Brighton/Worthing SUTR Islamophobia Awareness Rally

Categories: Past Event Articles
Thursday November 12 2020
On Wednesday 11th November, MEND presented at the Brighton/Worthing SUTR online rally for Islamophobia Awareness Month. During the webinar, we heard from Brian Richardson from Stand Up to Racism, Amirah Mulla from MEND and Councillor Henna Chowdhury from Worthing.
During the evening, Brian spoke about Islamophobia and how it links to the anti-racist movement. Cllr Henna spoke about her own experiences as a Muslim woman and how Islamophobia as affected her and how she has worked to tackle it.
MEND provided the group with an overview of what Islamophobia is and the causes and cures of it. By providing them with an insight into how Islamophobia manifests itself in the life of Muslims and showcasing the stats, the attendees were able to gain a new perspective of Islamophobia from a fact-based point of view. Summarising the cycle of Islamophobia was also an effective way of speaking to how Islamophobia can escalate and the forms it can take.
Conversations following the presentations touched on the intersection of class and race when it come to Islamophobia, the trust that the Muslim community has with elected officials which can affect them reporting Islamophobic abuse and how we can carry out the ‘cures’ of Islamophobia to ensure that actual change occurs that leads to positive outcomes when it comes to tackling Islamophobia. How to effectively engage with local partners and the importance of education was also referred to during the meeting.
Attendees called MEND’s contribution a ‘great oversight’ and many were surprised by how legislation is often ineffective in protecting religious minorities. We hope to continue the conversation with the contributors and the attendees as we move further into the month.
If you or your organisation want to be involved with IAM be sure to check out http://islamophobia-awareness.org/