Hussein Aljabali rushes the field at an International Champions Cup at Michigan Stadium.

DEARBORN — A 19-year-old resident is receiving massive attention after rushing the field with a positive message about Islam written on his body at the International Champions Cup, hosted at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, July 30.

While soccer fans hyped themselves up for the Real Madrid CF vs. Chelsea FC match in Ann Arbor, Hussein Aljabali plotted to the steal the show by sharing a powerful message about his religion in front of 100,000 cheering fans.

Aljabali said he’s been on a mission to combat growing Islamophobia since he worked at Detroit Metro Airport in prospects, where he said he routinely faced discrimination and prejudice from customers.

He recalled one incident when he was wheeling a disabled woman who asked him, “Where are you from?”

When he replied he was from Yemen, she told him, “Why don’t you go back there?”

“Some of them would be saying stuff to be about Muslims and I would tell them ‘do you know I’m Muslim?'” Aljabali told The AANews. “And they would stop talking. So, I wanted to do something that could go viral, a good message about Muslims.”

And that’s what he did. Aljabali had tickets to the soccer game months in advance, but he didn’t plot his stunt until just a few hours before he headed to Ann Arbor with his friends, who had seats in different sections.

With a marker, he wrote “I love Islam” on his chest and “Muslims are not terrorists” on his back.

He had watched the game for hours waiting for the right moment to rush the field. And then, finally, during the last 30 seconds, his moment arrived.

“At the end of the game, I said ‘It’s time,'” Aljabali said. “I took off my shirt. Some guy tried to hold me back. I was like, ‘No, man. Let me go. I have to send a message.'”

He ran into the middle of the field while fans cheered on, catching the attention of the players and security as well.

Police were not thrilled with Aljabali’s move, but he immediately turned himself in.

“I didn’t want them to chase me and make it look bad on Muslims,” Aljabali said. “They cuffed me for a few minutes, but then they let me go. They said, ‘Don’t do anything stupid.'”

He received a civil infraction ticket from the Ann Arbor police.

Aljabali said when the police let him go, some fans began insulting him, calling him names like “douche bag.” 

For a moment, he wondered if his stunt backfired.

But when he walked back into the stadium, fans began cheering him.

“People came up to take pictures with me,” he added. “Non-Muslims, Whites, everyone was giving me handshakes and hugs. I was actually very proud of what I did.”

Over the next few days, Aljabali’s stunt spread like wildfire on social media. He began receiving messages and phone calls by the minute.

“That message reached out to thousands of people,” he said. “Thousands of people began adding me on Facebook and Instagram. There’s been a lot of positive messages.”

Following his job at the airport, Aljabali decided to start a YouTube channel called 4you2Smile to spread a positive message about his religion. He plans to pull more stunts and do more social experiments. 

“I want to post videos that will spread a good message,” Aljabali said. “Inshallah through YouTube I’ll be able to do experiments and send good messages about Muslims.”