The global problem of terrorism has grown a lot worse in the past few years. Attacks have become more frequent and terrorists have become more brazen. Just in November 2015, coordinated terror attacks hit Paris which led to 130 needless deaths. As fear of terrorism grows, many have begun to fear Islam along with it. According to AMCC president Atif Fareed, such fear is unfounded. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Terrorists in no way represent Islam. Terror groups such as the Islamic State (IS) may claim to follow Islam but their actions speak otherwise. Islam is a religion of love and peace and does not advocate killing and violence.
To help people realize that there is no need to fear Islam; Atif Fareed has led a campaign of spreading billboards across major US cities. Each of these billboards conveys a message about the true Islam. Some of the billboards, costing around $10,000 each, are located in the following areas:
1. in Tampa, at 40th Street East, 300 feet south of Martin Luther King facing north;
2. in Tampa, at 50th Street East, 200 feet south of 5th Avenue facing south;
3. in Pinellas County, located on U.S. 19, 850 feet south of 150th Avenue, facing north.
Atif Fareed says that more billboards are on the way. At the moment, there are already more than a hundred “Why Islam” billboards in various locations in the United States. The campaign intends to heave at least one billboard in every city that has a Muslim community. The billboards also encourage non-Muslims to learn more about Islam through the toll-free number and website found on each billboard. Calling the number will direct one to an information center where they can ask anything they want to know about the religion and Muslim Americans as well. The website, on the other hand, has everything one needs to know about the teachings of Islam as well as Muslim culture and traditions. Fareed believes that the best way of getting rid of the fear of Islam is to help people know more about the faith. AMCC is also offering free copies of the Quran for non-Muslims who want to learn about Islam.
The AMCC in cooperation with ICNA is also having a social media campaign called #WhoisMuhammad. The campaign simply encourages Muslims, especially those in America, to tweet or post something about Muhammad in social media and tag the post with the hash tag #WhoisMuhammad. Muslim Americans are looking forward for the day when nobody fears Islam.