Conference - Confronting Islamophobia in the UK and Germany

The day began with a welcome by FES London Director Michèle Auga followed by the introduction of the conference chairs and co-founders of The Three Hijabis anti-racist campaign group, Shaista Aziz, Amna Abdulatif, and Huda Jawad.

The conference was divided into four sessions, each focusing the discussion on a particular topic. Firstly, participants from a range of European countries including the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium discussed Islamophobia and anti-Islamophobia efforts in their respective countries. Session two included input from progressive anti-facist French MP Raphael Arnault on his approach to countering Islamophobia.

After a networking lunch, participants discussed the inclusion of Muslims in political parties, trade unions and social movements. There was an analysis of progressive party manifestos and their stances to Islamophobia, knowledge-sharing of campaigns on Islamophobia in trade unions across Europe, and a discussion on how to improve campaigning across the three areas at national, transnational and European levels. The final session consisted of a breakout activity in which participants brainstormed and discussed potential future collaborations.