A Muslim woman was removed from Donald Trump's
campaign event in South Carolina on Friday after standing in silent protest
following one of the Republican front-runners controversial immigration comments.
Rose Hamid, 56, attended the event in Rock Hill wearing a hijab and a
shirt that read 'Salam, I come in peace,' hoping that her presence might manage
to change the opinion some Trump supporters have about members of the Islam
faith.
She positioned herself directly behind Trump, and when he began to speak
about Syrian
refugees being banned from entering the United States and
suggested that many had ties to ISIS,
she silently stood up out of her seat.
Police immediately escorted her out of the event while the audience
booed the woman and yelled at her to 'get out,' with one man screaming; 'You
have a bomb, you have a bomb.'
After Hamid had been removed, Trump said to the audience; 'There is
hatred against us that is unbelievable. It's their hatred, it's not our hatred.
Trump Donald
'I figured that most Trump supporters probably never met a Muslim so I figured
that I'd give them the opportunity to meet one,' Hamid told CNN about her decision to attend the event after the
incident.
'I really don't plan to say anything. I don't want to be disrespectful
but if he says something that I feel needs answering I might - we'll just see
what strikes me.'
Prior to her protest she said that things had been going well, and that
the people she spoke with seemed receptive and eager to talk.
'The people around me who I had an opportunity to talk with were very
sweet,' said Hamid, who was not even offended when one individual commented
that she 'didn't look scary,' but 'like a good one' while they were standing in
line.
Everything changed however when she decided to stand.
'The ugliness really came out fast and that's really scary,' said Hamid.
Major Steven Thompson of the Rock Hill Police Department said that Hamid
was removed because police were briefed beforehand that 'anybody who made any
kind of disturbance' would be escorted from the premises.
Trump meanwhile has not spoken about the incident, but did write about
the event on Twitter Friday night, saying; 'Great even in SC tonight! Fire
Marshall would not let everyone in-- 5,000 turned away. Thank you for coming!
Despite her treatment and the abuse she received from the audience, Hamid was
quick to excuse the individuals and place the blame on Trump and the comments
he has made over the course of his campaign.
'This demonstrates how when you start dehumanizing the other it can turn
people into very hateful, ugly people,' she said.
'It needs to be known.'
Hamid, who is the co-founder and president of Muslim Women of the
Carolinas and writes a column for The Charlotte Observer about her faith, had been
discussing Trump just days before during an appearance on a local radio
program, Charlotte Talks.
She was raised in America after being born to a Colombian mother and a
Palestinian father, and a 2009 World Hum profile offers some insight into just why
she believes she can change people's misconceptions and Muslims.
Hamid, a flight attendant, decided in 2005 to begin wearing her hijab at
work.
Some criticized her for doing so post-9/11, including coworkers, but she
managed to take it all in stride.
The Woman Hamid
'There’s a saying of the Prophet that the person who gives salutations
first is the most blessed,' Hamid said in that interview.
'If every person was competing to be the first one to say hello, if that
was the way we lived our lives, that would really change the world.
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