Islamophobia Awareness Month
Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) is a campaign founded in 2012. It aims to raise the positive contributions of Muslims and raise awareness of Islamophobia in society.
Islamophobia refers to unfounded hostility towards Islam. It refers to the practical consequences of such hostility in unfair discrimination against Muslim individuals and communities, and to the exclusion of Muslims from mainstream political and social affairs.
The month-long campaign takes place every November, the 2023 theme was ‘Muslim Stories’.
The goal of this year’s campaign is to facilitate connections among individuals from diverse backgrounds, including both Muslims and non-Muslims, using the transformative power of storytelling.
What we did in 2023
Each year, throughout November, we run a number of events to raise awareness and support our students and staff. In 2023, this included:
Creative workshops: Women in Islam
Various dates in November 2023.
The workshop was open to all women, to share, hear and ask questions as well as making postcards reflecting identities.
Thinking through Islamophobia: in conversation with Salman Sayyid
This event was organised by the Race Equality Staff Forum and the Centre for Inclusion and Diversity (CfID) and engages with Professor Salman Sayyid, one of the most prolific and compelling academics to explore the salience of Islamophobia and what it can tell us about the relationship between contemporary society and politics.
Open panel discussion
15 November 2023
Location: Student Central, Student Central Mall
This open panel discussion was organised by the Union of Students at the University of Bradford (UOB) with representation from West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Hate Crime Alliance.
The panel discussed issues of Islamophobia and micro aggressions, talk about experiences and what the University and local community agencies can do to improve Muslims experience.