Muslims rally outside White House condemning ISIS, terrorism

WASHINGTON - Muslims from around the D.C. area gathered in front of the White House Friday evening to honor the victims in the recent terror attacks in Paris and Mali and to condemn terrorism.

The group that rallied and marched had heavy hearts over the recent string of terror attack around the world and spread a message of peace. They said Islam is a peaceful religion and terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Qaida do not represent Muslims.

In fact, they pointed out many of the victims of terrorism are Muslims.

"Our message is we don't want to let ISIS hijack our religion," said Syed Ashraf. "We want to let America and the whole world know that we as Muslims, we stand for peace, we stand for justice and we stand against forces like ISIS."

"Over the past couple of months, I definitely have noticed an uptick in the frequency and intensity of anti-Muslim rhetoric," said Hassan Ahmad of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society. "My 5-year-old daughter once was watching Donald Trump ... and asked me, 'Does he like Muslims or not?'"

The group that was our here on this night also prayed for peace and for the victims of the terror attacks in Paris, Beirut, Egypt and Mali.