Last week, a Muslim man stood blindfolded on a street in Paris with two signs next to his feet. The first sign read: “I’m a Muslim, but I’m told that I’M A TERRORIST.” Then the second sign read: “I trust you, do you trust me? If yes, HUG ME.” The Parisian man made a bold stance, after the terrorist attack in Paris that killed over 100 innocent people and injured hundreds more. But his actions did not come from a place of aggression or hatred, they were actions of love and acceptance. He aimed to show that although some Muslims are radical terrorists, not all Muslims act in such a manner. There is an ongoing stereotype about Muslims in general and how they are aggressive. Words such as terrorist, traitors, dangerous, aggressive, harmful, and radical are usually associated with Muslim people.

After seeing the horrific terrorist attacks on the Parisian people, many might assume that the majority of Parisians witnessing this man would ignore him or even punish him for doing such actions, but that was not the case. In fact, the majority of Parisians that came across this man walked up to him and hugged him. They even said a few kinds words to him about the impact of what he was doing. After removing his blindfold the man explained, “A terrorist is a terrorist, someone willing to kill another human being over nothing. A Muslim would never do that. Our religion forbids it." This man was breaking the stereotypical perceived nature of Muslims, and the Parisians community around was breaking the stereotypical nature of accepting Muslim people in their country. Although Paris just endured a gruesome attack on their people and on their country, they are showing love to the brave man who stood in the street.

The actions of this one man sparked other Muslims in Paris to do the same. Another man stood on a street in Paris, blindfolded, with a sign that said: “I am a Muslim, but not a terrorist. We love you.” When that man was interviewed he explained that he’s a Syrian refugee and loves Parisian people and how accepting they are of him. Another Muslim man explained that the Parisians smile at him and show him love, despite what has happened. This is the type of love and humanity that needs to be shown and spread across the world. There will always be people that want to hurt and do nothing but generate hatred and unrest in this world. But those people are not the majority. Those people are not defined by a race or a religion. They are individuals choosing to enact such destructive actions, but they are acting alone from the greater number of people that desire peace for this world. The key is that these people are individuals, not a whole race or country, who aim to disrupt the peace. The actions of these Muslim men in Paris and the Parisians who continue to accept them display the utmost acceptance and kindness that should be displayed across the world.