When you see the two people in the picture, what is your first reaction? What are the first words that come to mind? Be honest.
I've done workshops where "terr*rist, backwards, vio|ent" was the first word that came to people's minds. And I don't blame them - this is what decades of Western dehumanization and false narratives about Muslims have done. This is what centuries of erasure of Muslim stories, of their contribution to science, mathematics, art and architecture have resulted in.
This is why people don't think of Morocco when they think of old universities, or Yem*n when they sip their coffees. Why they look at people wearing a keff!yeh and automatically label them as terr*rist sympathizers.
You see, Is|amophobia has never been about the religion itself, but about what Western narratives have made people think Muslims are. So instead of seeing the almost 2 billion vibrant, brilliant and diverse population of Muslims, all people see are a monolithic, vio|ent, and backward group deserving of their hate.
It's time to change the narrative, because if we don't, the hate won't stop, and neither will the gen*cides. And changing the narrative starts with you. Come join us for our Countering Islamophobia workshop on Oct 24 (3 - 4.30 PM Central). You can join us at https://lnkd.in/gXj2TTZE
