American celebrity Lindsay Lohan just admitted she has been afraid to return to the US because of her beliefs about Islam.
Speaking to Mail Online on Friday, Lohan talked about her recent interest in Islam and the Middle East, saying: "I was scared to come here [New York] with everything going on because of my personal beliefs."
U.S. President Donald Trump has been >attempting to bar immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim majority countries. Although the "Muslim ban" went into effect temporarily, it has since been >suspended by U.S. courts, but Trump has doubled-down on his promise to enforce the ban.
Lohan has been traveling around the Middle East in the past few months, >volunteering with refugees, hanging out with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and attending >snazzy parties in Dubai. Many have speculated that the Mean Girls star has converted to Islam.
Though she has readily talked about the "peace" and "solace" she has found in the Quran, Lohan says she hasn't converted -- at least not yet.
"It's a process to convert to anything. I respect all religions... it's a beautiful religion and I am a very spiritual person... it's something I've been studying," she said.
Earlier this month, Lohan >went on a Kuwaiti talk show and talked about her experience fasting for Ramadan and praying in the Islamic style. In that interview, she also talked about the hate >she has received since she was spotted carrying a Quran in 2015.
"I was just holding a religious book, but people in America didn’t like it, they judged me for it and were saying nasty things," the star said.
And the hate hasn't stopped.
In January, >a prominent newspaper in Washington D.C. published an op-ed by a contributor calling Lohan's "conversion" to Islam "her worst life choice yet."
Considering the celebrity has struggled with serious drug addiction and spent time in prison, the classification as the "worst" is, to put it mildly, beyond ridiculous and absurdly sensational.
After backlash from readers, the article was taken down.
But, despite the hate, Lohan wants to try and make a positive impact. She feels that her firsthand experience with refugees gives her a unique perspective to share with Americans, and she hopes Trump will soon change his tune as well.
She told Mail Online Trump should visit Turkey like she did, saying it would be "a positive thing for America to show their care and support, and for him [Trump] to experience what it's like for these people... experience how giving Turkey has been to the refugees and how many they have welcomed in."
Lohan also praised Turkey's president saying, "Erdoğan has a very big heart, and his country stands by him."
Yet despite her fear and concerns, Lohan also voiced her willingness to work with Trump.
"If u cant beat him, join him," she said.