Stand Up Against Islamophobia is a month-long project during Islamophobia Awareness Month, highlighting how Islamophobia manifests within our society and wider culture. We are running a series of events ranging from speakers and panels to reading and poetry performances. At the end of the month, we will also hold a consultation forum about the barriers faced by Muslim students at Warwick.
Join us throughout November and learn more about Islamophobia, Muslim student experiences on campus, and how students can organise as a collective.
This campaign has been made possible by the support of alumni and donors through the Warwick Innovation Fund.
Events happening this month:
Gendered Islamophobia
Date and time: Wednesday 9th November, 6pm-8pm
Location: Social Sciences Building, S0.19
Speakers: Shahnaz Akhter and Nazifa Zaman
In the current climate, Islamophobia is highly gendered. Muslim women are targeted both through physical attacks and stereotypes that undermine their agency. Join Shahnaz and Nazifa as they explore how Gendered Islamophobia is woven into society and how Muslim women have resisted.
An evening with Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan
Date and time: Monday 14th November, 6pm-8pm
Location: Oculus, OC0.02
Speaker: Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan
Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan is a writer, poet and educator who has worked to disrupt binaries of the good and bad Muslim and our understanding of race. Join Suhaiymah as she explores the violence of Islamophobia through the body of work she has produced.
Students not suspects: Prevent and Islamophobia
Date and time: Wednesday 16th November, 6pm-8pm
Location: Faculty of Arts Building, FAB0.08
Speakers: Ayo Olutanji and Samayya Afzal
What is Prevent? How has it impacted Muslim students? And what can we do about it? Ayo and Samayya will explore what it means to live under the Prevent policy that was initially introduced by New Labour. They will cover how Prevent is inherently Islamophobic, how they organised against the Prevent policy and how we can move forward organising in solidarity with other communities.
Homonationalism and Islamophobia
Date and time: Wednesday 23rd November, 6pm-8pm
Location: Social Sciences Building, S0.20
Speaker: Abeera Khan (hosted by Nazifa Zaman)
What does it mean to be Queer and Muslim in Britain? Western exceptionalism would force you to believe that Britain is the pinnacle Queer friendly state, yet Queer Muslims are violently put down by the state. Abeera will provide a critical intervention in the category of Queer Muslim and will explore how Queer Muslims have navigated the British state under the gaze of the war on terror.
Neoliberalism and Islamophobia
Date and time: Monday 28th November, 6pm-8pm
Location: Social Sciences Building, S0.19
Speaker: Ilyas Nagdee
Ilyas will provide an important critique of the 'Muslim identity in an era of Neoliberalism and how the state co-opts segments of the Muslim community by bringing them into the fold of the 'nation'. Ilyas will trace the history of Islamophobia and imperialism, and the important role Muslims have in organising and working against the state.
Muslim Students' Consultative Forum
To continue the trajectory of Stand Up Against Islamophobia, our VP for Postgraduates, Hamza Rehman is putting together a Consultative Forum for Muslim students to discuss their experiences as students, to guide his lobbying and campaigning within the University and beyond. This will be a chance to discuss issues that Muslim students face on and off campus and well as to discuss potential solutions or mitigations for these problems. If you are interested in getting involved, please sign up to our mailing list to receive further information about forum dates and times.