Protest in NY

More than 100 interfaith demonstrators gathered in New York City on Friday to mark the one-year anniversary of US President Donald Trump’s first executive order on immigration, which included a ban on travel for residents from several Muslim-majority countries.

Hawzah News Agency (New York, US) - People gathered in the city’s Washington Square Park to voice their continued disapproval of the president’s order, which sparked nationwide protests, including at New York’s airports and public spaces.

After listening to a leader sing out the Islamic call to prayer, interfaith allies linked hands to form a human chain of protection around Muslims as they knelt down in the public space for Friday prayers. 

The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York, told HuffPost she hoped the action provided a feeling of safety and security for the worshippers, many of whom were students from nearby New York University.

“It’s practically important and symbolically important to stand with people of different faith traditions,” Breyer said. “It’s what we should do as Americans.”

Murad Awawdeh, vice president of advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition, one of the groups that organized the rally, said that in the months that followed the ban, the Trump administration’s attacks on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and those with temporary protected status betrayed an anti-immigrant agenda. 

Although he said the initial fervor around protesting the travel ban has died down since last January, Awawdeh hopes Friday’s rally shows that there’s much work left to do.

“The Trump administration didn’t just go after the Muslims. They were the first targets,” Awawdeh said. “This is going to continue to be a fight and a struggle.”

 

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