Meredith College Hosts a Forum on Islamophobia and Racism

A forum titled “Race, Fear and Faith: A Conversation About ‪Racism‬ and ‪Islamophobia‬” was organized at Meredith College on April 14, 2016. Rev. William J. Barber, II, President of North Carolina NAACP, provided a brilliant context of racism, Islamophobia, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Racism and “otherization” is essential for forces of hate and fear to ascend and maintain their power in a society that is changing ethnically, culturally and socio-economically. Rev. Barber emphasized the need for a Third Reconstruction and fusion politics to build a progressive society.

Other speakers included Mohamed AbuTaleb, Imam at Islamic Center of Raleigh, and Maryam Ahmed, member of Muslim Students Association at Meredith College. They offered important perspectives on how to respond to anti-Muslim bigotry. Rev. Nancy Petty, paster at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, gave opening statement, while Manzoor Cheema, founding member of MERI, gave closing statement. David Crabtree from WRAL TV moderated the event.

This event was organized by Islamophobia working group that includes members of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia, Islamic Association of Raleigh, As-Salaam Islamic Center – Raleigh, Abrahamic Initiative on the Middle East, Triangle Interfaith Alliance and Jewish Voice for Peace – Triangle NC.

Workshop on Islamophobia:

MERI offers workshops on Islamophobia to members of faith-based, peace and justice, educational and non-profit organizations. Our workshops on Islamophobia offer one-on-one interaction on how to defeat Islamophobia. Our workshops have the following objectives:

– define Islamophobia
– place Islamophobia in a larger context of racialized oppression
– address common myths and assumptions about Islam and Muslims
– identify how we are unintentionally participating
– identify how we can interrupt our own and others’ participation
– clarify action steps

For more information about these workshops, your organization’s particular needs, pricing of our workshop or other questions, please contact us at info@MeriNC.org. We will welcome you to subscribe to our newsletter to learn about activities against Islamophobia and racism organized in North Carolina and beyond.