Thousands of protesters gathered outside a Muslim conference taking place on Saturday, in Garland, Texas, near Dallas. CCTV America’s Ginger Vaughn reported from Garland.

Israali Nur, 11, said she wasn’t expecting this kind of reaction.

“Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion. We are here for peace and love… And those people over there are like rally really mad about us. They are shouting at us, calling us names and stuff,” Nur said.

The conference titled “Stand With the Prophet Against Terror and Hate, was promoted as a fund-raiser to build a center dedicated to teaching Muslims how to combat negative stereotypes of their religion. It was hosted by Sound Vision, an Islamic organization, at the Curtis Culwell Center.

Protester Christine Weick who runs a Christian ministry in Michigan said she drove over a 1,000 miles.

“I feel that we need to take a stand here against the ideology of Islam. The call us Islamicphobes. I am not scared of Islam. I am not scared of Muslims. I am going to do battle with the idea that pushes this. That is where we have a problem,” Weick said.

Others say they’re not against the religion but have a problem with some of the speakers attending the event.