Blackburn College: Guest Lecture During Hate Crime Awareness Week 2020

On Thursday 15^th October 2020, our MEND Blackburn volunteer team were invited to Blackburn College to guest lecture on Islamophobia as part of Hate Crime Awareness Week.

We presented to undergraduate and postgraduate law students, discussing Islamophobia and legislation surrounding this and the Muslim community at large. We began by giving the students an introduction into Islamophobia, conversing about its definition and the ways in which it manifests itself. We then looked at how it can affect the lives of Muslims in the UK, before doing a deep delve into the Home Office’s hate crime figures.

From here, we engaged in discussion about the effects of media reporting on the perception of Muslims and the barriers to participation faced by Muslims. We also spoke about the key legislation that exists to protect minority communities in the UK and how race and religion are viewed under current legislation. We took a look through the timeline for legislation that affected the Muslim community, including counter-terror legislation that has changed the way that Muslims interact with the legal system since 9/11.

During our lecture, we also spoke about MEND’s Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) and the work they do to protect victims of discrimination and hate crime. We looked into some examples of cases that the IRU team have previously dealt with and how difficult the path to justice can be.

We also mentioned Islamophobia Awareness Month that is coming up in November, and the importance of all communities engaging with the work that it takes to overcome social justice issues such as Islamophobia.

We’d like to extend our thanks to Anssa Amin and Blackburn College for inviting us in and we hope that this is the beginning of a fruitful relationship.

If you’d like us to come into your institution to guest lecture or to deliver any workshops regarding Islamophobia, be sure to get in touch via [email protected]