As the world mark the Black History Month in February, the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative will host a workshop later this month to unite Black Muslims’ efforts towards addressing Islamophobia and racism.
Join our anti-racism workshop, “Black Muslim History, Islamophobia, and Collective Liberation” on Friday Feb. 17. You can participate in person in the SF Bay Area or via Zoom. Get your tickets before they’re gone! #BeingBlackAndMuslim https://t.co/kwoi4EXP8v #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/T7Jk5UHxcj
— MuslimARC (@MuslimARC) January 29, 2023
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The event, titled Addressing Islamophobia and Anti-Blackness Workshop, will be held on February 17 at the Hayward City Hall, California.
“We are excited to offer new frameworks that help interrupt patterns of internalized racial inferiority or superiority in a racial regime where anti-Blackness is the fulcrum of white supremacy,” MuslimArc wrote in an event.
“In this two-hour interactive workshop, we will build upon Islam’s anti-racist ethos, and consider the 1400 years of Islamic history to root today’s work in the historical role of Black Muslims in the US and transnational movement.”
The session will be available in person or live on zoom. The sessions will help participants have a better understanding of the framework “anti-Blackness” and brainstorm action steps to address anti-Blackness.
Black History Month (BHM) is an annual program originating from 1926, celebrated by Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
During BHM, Black American Muslims engage in numerous events and campaigns to celebrate the legacies and traditions comprising the African American culture, in which they are intrinsically interwoven.
Remembering Heroes
In another effort, the Council on American Islamic Relations marks the BHM by remembering Black Muslim heroes and trailblazers who, through their activism, scholarship, and contributions.
The campaign, launched under hashtag #BlackResistance, featured Bilali Muhammad in its first tweet.
The first hero we’ll be highlighting is Bilali Muhammad. Enslaved at a young age in West Africa and brought to a Sapelo Island plantation, Bilali was a Muslim scholar who wrote the first Islamic legal text in America, the Risala. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/mBM0zSUNEf
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) February 1, 2023
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According to the Pew Research Center, black Muslims make up a fifth of US Muslims.
African American Muslim history extends from the enslavement of Muslim Africans and into the Twentieth-Century Black Muslim Movement.
White Christian slaveowners stripped African Muslims of their faith and forced mass conversions. During the Black Muslim Movement, numerous African Americans reembraced the religion of their forefathers.
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