A demonstrator sat down Saturday near the home of a Muslim candidate for the Maryland House of Delegates with a hand-lettered sign bearing a crude denunciation of Islam. The sign was apparently aimed at Saqib Ali, a Gaithersburg resident who is running in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary for a seat in House District 39.
The demonstrator, who wore a T-shirt reading “This mind is an Allah-free zone,” planted himself near the house in the Quince Orchard Estates development that Ali also uses as a campaign office. Ali, a software engineer who is challenging three incumbents, said he went out into his small cul-de-sac to look at the man but said nothing to him.
“I knew he was there to bait me,” Ali said. According to Ali, the man began saying, “You are a terrorist…. You guys are violent extremists.” Ali said that he remained silent and that the man, appearing upset, stood and left. Police were later called, and Ali said he agreed with their assessment that nothing illegal took place.