In a report (pdf, 2.3Mb) carried out by Forward Thinking in spring 2008, a large percentage of Muslims expressed 'the fear that the current political climate and its impact on non-Muslim opinion of Muslims would further isolate them within society and reduce their career prospects. It also appeared that this development impacted negatively on their self-confidence.'

It's plain to see that foreign policy and Islamophobia are heavily impacting on Muslims in Britain. This needs to be tackled in order to ensure better integration, more equal opportunities, better future prospects and more tolerance and cohesion amongst Muslims and non-Muslims. MPACUK have been doing just that.

MPACUK have been holding media workshops (and will be doing Democracy workshop/training in the near future) to educate the Muslim community (both brothers and sisters) about how they can tackle anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia in the media. There is a prevalent belief in the Muslim community that somehow the media is inherently Islamophobic and that you cannot do anything or that actually there is no point of doing anything. This defeatist mentality, coupled with a deteriorating opinion of Islam and Muslims amongst the British public, is directly affecting, alienating and socially isolating Muslims in their everyday lives, be it in their job/school/neighbourhood and so forth.

Some Muslims are unaware of the scale of Islamophobia or take it too lightly. Do some people believe that anti-semitism in the media does not matter? Or that it has insignificant impact? On the contrary, it has a huge impact on public opinion and how people are perceived, as we have witnessed in Nazi Germany and Czarist Russia. The media is significant; figures show that 66% of the general public receive most of their information about Islam and Muslims from TV and newspapers. Therefore, the best and most efficient way to combat the negative and distorted coverage of Islam and Muslims is through the media itself.

The workshops include simple, practical solutions on how to actually lobby the media. MPACUK have had many successes, such as removing Robert Kilroy Silk from the BBC (they worked with other organisations as well in this campaign). Getting journalists sacked, like Will Cummins from the Telegraph, who said 'All Muslims, like all dogs, share certain characteristics', and a long list of other successes.

Muslims need to engage with the media and become brokers of information by writing, feeding and lobbying the media. That way their voices get heard, misconceptions are dispelled, they become better represented, bridges are built, and, more importantly, there would be less Islamophobia, which crucially leads to society being more understanding and tolerant towards Islam and Muslims.

The Muslims attending the workshops gave excellent feedback and had been spurred on to become more pro-active. After learning how effective lobbying can work, the cancerous defeatist mindset amongst some Muslims had been shattered.

MPACUK hope to continue this training by working with other Mosques around London. MPACUK also have branches in Manchester and Birmingham, where similar events are held. A video of the Lewisham workshop can be seen here.

MPACUK is a civil liberties group and need funding to strengthen their work in helping to empower the Muslim community. You, too, can be a part of this vital work.

The times of change are near.

---