Drivers along a busy stretch of highway in Chicago received a particularly poignant message during their daily commute on Thursday, "Hey ISIS, you suck!"
A group of local Muslim professionals pulled together funds to put up the billboard, hoping to counter the mainstream American media association of their entire religion with the relatively small extremist militant organization. The straightforward and direct message is signed "From #ActualMuslims" and includes a quote from the Quran, emphasizing the clear difference between Muslims' religious beliefs and those of violent extremists.
"A group of American-Muslim professionals organized like-minded, concerned Muslims to raise funds for this campaign," Mohammad Siddiqi, executive director of Sound Vision, the non-profit behind the campaign, said, according to NBC 5 Chicago .
"We wanted to choose a place that was high traffic," Leena Suleiman, a representative of the group, said.
"It's about shouting out, 'ISIS does not represent me, I'm Muslim, I say the word 'sucks,' I'm like everyone else in my country. We want to scream it from a billboard."