Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has offered his support to Muslims while encouraging others to do the same in a post he made on his social network on December 9. This post was in response to comments made by certain Republican politicians in the U.S.
In the wake of several terror attacks rocking the world in the recent weeks, some Americans have been calling for extreme action against the Muslim community.
Controversial right-wing 2016 US presidential candidate Donald Trump has rather vocally called for a complete ban on Muslims entering the country, proving that America, on the whole, is still somewhat ignorant of the culture of the Muslim community, allowing their fear of terrorism to enable them to stereotype an entire religion.
When challenged on his views, Trump says he stands by them, comparing his plans to the internment camps used during World War II.
Mark Zuckerberg, in defense of the targeted Muslim community, wrote in his post “If you are a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook I want you to know that you are always welcome here and that we will fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment for you.”
Facebook has already shown to be a powerful tool to fight Muslim extremism from ISIS and other groups in the Middle East. The social network has been used to organize protests that have been credited with removing certain corrupt and extremist governments.
These comments are not unprecedented from Zuckerberg. In a Q&A conducted in January of this year, he stated that Facebook can be a tool for free communication, promoting people’s civil rights, even in areas where freedom of speech is limited.
“We must not lose hope,” writes Zuckerberg. “As long as we stand together and see the good in each other, we can build a better world for all people.”
