ATHENS, Ohio – Local residents of the southern Ohio city of Cairo donned the Islamic headscarf, known as hijab, earlier this week, in a display of solidarity with Muslims against rising hate rhetoric.

“We thought it was a good time to make sure that they knew we are welcoming and that we cherish their friendship,” local resident Arlene Sheak told The Athens News on Thursday, December 15.

Held each Monday, almost weekly for the last 35 years, the Athens Peace and Justice Vigil was attended by some local residents who put on hijab.

According to them, the move was a show of solidarity with American Muslims who have experienced anti-Islamic harassment or other crimes in the wake of the election of Donald Trump.

Anne Cooper-Chen, professor emerita at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, said she thinks it’s “crazy” for people to have stereotypes of Muslim people.

She said her opinion was coming from somebody who has lived in “many Muslim-majority countries”.

Cooper-Chen added that the decision to don a hijab or full-face burka is a personal choice for Muslim women, and not a universal sign of oppression as some argue.

The surprising election of Donald Trump, who suggested banning Muslims from entering the US, as America’s 45th president is having its negative impact on American Muslims.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were more than 200 incidents of harassment and intimidation in the first days after Trump’s election. Many were directed toward African Americans, immigrants, Muslims and the LGBT community.