Friday 06-11-2020 - 13:43

What is Islamophobia? Do we actually know what it is? Islamophobia is prejudice, aversion, hostility, or hatred towards Islam and Muslims. Islamophobia not only refers to a category of hate crime, but pertains to barriers that Muslims face across all areas of public life:

* Mosques and Muslim community centres being regularly vandalised, set on fire and targeted with bomb threats.
* Muslim children regularly encountering Islamophobia in the playground.
* 50% of women wearing the hijab feel that they have missed out on progression opportunities because of religious discrimination and that the wearing of the hijab had been a factor.
* As demonstrated by studies, mainstream media using 21 negative terms when referring to Muslims for every neutral or positive term.
* Muslims being disproportionately stopped at airports for reasons as spurious as reading books or returning from pilgrimage.

Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) was co-founded by MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) with other British organisations in 2012 to deconstruct and challenge the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.

IAM raises awareness within society of how Muslims are discriminated against in various spheres, along with providing information on the positive contributions of British Muslims to the UK.

Our aim is to help understand why people have Islamophobia, how it affects them now and in the future. We want to be able to educate the non-muslim community on Islam and the misconception they have about it. We want all Muslims to be able to live in a world were they don’t fear to be judged and and have the same rights as a non-muslim.