PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - An activist group in Maine’s largest city says hundreds of people are participating in its drive to get residents to support Muslim-owned businesses in a show of solidarity against Islamophobia.
Progressive Portland is calling the event the “Muslim-Owned Business Buy-In” and it is using it to rally against anti-Muslim sentiment. The event is taking place in Portland on Saturday and Sunday. The group says more than 600 people signed up to participate.
The group organized the event in the wake of an act of vandalism against a halal market in the city. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the Christmas Eve window-smashing as an example of anti-Muslim sentiment.
Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling is participating in the shopping drive. He planned to visit three Muslim-owned markets on Saturday morning.
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