{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"By Humaairah Jama, Explorer Unit Leader and UKMSF volunteer","standfirst":"","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15267/whatsapp-image-2021-10-29-at-130538.jpeg","width":2048,"height":1365,"altText":"Muslim Girls Group","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIslamophobia. A word you\u2019ve most likely heard. But do you know what it means? \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIslamophobia can be defined as \u2018an exaggerated, irrational fear, hatred and hostility towards Islam and Muslims perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination and marginalisation of Muslims from civic, social and political life.\u2019\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETo me, as a visibly Muslim woman, Islamophobia means making sure I\u2019m not standing too close to the yellow line at the train station because the fear of harm from someone is a visceral one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt means being held responsible for the actions of people I\u2019ve never heard of or met, or being made to feel like I have to apologise for them, solely because these people claim to share my faith. It means being treated like a second class citizen in a country that both myself and my mother were born in, the only country I have ever known as home. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt means being \u2018randomly selected\u2019 for a search every time I walk through airport security. It means that individuals, including children, who look like me, dress like me or have names like me are subjected to discriminatory and harmful government led policies such as \u2018Prevent\u2019 which presupposes terrorism and extremism in Muslim people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt means being stripped of my autonomy, humanity and individuality. From the colour of my skin, to my name, to the way I dress, the food I eat and my commitment to offer five daily prayers to the God that I worship \u2013 all things that actually only really affect me, yet I\u2019m judged for and subject to varying degrees of aggression for, every day. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EJust like racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, Islamophobia has no place in society. Organisations like Scouts, which pride themselves on being \u2018inclusive, values based movements\u2019, have a crucial role to play in helping to stamp out all forms of intolerance and this has to include religious intolerance. The work we do with young people and leaders alike is an opportunity to not just help inform and shape the leaders of the future but to also build a society built on mutual trust, respect and dignity for all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EI was invested as a Scout at the age of 10, and again at 21. Both times, I made a promise to \u2018keep the Scout Law\u2019. Although the concept of a Scout Law was new to me, what it consisted of was not. The Scout values of integrity, care, respect, belief and co-operation were all things I\u2019d been taught from a young age as a Muslim. It comes as no surprise to me that globally 60% of Scouts are Muslim and that Scouting within the Muslim community in the UK has grown exponentially over the past decade, making us one of the largest minority groups in Scouts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHaving more Muslims take up Scouting \u2013 while a great thing in making sure more young people are accessing opportunities they wouldn\u2019t necessarily otherwise have \u2013 also means more people experiencing microaggressions and discrimination. That can be in the form of prejudicial comments made about our groups, concern and reluctance over adjusting Scouts to make it accessible, or enhanced scrutiny over our planned activities, making us feel like we have to prove we\u2019re not \u2018up to no good\u2019. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EOf course, some of these experiences come from a place of ignorance rather than prejudice. But we\u2019re living in times when to claim ignorance is both a privilege and a choice, one that I and many others like me don\u2019t have. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDespite this daily struggle, I remain hopeful that we can dismantle Islamophobia by simply talking to one another, getting to know each other, and breaking down barriers. I want you to ask yourself, how many Muslims do you actually know? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHave you had a negative encounter with one individual who happens to be Muslim, and have you consequently allowed that negative interaction to bolster up a stereotype that the media have created? Do you now judge 1.8 billion people based off of the actions of this person? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDoes your belief in the freedom to choose what you want to wear exclude Muslim women\u2019s freedom to cover up? Are you aware that Muslims aren\u2019t a monolithic group and that we have different ethnicities, languages, cultures and ideologies? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ENovember marks Islamophobia Awareness Month and Scouts is taking part. IAM is an opportunity to learn the many ways that the Muslim community in the UK are impacted by Islamophobia, the intersectionality of, and the multiple degrees of intolerance that this often comes with from being a person of colour (racism), a person of faith (Islamophobia) and a person of a certain gender (sexism) and how to be a true ally in the fight against every form of discrimination. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThis November, I ask that as a fellow Scout, you live our values of respect and co-operation by reaching out to local Muslim Scouts and Scout groups, listening to their lived experiences of what it\u2019s like to be a Muslim in the UK as well as being a Muslim within Scouting, and unlearning the stereotypes that are so deeply ingrained in society. Give us the chance to show you that we have a lot more in common than you think.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor information and resources regarding Islamophobia Awareness Month, visit \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.islamophobia-awareness.org\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EIslamophobia Awareness Month\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022text-decoration: underline;\u0022\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts have lots of \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/inclusion-and-diversity/including-everyone/faiths-and-beliefs/faith-events/\u0022\u003Eguidance about including everyone\u003C/a\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?name=faith\u0022\u003Eactivities to explore different faiths\u003C/a\u003E. Perhaps you could invite in a faith leader and connect with different community groups?\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/15266/img_20200919_135901_729.jpg","width":580,"height":1500,"altText":"Humaairah Jama smiles at the camera wearing a black hijab, beige Scouts shirt and green and blue stripy scarf","caption":"Humaairah Jama is an Explorer Unit Leader at 7th Goodmayes ESU and a UKMSF volunteer","link":null}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 November 2021","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Aziz Foundation: Helping us to attract young Muslims to join Scouts","url":null,"newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Inclusion and Diversity","url":"/volunteers/equity-diversity-and-inclusion/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Faith Events","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/inclusion-and-diversity/including-everyone/faiths-and-beliefs/faith-events","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Faith Activities","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/?name=faith","newWindow":false}],"id":48673,"nodeName":"How you can (and why you should) fight Islamophobia","title":"How you can (and why you should) fight Islamophobia","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/15267/whatsapp-image-2021-10-29-at-130538.jpeg?rxy=0.54817987152034264,0.27243589743589741\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dab8dd45b628a0","caption":"Muslim Girls Group","type":"jpeg","size":415831,"width":2048,"height":1365,"altText":"Muslim Girls Group"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"How you can (and why you should) fight Islamophobia","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Organisations like Scouts have a crucial role to play in helping to stamp out all forms of intolerance","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODY3MyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2021/november/how-you-can-and-why-you-should-fight-islamophobia/"}