From ABC News
A Muslim fraternity at the University of Texas at Dallas recently took to the streets in protest of domestic violence against women.
Members of Alif Laam Meem, the founding chapter of the new Alpha Lambda Mu Fraternity, held signs that said “Muslims Say No to Domestic Violence” and “Muslims Say Yes to Women’s Rights” at the Men’s Rally Against Domestic Violence in Dallas on March 24 to protest the abuse of women and to put a positive face on a religion they say is often misunderstood.
“Muslims are always on defense,” fraternity president Ali Mahmoud said in a phone interview on Monday morning. “We usually get called in to explain ourselves and instead we decided to take the offense and tell people what Islam is instead of what it isn’t.”
A sophomore who was “born and raised in Dallas” on Spongebob and the occasional fast food meal just like a lot of other young Americans, Mahmoud thinks people often have the wrong idea when it comes to Islam and domestic violence.
“We wanted to clarify the misconception that any kind of domestic violence is allowed in our religion,” he said. “And it may seem apparent through the media that it’s allowed, but that’s majorly a cultural phenomenon and not an actual teaching of our religion.”
Broadly speaking, the effort has paid off.
The group posted a photo on their Facebook page that has been liked more than 1,000 times and shared more than 1,500 times. Pictures and word of the fraternity have traveled across Tumblr, Twitter, Upworthy and the Dallas Morning News.
