Islamophobia awareness month was a campaign launched in 2012 by co-founded by MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) together with other British organisations and was aimed at deconstructing and challenging the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Every November marks IAM. This year marks 10 years of the campaign.
To formally launch Islamophobia Awareness month 2022 this year at City Student´s Union, we are creating a short-video demystifying common myths and misconceptions that the media portrays of Muslims.
What is Islamophobia?
Islamophobia is the fear, hatred or prejudice against the religion of Islam or of Muslim people in general. The hostility towards Muslims often leads to hate speech and hate crimes, as well as social and political discrimination. Often Islamophobia manifests in rationalising policies such as mass surveillance, incarceration and disenfranchisement.
Where does Islamophobia exist?
Islamophobia occurs in public and private spaces where Muslims are viewed as suspects and are met with hostility in environments. In a workplace discrimination would occur where Muslim practices such as wearing a scarf and praying are prohibited or made extremely difficult.
Who is impacted by islamophobia?
Islamophobia affects Muslims and those perceived as Muslims, such as women who wear scarves or males that that are assumed to be Muslim due to the way that they look.
Examples of Islamophobia in an educational setting
In 2017, King’s college London engaged in mass surveillance and monitored staff and student emails, as part of counter-extremist strategy Prevent. This is a clear example of how the prevent agenda turns our educational institutions against their own students and creates fear and normalises Islamophobia, especially impacting students that black and Muslim, as well as those that are involved in political campaigns or research.
In 2015 A postgraduate student that was fulfilling postgraduate study in crime and global securities was falsely accused of being a terrorist after an official at Staffordshire University had spotted him reading a textbook relating to his studies in the college library.
Furthermore, there have been incidents of Islamophobia within the school sector. A 14-year-old boy was questioned about Islamic extremism following a the classroom discussion about environment activism at his North London school.
These examples outline how universities and educational initiatives are coping with the demands of the government’s new anti- extremism prevent initiatives and how it targets innocent Muslims.
What is happening during November for Islamophobia Awareness Month?
#10yearsofIAM
To formally launch the campaign we will be releasing a video that educates on what Islamophobia truly is and how it manifests in lived experiences.
We will also have a wall of Naseeha (advice, sincerity, good counsel) or any Islamic teachings throughout the month that seeks to educate the wider student population on the positive values and beliefs that Islam brings. The aim of this is to deconstruct stereotypes that people attach with Islam.
Some of the activities to also look out for and get involved in this month will be panel events, acts of kindness sessions, Islam and community building and also prevent stalls and training to educate our students on the discriminative policies that have targeted Muslims.
This year we aim to empower our students to get involved with the campaign to create and promote a more cohesive and fair world, as well as end discrimination rooted in Islamophobia. If you would like to get involved and support us, please email your Deputy President Aaminah who is heading this month's IAM campaign Aaminah.patel.3@city.ac.uk or click here to find out more.