Building Bridges & Breaking Bias: Salford University Islamophobia Awareness Workshop Empowers Communities to Unite and Educate
On the 23rd April 2024, Salford University held its first ever Islamophobia Awareness Workshop.
The workshop was organised by the Islamic Society at the University, alongside the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Department and the Student Union.
Amna Inayat, President of the Islamic Society, said “We’ve been planning this workshop for 6 months now.
“It started after a few incidents of Islamophobia in Salford in November, which led to some critical situations that we didn’t want anybody else to have to go through.
The workshop began with speeches from hosts Amna, and SEE Sabbatical Officer Adnan Sabir. They gave an introduction on their roles within the organisation of the workshop, and the significance of raising awareness on Islamophobia throughout different communities. Amna expressed her gratitude to everyone involved in the workshop, explaining how much it meant to her that so many people were willing to give her the platform to speak on an issue that meant so much to her.
Following these introductions, the audience welcomed Pradeep Passi, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for the EDI department; Ed Moloney, CEO of the Student Union; Simone Buitendijk, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University; and Atta Ul-Rasool, Salford University student. They all gave a short speech on why they believed this workshop was important, and what they were hoping would be achieved through it happening.
Pradeep spoke on the subject of freedom of speech, and explained how he recognises that no matter what is done, “there is still work to do around equality” to ensure every student and member of staff feels safe and supported, as “unfortunately, we see Islamophobia played out across the media, across individuals and across communities.”
The audience were provided with food and drink during a break in the workshop, which was followed by a speech from Holly Rayfield, Campaign Support Officer at the Islamophobia Awareness Month Organisation. Holly led the rest of the workshop, showing facts and statistics on Islamophobia, and encouraged audience members to take part in the discussion by asking them questions.
Holly told the audience how “75% of Muslims say Islamophobia is a regular or everyday issue, and equally 65% of Muslims experience verbal abuse, which is a really shocking amount.”
She explained how Islamophobia isn’t always done in the form of a hate crime; “Studies have shown that if you have a Muslim sounding name on your CV, you’re 3 times less likely to be invited for a job interview.”
Holly also gave members of the audience a platform to share their experiences with Muslims, and Islamophobia. Some told heart-warming stories about Muslim friends, whist others shared harrowing experiences of Islamophobia they’d been through.
The event concluded with a speech from Leanne Kirk of the Report & Support team at the University, with details on how to get support after being a victim of Islamophobia, and the steps that can be taken to report such offences.
This workshop is the first of many that has been planned by the Islamic Society. By holding future events, they are hoping to raise more awareness on Islamophobia, and give different communities the opportunity to learn more about how to prevent it, and how to support anybody going through it.
More information on future events can be found on the Islamic Society’s Instagram, @salfordisoc.
