IAM West Midlands Launch 2020

Bismillah! Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) 2020 kicked off in the West Midlands on Tuesday 3rd November with an incredible launch event featuring a lineup of inspiring and insightful speakers. Hosted by Shuaib Afzal, MEND Birmingham Working Group Chair and facilitated by Hina Junejo, MEND Birmingham Women’s Engagement Lead and a leadership development consultant, TV presenter, activist and empowerment coach. 

The event aimed to give attendees a taste of the many different strands of islamophobia and of IAM itself, providing insight on the impact of islamophobia on mental health, employment opportunities, community cohesion and societal function. 

MEND were honoured to host panellists with expertise across many different fields who provided such a rich discussion. Guests included:

• Dr Asim Yusuf, Consultant Psychiatrist with a special interest in Islamic Spirituality and Mental Health;
• Dr Tahir Abbas, Assistant Professor in Terrorism and Political Violence, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, The Hague;
• Shreen Mahmood, radio presenter, a World Hijab Day UK Ambassador, and Muslims Connect Founder;
• Simon Foster, Labour Party candidate for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner;
• Qari Zakaullah, Head Imam at Green Lane Masjid;
• Ray Gaston, Team Vicar and Interfaith Advisor;
• Rana Shama Nazir, Consultant Engineer, Founder of British Kashmiri Women Council and Vice-Chair of All Pakistant Women’s Association, UK.

One of the key takeaways from the event was the importance of continued dialogue among people with diverse experiences and skills. The power and impact of this event undoubtedly came not only from the quality of the speakers, but also from each panellist’s unique perspective and expertise, which contributed to an extremely informative and varied discussion. 

Thank you to our panellists, the co-chairs, Shuaib and Hina, for their input and to all those who followed the discussion online via our Facebook page.

If you missed the live event, catch up here: https://fb.watch/1B002Qn4Ub/