PATERSON — Khaldiya Mustafa said there were times, particularly after 9/11, when she was afraid to leave her home alone out of fear that she would be discriminated against for being a Muslim American.
At the time, she said, people told her to speak English instead of Arabic, to go back to her “own country” and to stop wearing her hijab.
This week, after President Trump’s executive action that banned people from seven countries from coming to the United States, she said multiple people have stopped her on the street to tell her that they have their love and support.
“To feel this unity, to feel more tolerated,” Mustafa, 47 of Clifton said, as she trailed off, looking at the dozens of people who gathered in Paterson on Sunday to participate in the “interfaith march for peace and democracy.”
Mustafa said that Trump’s ban, which she called unfair and without precedence, has made other people more inclusive and welcoming to the Muslim community. Even though she doesn’t feel supported from the president, she’s seeing more love from her neighbors.
“I see a lot of good,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th District), along with a number of local elected officials and religious leaders marched alongside the horde of people as they walked less than a mile from Federal Plaza in Paterson to the Great Falls National Historical Park.
The march began with a prayer before the police escorted them through the city.
At one point in the march, Booker took over the megaphone and led the group in a chant of “no wall, no fear, refugees are welcome here.”
.@CoryBooker leading the interfaith march in Paterson pic.twitter.com/vxm77qRusX
— Sara Jerde (@SaraJerde) February 5, 2017
Once the march got to the falls, a number of local religious leaders and the law makers spoke.
Mohammad Qatanani, imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, gave Trump an open invitation to visit Paterson.
“You have to be a president for all Americans,” Qatanani said. “For Americans who are here and those who want to be here in the future.”
Menendez, Booker and Pascrell each emphasized that they would work to push back on Trump’s ban and support people of all religions.
“You are not alone,” Menendez said.
The crowd ranged in ages from young to old, and a number of families attended, bringing along their small children who began playing in the park as the speeches continued.
The march was the second rally in Paterson within days that protested Trump’s travel ban. On Wednesday, more than 200 people attended to show support. About a third of residents in Paterson are foreign-born, with most coming from Latin America, Census figures show.
Those in attendance Sunday said they appreciated the support and sense of community after seeing the crowd size.
“We’re going to show him what we actually are,” said Amema Ghabar, 15 of Lodi, who attended Sunday with her sister and father.
“We’re not terrorists. We’re here to support America,” said her 14-year-old sister, Zainab Ghabar.
Sara Jerde may be reached at sjerde@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SaraJerde.
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