An anti-Islamophobia March is going to take place this Sunday in Bristol

This demonstration is sparked by recent politics in France, where two Muslims were stabbed beneath the Eiffel Tower. The media were silent on the crime, with the attackers only facing assault charges.

This march is being supported by key organisations such as All Black Lives Matter Bristol and the Bristol Islamic Society.

Khadija Meghrawi, the organiser of the march and Chair of the BAME Network at Bristol SU, said that these events have demonstrated “the distressing normalisation of conflating Muslims/Islam with terrorism.”

She explained “Islamophobia has also been an issue on continuously the minds of the University of Bristol Muslim student body, which is why I introduced the APPG definition into SU policy last year.”

The aims of the protest are for the UK government to condemn the tone and direction taken by the French government, for them to demand harsher charges for race and faith-based attempted murder, and for them to stand against the conflation of terrorism and Muslims.

The march will also demand the Government to produce a public statement standing for the rights of Muslims to practise open and freely, and for them to commit a formal review on the extent of Islamaphobia within its own structures.

“It is shocking that time and time again they [terrorism and Muslim rights] are being tied together by official bodies.”

Khadija added, on behalf of the Muslim community, that “Of course we condemn the recent terrorist attacks – but this shouldn’t need to be stated. Terrorism and rights for Muslims are two entirely separate issues, and it is shocking that time and time again they are being tied together by official bodies. This same Islamophobia is what leads to the normalisation of continuous horrific abuse faced by other Muslims across the world, particularly highlighted by the camps in Uyghur and Rohingya.”

She also told us that the protest aims to “fully send the message that to Muslims and our allies, Islamophobia is also an emergency exception, and requires action and solidarity even in a pandemic.”

If you wish to attend the march on Sunday, you can register your interest here.

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