Institutional Approaches for Countering Islamophobia

Islamophobia refers to the framework by which Muslims and Islam are portrayed in the United States and western world. Islamophobia leads to prejudice and prejudice leads to discriminatory practices and hate incidents against Muslims and anyone perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs. In the last six months alone from October 2023 to March 2024, there was a 200% increase of hate incidents against Muslim Americans. This session will cover Islamophobia's dominant tropes, its roots, current manifestations on Muslim Americans and ways to combat it institutionally in the workplace, school campus environment and in government policy.