Thousands of Americans in 20 cities 'March Against Shariah'

Crowd of more than 500 reportedly showed up at a "March Against Shariah' rally in San Bernardino, California, on June 10, 2017 (Photo: Twitter)

Act for America's "March Against Shariah" unfolded in more than 20 American cities Saturday, with the group's chairman declaring great momentum from the events and blasting the groups behind the counter-protests in several locations.

"The growth out of this movement has been phenomenal. We have added 250,000 followers to Act for America," Act for America Founder and Chairman Brigitte Gabriel told WND and Radio America. "A quarter-of-a-million patriotic Americans stepped up and said, 'We are joining you.' We are excited. This is the movement we have been waiting for."

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She said many Americans are realizing that if they don't stand up to Shariah law now, they may not have the chance years from now.

"We need to come together to save America because it's the last man standing," Gabriel said. "Europe is gone. Nobody else in the world can stand up to Islamofacism the way we can. We need every American who loves this country involved."

Man attending 'March Against Shariah' rally carries sign that says: 'Ex-Muslims against Sharia' (Photo: Twitter)

Gabriel said thousands of Americans turned out for the marches across the nation and many more supported the effort online, some because they had to work and others because they feared for their safety. She said the absence of injuries ought to convince many more people to get involved.

"The most important thing that this rally showed to every conservative out there is that you can get out and nobody's going to kill you. Nobody's going to harm you," Gabriel said. "The worst they can say to you is you are an Islamophobe."

Listen to the WND/Radio America interview with Brigitte Gabriel:

Shariah is the Islamic law that is increasingly seeping into Western courtrooms. Even in the United States, Gabriel said 143 cases in 22 states have allowed Shariah law as a defense. She said female genital mutilation and honor killings are very real issues in American culture.

Gabriel said Americans may be shocked to know just how many girls have suffered as a result of Shariah's endorsement of female genital mutilation as a means of supposedly tamping down "hypersexuality."

"[The Centers for Disease Control] came out and said over a half-a-million girls – 513,000 girls – in the United States today in 2017 are at risk of female genital mutilation or have already been victims of female genital mutilation. That's over half-a-million American girls," Gabriel said.

"Who would have thought that in America today we were going to be discussing or sealing with such a barbaric practice that people think is only practiced in the backwoods of Africa and the Middle East?" she asked.

Gabriel said honor killings also continue in our own communities.

"These are girls and women who are killed by a male in their family for simple things such as asking for a divorce, wanting to wear makeup, wanting to go out on a date or wanting to go out to a cafe with male and female friends," she explained.

Crowd at June 10 'March Against Shariah' rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Photo: Twitter)

When critics accuse the March Against Shariah of being anti-Muslim, Gabriel points to these issues to stress the movement is explicitly anti-Shariah.

"We welcome people to our country from all over the place, from different backgrounds, different religions, different sexual orientations, whatever it is," Gabriel said. "I am an immigrant to America. But we want people who come to the United States to abide by our rules, obey our Constitution, adopt our culture and become part of the American fabric and live in a way that is compatible with our Western democracy and respect for human rights."

She said that is clearly not happening.

"We do not want people coming here genitally mutilating young American girls, killing American girls in the name of honor or teaching the hatred and encouraging the killing of gays and lesbians, etc.," she said.

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Gabriel said the active involvement of many Muslims in the March Against Shariah is also evidence of what its focus truly is.

"Our rally included a former imam who helped us organize the rally, four practicing Muslims speaking at our rallies," Gabriel said. "The Muslim that organized our Atlanta rally was named Mohammed, and he's the one who pulled it all together. We had acid-attack survivors who spoke at our rallies. We had Miriam Ibrahim speak at our rally in Virginia Beach."

A Muslim man named Mohamed who helped organize for 'March Against Shariah' holds a sign that reads: 'As a Muslim patriotic American, I oppse Islamic law in America! Salaam!' (Photo: Twitter)

Ibrahim was the woman sentenced to death in Sudan for converting to Christianity and forced to give birth while shackled in prison. Fierce international pressure eventually led to her release.

Despite those testimonials, Gabriel said the Muslim groups and their liberal allies had no intention of listening.

"Their voices were drowned, and that is such a shame because the left is not listening to those voices crying for help and standing up for America's liberty and security and our Western values," Gabriel said. "They don't understand what we're dealing with, and they are being used as useful idiots."

Mariam Ibrahim, the woman sentenced to death in Sudan for converting to Christianity and forced to give birth while shackled in prison, speaks at the June 10 'March Against Shariah' event in Virginia Beach, Virginia (Photo: Twitter)

She also said the anti-Muslim label is an example of "intentional confusion."

"Because they could not argue with the facts that we were presenting, they had to change the conversation and make us look like we are Islamophobes and this is anti-Islam," she said.

Gabriel said the nexus of groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and far left groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter are joining forces to "drown the voices of patriotic Americans."

Act for America is looking to build on its momentum at an October conference in Washington, D.C.

"We are going to descend on Washington, D.C., put pressure on elected officials and remind them that America's national security is the number one concern for the country," Gabriel said. "We will not follow the path of Europe."