Woman Poses In Front Of Anti-Muslim Protesters To Smile 'In The Face Of Bigotry'

A Muslim woman has gone viral after taking photos of herself posing in front of anti-Muslim protesters, saying she 'smiled in the face of bigotry'.

Shaymaa Ismaa'eel, 24, was photographed smiling in her hijab, crouching down to pose in front of the protestors and their placards outside the Islamic Circle of North America convention in Washington, D.C.

After sharing the photos on Instagram with a caption that quoted the Prophet Muhammad, Shaymaa also posted them on Twitter to explain more about her rationale, writing: "On April 21st I smiled in the face of bigotry and walked away feeling the greatest form of accomplishment."

Her tweet has since racked up 150,000 likes and 42,000 retweets.

Speaking to Buzzfeed, Shaymaa explained she went to the convention on Saturday, and the first thing she saw was the group of men protesting outside.

"Most people were very upset and didn't know how to embrace their presence," she said.

"Some teens were getting upset, trying to approach the men."

Shaymaa said that friends were told they were going to hell by the protestors as they walked past, which prompted her to make a stand - saying she wanted them to see her face but walking by 'wasn't enough'.

Twitter/Shaymaa Ismaa'eel

By the time things at the convention came to an end, the group of protestors had left, but Shaymaa then spotted them nearby.

"My face honestly lit up when I had seen," she said. "I yelled to my friend Jamilah, 'There they are! Can you take a picture?'

"I walked up as they continued yelling their hateful speech. I asked the police officer if I could stand at the curb in front of the men.

"The officer said 'no', and in that moment I felt like the biggest rebel.

Twitter/Shaymaa Ismaa'eel

"I smiled so hard in the picture and the man [started] directing his speech toward me. Silly things like 'your face should be covered'."

Twitter/Shaymaa Ismaa'eel

In spite of the hateful speech which Shaymaa and her friends were subjected to, she maintains she had a great time at the convention, and that it didn't ruin the experience for her 'in the slightest'.

Instead, she walked away with a huge sense of 'accomplishment', which I'm fairly certain won't have been the same for the protestors.

Absolute. Hero.

Topics: Viral, News, US News

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman