Eman Channel Film Talk To Me with MEND

On the 7th of March Islamic broadcaster Eman Channel invited MEND to join their new show called Talk to Me. The format was based on the popular BBC series Big Question, the host asked the audience “Have we turned the page on Islamophobia”. Members of the audience ranged from experienced journalists to Muslim converts all with their own strong opinions on the state of Islamophobia today.

One of the debated underlying factors was whether Islamophobia is increasing due to discriminatory governmental policies or due to the apparent bad character of Muslims towards Non Muslims in daily life. Some mentioned that we cannot blame the government if we as a community are not doing anything to fix our relationships with our neighbours. Others argued that Muslims should not have to go out of their way to be accepted as equal citizens of this society. However, both sides agreed that Islamophobia is rising at an extremely dangerous level and we as a community need to be more strategic in the way we tackle it, whether that be through daily interactions or lobbying the government.

MEND’s firm stance throughout the show was that as a community we need take a proactive rather than a reactive approach to solving this issue. We must recognise the underlying factors being not just one but a combination of issues; biased media reporting, ineffective legislation and the lack of Muslim participation. Then we must organise ourselves to tackle these factors such as working with wider community groups to change the public opinion about Muslims, lobbying our MP’s to represent our voice in parliament and raise awareness to our own community about the importance of being active in the face of Islamophobia.

It is warming to see MEND being welcomed on popular media platforms such as Eman Channel to share our valuable work on Islamophobia to benefit the public. We look forward to sharing our thoughts on other shows and channels over the course of this year.