Ending Islamophobia

Islamophobia

An exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and

Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in

bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of

Muslims from social, political, and civic life.[1]

Recent Australian ABC Debate "My frustration is that people talk about Islam without knowing anything about it," she said. "They're willing to completely negate any of my rights as a human being, as a woman, as a person with agency, simply because they have an idea about what my faith is about.” “What is culture is separate from what is faith”

Jacquie Lambie, Australian politician

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, social activist, author, TV and radio presenter

Three important concepts about religion

• In many religions there are radical movements that do not define the religion as a whole.

• Religious doctrine is separate from cultural

practices and institutions.

• Fear of a religion is most often a combination of ignorance and fear.

Charlie Hebdo Shooting 2015: #JesuisAhmed

2015: Chapel Hill Shooting

Deah and Yusor were married

Deah, Yusor, and Yusor’s younger sister and best friend, Razan

Ahmed Mohamed clock incident - 2015

France’s Burkini Ban in Nice - 2016

September 2016 Muslim Marine incident • Raheel Siddiqui of Taylor, Mich abused repeatedly by drill

instructor – “You’re going to kill us all the first chance you get aren’t

you, terrorist?” – Ordered into an industrial clothes dryer multiple times

Donald Trump and rising Islamophobia in America (and other countries)

Normalization of Islamophobic rhetoric and actions from the POTUS! • Donald Trump cited faulty survey during the election primaries.

•Source: Politifact • 25 percent of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad, and 51 percent of those polled agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah.“

•"one cannot extrapolate directly from an online, opt-in survey to the broader U.S. population.“ • opt-in" methodology and the dubiously large percentages of respondents who said they were unaware of ISIS or al-Qaida.

• “I think Islam hates us.”

• “There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey where you have large Arab populations. . . They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as that building came down.“

•Recent Muslim ban at the airports

Quebec City Mosque Attack 6 humans killed, eight humans harmed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attack as a "terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge"

Other incidents of Islamophobia

• 1094 incidents of hate since the election of which 121 were anti-Muslim related– Southern Poverty Law Center, Dec 16, 2016 – A man told a U of M student to remove her hijab or be set on fire. – Azra Baig, Muslim school board member in South Brunswick –

someone wrote “ISIS sympathizer” on her campaign signs. – Various mosques and Islamic centers received letters that

described Muslims as “Children of Satan” and “vile and filthy” – Man made obscene gesture at women wearing hijab in park and

said to someone “Muslims are subhuman”

Sikhism

Closing! Questions?