This Woman's Response to Donald Trump's Muslim ID Proposal Is Going Viral
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After GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump proposed a plan that would require Muslims to wear ID badges in the U.S., one young Muslim girl came up with the perfect response.
In a Facebook post, California resident Marwa Balkar actually welcomed the GOP candidate's proposal and posted a picture of herself wearing what her ID badge would be: a peace sign. By doing so, Balkar hoped to send a message to Trump.
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Facebook/Marwa Balkar - facebook.com
"Dear @realdonaldtrump, My name is Marwa and I am a Muslim. I heard you wanted us to start wearing ID badges, so I decided to choose one for myself." Balkar said on Facebook. "I am not easily identifiable as a #Muslim just by looking at me, so my new badge will let me display proudly who I am. I choose the peace sign because it represents my #Islam. The one that taught me to oppose #injustice and yearn for #unity. The one that taught me that killing one innocent life is equivalent to killing humanity."
Riding the wave of Islamophobia flooding the nation, Trump told NBC News that he would work to implement a database system that would track Muslims.
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Balkar responded by saying this:
"I heard you wanted to track us as well. Great! You can come with me on my Cancer Awareness at the local middle school, or you can follow me to work where it is my job to create happiness. You can also see how my local mosques can make PB&J sandwiches for the homeless and interfaith dinners where everyone is welcomed. Maybe then you'll see that me being Muslim doesn't make me any less American than you are. Maybe if you walk in my footsteps, you can see that I am not any less human than you are."
Balkar signed the post with the Arabic expression "Salaam Alaikum," which means "peace to you."
Over the course of four days Balkar's post has received more than 300,000 likes, including a like from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Other Muslims Are Protesting Trump's Comments on Social Media
Balker isn't the only one turning the tables on Trump. Hundreds of other Muslims have been tweeting pictures of themselves displaying some form of an ID badge with the hashtag #MuslimID.
Former U.S. marine Tayyib Rashid posted this tweet of his old ID card from the U.S. military.
A Muslim student from Princeton University and Massachusetts of Institute Technology tweeted their student IDs.
Eventually, many Muslims from all over started using the hashtag to proudly display their Islamic faith and American citizenship.
@realDonaldTrump I'm an American-Muslim, I serve and protect my community. Where's your ID. #thinblueline #muslimID pic.twitter.com/OwrjVLCMSX
— Shahzad Khan (@shiz006) November 21, 2015
After mounting backlash over his comments, Trump attempted to clarify his position in a tweet.
However, for many, the damage is already done.