Hawzah News Agency - (London - UK) - At a time when fear and new forms of extremism have blinded many to tolerance and peace, one man is attempting to prove to the world that Islam is indeed a religion of peace and that what we see in the media and across the world today are just cynical exploitations

In an attempt to put on full display to the world that Islam is indeed a religion of peace, British national Farid Feyadi, 40, has undertaken a journey of thousands of miles to reach Mecca from London – entirely on foot.

A Mancunian designer and inventor, Fayedi recounted his journey to Anadolu Agency while stopping off for some respite in Istanbul: "As a Muslim, I believe each of us is an ambassador of this religion. We have a big responsibility on our shoulders to represent Islam and Muslims in the best way to the world. I tried to do something in a very peaceful way to show Islam is a wave of peace that draws from the word 'Salaam' (the Arabic word for peace)," he said, decrying the "bad impression" of the religion and "horrible" deeds committed by the Daesh terrorist organization, supposedly in its name.

Though he initially wanted to make the pilgrimage via bicycle, he later decided to go on foot once he found out that others had made the journey in the same manner.

"I said if they can do it, why shouldn't I? So, I decided to do it by walking. When I told my friends, they didn't believe me," he recalled.

Making the pilgrimage to Mecca – a religious obligation for Muslims with sufficient means – on foot is an honor and blessing, he said. "I started this journey on Nov. 3, 2019. I have never experienced travel like this, I have traveled by plane; I have booked nice hotels, but never like this. I was so excited," he said.

Once he had made the five-day journey from London to the port of Dover, he took a ferry over to France. Boarding the ferry Fayedi said, he was "so excited because I couldn't believe I was doing it".

Feyadi said he had to change the trolley he was using to carry his essentials three times so far due to his lack of experience and had faced difficulties along the way.

"I've had so many dangerous encounters while camping in places far from cities. There were times I was scared, so then I decided to camp in city centers or places where there were people I could reach," he said.

So far, he has worn out four pairs of shoes and is now on his fifth and even takes medicines and vitamins every night to mollify the aching in his knees from every long day's journey.