‘Why Islamophobia Is Not Your Fault’ and the Islamic Society of the University of Edinburgh

On Thursday 15th September, MEND delivered an Islamophobia Awareness session titled ‘Why Islamophobia Is Not Your Fault’ to the Islamic Society of the University of Edinburgh (ISocEd) as part of their freshers week activities.

MEND led the discussion by presenting the students with questions which aimed to uncover the connotations of some common words which are often used when discussing Islam. Students were invited to share their thoughts on the connotations of words such as ‘Terrorist’ and ‘Jihad’, which led to an interesting discussion on the use of such terms in the media and society in general. Following the group discussion, the presenter spoke about the various presentations of Islamophobia in society and the ways in which this form of discrimination has a massive impact on the lives of Muslims in Britain.

The significance of the session ‘ Why Islamophobia Is Not Your Fault’ is that it highlights the impact of institutional discrimination combined with decades of frequent lies and stereotypes being portrayed in the media from film and tv to newspapers. This barrage of Islamophobia has evidently led to an ongoing identity crisis among Muslims today and unpacking this constant stream of discrimination perpetuated by the media requires more work like this to allow for the truth to prevail.

Thank you to Edinburgh University ISOC for hosting this event.