Dr. Houwari next to the anti-Muslim protester, Ann Arbor, April, 17

ANN ARBOR — Maybe the demonstrator who held an anti-Muslim sign in front of the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor was trying to provoke a negative response to reaffirm her misconceptions about Islam. 

Instead, she received nothing but love.

“I serve a RISEN savior Jesus Christ. Muhammad is DEAD,” the sign read. The mosque urged worshipers to be nice to the demonstrator without engaging in a debate with her. But one Muslim Ann Arbor resident felt the negative message required a response, especially since children attending the Michigan Islamic Academy next to the center, were affected by it. 

On Friday, April 17, Dr. Hamad Houwari made his own sign and displayed it next to the middle-aged, White, fundamentalist woman. It read, “Muhammad and Jesus = Love not hate.”

Houwari said he was met by overwhelmingly positive responses by passersby. 

“Hundreds of cars were stopping in support,” Houwari said. “Christians were telling her she doesn’t represent them. Some of people told her ‘shame on you.’ I didn’t mean to insult her. I just wanted to show the contrast between the two sides.”

He said ignoring the woman was not the best way to approach her hatred. “Forgiveness is a virtue in Islam when you are in charge,” he said. “We are not in charge. We have to defend ourselves but do it in a positive way.”

The anti-Muslim protester caused a buzz on social media last year when she held the same sign in front of Dearborn’s Islamic Center of America.

Houwari said his children joined him to color his sign after they got off school. He added that it is important to keep kids away from hatred and teach them love and tolerance. 

“There are fanatics in every religion and ideology,” he said. “Instead of promoting the negatives, we should be focusing on the good values; and this would be a way of showing peace and love. This is what we want for our future.”