WASHINGTON– One week after the terrorist attacks in Paris by ISIS, dozens of Muslims held a vigil and march Friday night near the White House.
About 100 people gathered in Lafayette Square with candles, American flags and banners that read “Muslims Condemn Terrorism”, and “American Muslims Against ISIS”.
Boy Scouts led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Participants later marched back and forth in front of the White House.
The event was organized by the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, which has condemned the attacks in Paris.
Maura Yasin says she took part to emphasize that ISIS is not Islam.
“You’re supposed to live in peace; coexist with your fellow human beings. You’re not supposed to kill innocents which is what ISIS is doing, and which is what Assad is doing.”
She says she’s “very upset” about Thursday’s House of Representatives vote in favor of slowing down the flow of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the U.S.
Another person attending the vigil, Taimoor Iqbal, says he would like to see more events like Friday’s.
“I think unless Muslims come together as countries, as individuals, as communities, we will fail at combating them and they will win out.”
Iqbal, who is from Pakistan, says there’s a chance that terrorists could take advantage of the refugee programs, but that doesn’t mean the programs should stop.
“At the end of the day we are humans, we have to take care of each other. It should be the responsibility of Muslim countries first, that we take in our own people first before we depend on others to actually help us out.”
