very lively discussion at the SURJ meeting today where i spoke about #islamophobia and #racism. the session was jam-packed. good connections made between racism, capitalism, and militarism.
typical question about the problem of misogyny in muslim communities and what we (the west) can do. my response: “have u heard of #metoo? women in america need ur allyship.” when the questioning continued about the need to help women in india, i asked if an indian or pakistani NGO should come to the u.s. to sort out harvey weinstein? will that help?
another question about a yemini girl not being able to go on a school field trip and how to explain that to her american classmates. my answer: the same way muslim families explain american culture and its brokenness to their kids.
i showed a video in which edward said talks about the richness (and multiplicities) of arab culture(s) and civilization(s), another about the meaning of orientalism, a third video in which khalid latif talks about being subjected to racial profiling and surveillance, and finally i showed “1700% project: mistaken for muslim” which truly brings home how islamophobia is racism. 1700% refers to the rate of increase in hate crimes committed against people *perceived* as muslim or arab after 9/11. the video is a collaboration b/w artist anida ali and filmmaker masahiro sugano. a great evening all in all.
thx to SURJ for inviting me to speak and thx to my sis Isabelle Bartter for always being at these things and having my back ♥
