The Islamic Center of Little Rock is hoping to counter negative stereotypes with a billboard campaign comparing a Muslim woman in a hijab, or headscarf, to Virgin Mary in a veil.
KUAR spoke to the mosque’s vice president, Alaa Eldamaty , who says the goal is to encourage questions.
"You might be scared of Islam because of all of the media or all of the horrific attacks happening around the world in the name of Islam," said Eldamaty. "But really, Islam is a religion of peace," she explained.
The image has been posted around the city and is currently on South University Ave. It says, “They wore it for the same reason.”
"We're trying to tell folks, learn more about Islam. Be confident enough to go up and ask a Muslim what they believe or what they think. On the contrary to what you may think, we love it when people ask questions," said Eldamaty.
The billboard was designed by the website WhyIslam.org which has provided a template for similar billboards in Washington and Florida.
*A previous version of this story referred to the website as WhyIslam.com