We’re living in a time of great divides, where it is easy for people to become fearful about others who are different from them. For Muslims, that’s been a real concern since 9/11, and even though that happened a decade ago, we’re still wrestling with how to counter Islamaphobia.

 

What does it mean to love your Muslim neighbour? We want to hear your ideas as you consider the workshop on Islamaphobia in February 2010 Mandate. We’re publishing the workshop to get people in our congregations and communities thinking about how we can all start to cross the divides, wherever they occur.

 

In the same issue of Mandate, Lynda Trono, a United Church minister in Winnipeg, writes about an unfortunate experience that her son, Joel, had with some men who didn’t like the way he was dressed after he converted to Islam. Luckily, nothing happened to him, but she said it woke her up to the kind of hardship that her neighbours of other faiths encounter when they try to live out their faith. Just because they dress differently—they may wear a hijab, niqab, or kufi—they can have a much more difficult time than Canadian Christians who don’t have a particular dress code.

 

Trono says that since September 11, 2001, many Muslims have been targeted by being discriminated against in the workplace, harassed while travelling, and subjected to vandalism and negative images in the media. They’ve also seen a lot of attention focused on stereotyped Muslims—the male suicide bomber and the passive, oppressed female. She’s encouraging people to explore some aspects of Islamaphobia and try to counter it by building relationships, getting accurate information, and being willing to act when they see injustice in their communities.

 

Another good resource is the video Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think? Based on research undertaken by the Gallup Organization, it provides insight into Muslim perspectives and the role of media in forming our perceptions.

 

Do you have any ideas about how we can build more bridges that will help all of us begin to cross those great divides?