CAIR: UC Berkeley Conference to Address Islamophobia

Discussion of growing phenomenon to be streamed live online

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 21 and 22, the University of California, Berkeley Center for Race and Gender will host a conference, called "Islamophobia Production and Re-Defining the Global 'Security' Agenda for the 21st Century," to address civil rights issues resulting from the alarming rise in anti-Muslim sentiment in American society.

Scholars, activists and experts, including representatives of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), will take part in panel discussions on topics such as "Producing Islamophobia and Fomenting Fear," "Islamophobia, Citizenship, Patriotism and the Security State," "Race and Racism in US Elections: Wedge Issue and Who Benefits?" and "Clash of Civilizations Discourses and Muslim Otherness."

The conference will be streamed live online at:

http://crg.berkeley.edu/islamophobia.

Additional information about the conference may be found at:

http://crg.berkeley.edu/content/producing-islamophobia.

On April 21, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad will join a panel on building partnerships among community organizations and academics to challenge growing Islamophobia. On April 22, Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR's San Francisco Bay Area chapter, will discuss balancing civil rights and national security.

Other panelists will include:

* Dr. Hatem Bazian, UC Berkeley professor and co-founder of Zaytuna College

* Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder Zaytuna College

* Max Blumenthal, The Nation Institute

* Prof. Munir Jiwa, Graduate Theological Union

* Prof. Nadine Naber, University of Michigan

* Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi, San Francisco State University, AMED Program

* Sumbul Ali-Karamali, author of "The Muslim Next Door"

* Veena Dubal, Staff Attorney, National Security & Civil Rights Program, Asian Law Caucus

"We welcome this important effort to address the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in our society by presenting research-based analysis and offering concrete proactive policy recommendations," said CAIR's Awad.

Awad said the research papers presented at the conference will be published later this year in the inaugural edition of UC Berkeley's Islamophobia Studies Journal.

Sponsoring Organizations: Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project at the Center for Race and Gender, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Institute of International Studies, GTU Center for Islamic Studies, Zaytuna College, American Cultures Engaged Scholarship, SFSU Arab and Muslims Ethnicities and Diaspora Initiative, Boalt Law School Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law, and American Muslims for Palestine

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo, 626-252-0885, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations