CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Holding a sign that reads: “I’m a Muslim, and a U.S. Marine Ask Anything” Mansoor Shams walked around the Trade & Tryon trying in his own way to make the world a more peaceful place.
"There's no protest. I'm just trying to get a message out." Mansoor tells a man who wanted to know more. "Bring people together. That's it."
Mansoor hopes to break down barriers and answer questions for as many people as he can. He says emails and messages left on his website, muslimmarine.org help him to know how he's doing — even the ones filled with hate.
"Even if I get a hate message, that's one other person I've been able to engage. That's one other person that now knows. Whether they deny or go on hating, that's the choice they have to make," Mansoor said. "I know I've been able to convey a message to someone that never saw that narrative. The only narrative that they had ever heard was someone chopping heads off and out there to kill them."
Mansoor hopes to visit as many states as he can. So far he has visited just over half.