INDIANAPOLIS -- Some Indiana Muslims say they’re worried about their own safety and concerned over the backlash the president’s immigration order could bring on them.
Rima Shahid, Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, said her biggest concern is that the recent violence against Muslims could happen anywhere, even in central Indiana.
A mosque was burned down in Texas and another was attacked in Quebec over the weekend. At least six people have died from the attack in Canada.
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Shahid said she's already been the target of vulgar comments on the internet, after she spoke at the Belong Rally in downtown Indianapolis earlier this month. Now, she's also concerned about the safety of other Muslims in the state.
“I’m a Hoosier. I was born here,” said Shahid. “I don’t hold a different value system than anyone else and because I call my God ‘Allah,’ and not God, does that make it OK to hate me?”
Shahid said despite what she’s seen in recent days, she will not stop her outreach. If anything, she said it has made her want to work harder at spreading a message of peace throughout the community.
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