As Ramadan comes to an end, it is important to use the last days as opportunities to share Islamic spirit and knowledge with people from a variety of backgrounds and faiths. As Muslims, it is our duty to share the beauty of Islam with others, regardless of their faith or background.
What’s more, education is crucial to deconstructing hate. Islamophobia, at its core, is rooted in an unjust, discriminatory fear of Muslims. The key to dismantling Islamophobia, specifically in workplaces and school spaces, is to educate others about Islamic religion and culture. Being a Muslim means joining the resistance against discriminatory, systemic hatred of Islam.
Together, during the last ten days of Ramadan, help to spread the beauty of Islam to other faiths and cultures, uniting everyone in the ongoing battle against Islamophobia.
Host an Iftar—And invite interfaith friends.
Iftars are a lovely way to unite with fellow Muslims to pray, break fast, and celebrate Islam. However, Iftars are also an opportunity to engage non-Muslims in Islamic traditions and culture. By inviting your friends of other faiths to an Iftar, you are spreading the knowledge and beauty of Islam. Attending Iftar as a non-Muslim creates opportunities to understand the prayers Muslims make during Ramadan, the food we eat, and the personal beliefs we have.
Iftars are versatile because they engage diverse individuals within all sorts of different settings; whether it be a workplace iftar with colleagues, an iftar hosted by your school’s Muslim Student Association, or even an iftar you host privately, extending personal invites to both Muslim and non-Muslim friends. You can even invite your colleagues and friends to observe a typical day’s fasting, guiding them through suhoor meals and daily Ramadan traditions, before ending the day with a prayer and an iftar meal. Providing opportunities for others to understand Islam is one of the most important keys to dismantling the hatred and fear surrounding Muslims and Islam.
Put up posters and infographics.
Posters are a classic, traditional way to spread awareness to others. If the idea of designing a poster seems daunting and difficult, consider utilizing simple, easy-to-use graphic design websites, such as Canva, Google Slides or Adobe Express. These websites help create visually appealing, aesthetically pleasing posters and infographics with little to no extra design needed from the user. All you need to do is input the information, statistics, and any other details or knowledge that you would like to display.
Specifically, try to include information about the month of Ramadan, how to support Muslims during Ramadan, and how to get involved in Ramadan events within your community. Be sure to include necessary information like dates, locations, and times of events. You can also include statistics and recent news about instances of Islamophobia in order to keep your community aware about potential issues.
Throughout most schools and workplaces, there are a variety of places to hang posters. When searching for places to hang your posters, stick to locations that are mostly occupied by diverse and large groups of people; consider dining halls, common rooms, dormitories, and even stairwells. By offering information to others, you are keeping your community informed—and an informed community is a community united against hatred.
Advocate for Muslim spaces
As Islamophobia unfortunately spikes, it is crucial to stay connected with other Muslims. Whether it be in the workplace, at university, or even at high school, advocating for safe spaces to connect with other Muslims during this sacred month is extremely important to the well-being, safety, and prosperity of the Muslim community.
For Muslim students who are fasting, spending lunchtime in a crowded cafeteria can make fasting feel incredibly difficult. The same applies to Muslim employees in break rooms at workplaces. Speak to school and workplace administrators about creating rooms specifically for fasting Muslims in order to spend lunch and work breaks—these rooms can also serve as prayer rooms for Muslims to pray throughout the day.
Within your schools and workplaces, if there are not already Muslim Associations, be sure to establish one for Muslim students and/or colleagues. Having an association unites Muslims within your schools and workplaces, creating a strong, unified voice when communicating with administrators. If someone within your group experiences Islamophobia, you are able to organize powerful acts of resistance with group members.
All in all, advocating for our Muslim communities can seem daunting, and between recurring instances of Islamophobia and the lack of support and encouragement from other communities, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. However, it is important to remember that there are small forms of resistance to be found in everyday life. One of the most powerful ways to fight back is by engaging brothers and sisters of other faiths in the ongoing battle against Islamophobia by educating them about the Muslim identity. Each step we take, no matter how small, is a step toward a peaceful world with less and less hatred. With perseverance and unity, we can dismantle hatred against Islam together.