“Anti-Muslim Protest Terrified My Kids”

Here is Salon’s article giving voice to a mother who walked past screaming protesters at the recent anti-Muslim protest in Orange County:

By now, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a video rocketing around the Web of anti-Muslim protesters screaming at families entering an Islamic charity event in Orange County last month. One of the most striking parts of the scene is protesters continuing to shout “go home” and “Muhammed was a pervert!” even as young children walk by with their parents. (Watch it below.)

On Thursday night, I talked to one of those parents, Orange County resident Nusrap Kureishy, who had to walk through the gauntlet of protesters with her three children. Kureishy, who is originally from India but has lived in the U.S. for many years, has a 10-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old son, and a 2-and-a-half-year-old son. The parking area for the event, which was sponsored by the Islamic Circle of North America [ICNA], was a bit of a walk from the entrance to the community center — and a valet service hired by ICNA backed out when its employees saw the angry protesters.

Kureishy, who has been involved with ICNA programs for Haiti relief and foster care, described what it was like to walk by the protesters:

“My daughter was so frightened that she just didn’t say anything. She was really terrified because she did realize that these people were against us. As soon as we got out of the car, people started taking pictures and started shouting, there was so much noise,” she says. “My 2-and-a-half-year-old boy who was sleeping got up and started crying.”

For full story: http://ow.ly/1s7ucP