With more than 7,000 anti-Muslim hate crimes a year, UK is marking Islamophobia Awareness month by highlighting positive contributions of British Muslims to the UK and the true scale of Islamophobia prevalent in the society.

The Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) is marked annually in November.  

Co-founded by MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) with other British organizations in 2012, the annual event aims to deconstruct and challenge the stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.

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The campaign also aims to work on raising awareness about the threat of Islamophobia and encouraging better reporting of incidents to the police.

The theme of this year’s event, “Rooted in Racism,” recognizes Islamophobia as a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness and perceived Muslimness.

“Hate crime is something that we as a Met are committed and absolutely dedicated to dealing with. It has no place in our society,” superintendent Waheed Khan, the Met’s lead responsible officer for hate crime said, Hillingdon Times reported.

We’ve partnered up with @IslamophobiaAM for Islamophobia Awareness Month!

Join the conversation and get involved this November #IAM2020 pic.twitter.com/QSJD4oieRp

— The Muslim Vibe (@themuslimvibe) November 4, 2020

Huge Participation

UK Islamophobia Awareness Month Launched at Parliament

This year, more than 150 organizations are coordinating with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC), local councils, journalists, local media outlets, councilors, local MPs, mosques, universities, schools, community organizations and others to raise awareness of the threat of Islamophobia and encourage better reporting of incidents to the police.

Moreover, these events include webinars with key opinion leaders, social media activity, online exhibitions and more.

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One of the coordinators of this year’s campaign, Dr. Shazad Amin said: “Covid-19 has changed all our lives but sadly Islamophobia has continued unabated. Far-right conspiracy theories have blamed Muslims for spreading the virus and such fake news has made Muslims more vulnerable.

“Additionally, Black Lives Matter has highlighted racism as a major challenge facing this country and we will promoting Black Muslim voices during IAM to showcase the valuable contribution that have made to this country,” he added.