United Kingdom: a month of mobilization to stop Islamophobia from happening

In November, the UK welcomes Islamophobia Awareness Month. This year, the slogan “Don’t Let It Slide” invites everyone to react to anti-Muslim prejudice and support those targeted. In London, the East London Mosque and the London Muslim Center are participating in this campaign. A free exhibition will be open from November 18 to 28, without registration. It will allow the public to better understand the effects of Islamophobia in daily life.

On November 19, a meeting with stakeholders will be devoted to ways to react. The objective is to talk about concrete situations: how to respond to prejudice, support a person who experiences it and prevent these behaviors from being considered acceptable. An open house will follow on November 21. Visitors, believers or not, will be able to discover the mosque and interact with those who frequent it. An opportunity to ask questions and get to know each other, beyond the images often conveyed about Muslims.

Organizers also encourage participants to bring a friend. They hope to reach people who do not necessarily feel concerned by the subject. With these meetings, they want to open the discussion and help everyone to react when they witness anti-Muslim comments or behavior.