January 29, 2017

By Madi McVan

An executive order limiting immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries issued by President Donald Trump on Friday spurred a rally and acts of solidarity in Columbia over the weekend.

The executive order suspended all travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Somalia for 90 days, regardless of their visa status. Under the order, even those with student visas are blocked from entering the country. The order also put a stop to refugee admissions from all countries for 120 days and suspended the acceptance of all refugees from Syria indefinitely.

After Saturday’s midday prayer at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri, Fuad Khaleel, president of the Operating Council of ICCM, was speaking with other prayer attendees in front of the mosque when a woman approached them.

The woman was Kelly MacNevin, an activist and member of the group CoMo for Progress. She carried yellow flowers and asked permission to place them on the front steps of the mosque. Khaleel granted her permission, and MacNevin let the men know that some of her friends would be bringing more flowers throughout the afternoon.

MacNevin’s childhood experience of living on a military base in Germany sparked the idea to bring flowers to the mosque.

“When 9/11 happened, all of the German community brought flowers on the steps of the church that my parents belonged to on the military base,” MacNevin said. “My mom said that she just felt so connected with the community after that. She felt supported. I wanted to do yellow because it’s a sign of friendship.”

Khaleel and ICCM member Abdelmonein Elfagir set up a folding table and chairs outside of the mosque and passed out cookies and juice to those bringing flowers and messages of support.

“It’s just sad because I feel like as a society, you talk about trying to bring people together, thinking about what’s best for your neighbor, so on and so forth,” Khaleel said. “Values that are taught to people when they’re children. And you know, I still think those are values that people still have. It’s sad that sometimes you get people that push fear.”

Elfagir is working on a master’s degree in health informatics at MU, and already holds a master’s in public health. He came to the U.S. from Libya in 2013 on a student visa. Because his visa is single-entry, he has not seen his parents or siblings since he moved in 2013.

Now, under Friday’s executive order, he is unsure when he will be able to return to Libya. Doing so would leave him unable to re-enter the U.S., at least until the order expires.

“[The flowers show] that we are not alone in this time of political uprising that is going on around us,” Elfagir said on Saturday. “To me, it means a lot personally. I really appreciate people who took the time and came to show their love and support. It’s really something valuable for us.”

Saturday evening, MacNevin contacted a friend and mosque member on Facebook who gave her Khaleel’s contact information, and she asked permission to organize a rally on Sunday in solidarity with local Muslims. Khaleel accepted her offer, and MacNevin spread the word to CoMo for Progress through their Facebook group.

The group gathered at Peace Park at noon Sunday, holding signs and yellow flowers. Within an hour, at least 200 people were in attendance.

At 1 p.m., a representative of ICCM led the group to the mosque, where members were waiting with cookies, snacks and juice to pass out to the marchers. Marchers laid their flowers and signs on the front steps of the mosque, then returned to Peace Park so as not to block the streets.

Khaleel addressed the crowd as the marchers gathered around the front steps. With no microphone, he asked the crowd to shout his words back to him so that those in the back could understand what he was saying.

“We appreciate the love, care and support that we’ve received from both here in our community in Columbia, Missouri, and across the nation, and across the world,” Khaleel said.

MU sophomore Maha Hamed and junior Mubinah Khaleel are Columbia natives and mosque members who joined in the rally and march. They both agree that attitudes about Muslims have shifted in recent years.

“Growing up, it was quiet,” Hamed said. “We grew up in a post-9/11 world, so we didn’t really see it first-hand. We’re adults now, and we see this bigotry first-hand, so we wanted to make sure to be a part of [the march]. And it’s also nice to see so much support from different communities all around.”

On Sunday afternoon, interim Chancellor Hank Foley released a statement expressing support for international students and providing resources to those affected by the executive order. He concluded the statement by offering his personal assistance to affected students, saying: “I am optimistic this will work out, but in the meantime, know you have our support and caring.”

_Edited by Emily Gallion | egallion@themaneater.com_