Black South West Network in partnership the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol organised the Bristol launch of the Runnymede Trust's new 20th Anniversary report exploring the impact of Islamophobia on British Muslims, titled 'Islamophobia: Still a challenge for us all'.

The report sets out a framework that maps Islamophobia as a form of anti-Muslim racism and explores its impact on individuals and communities. It includes contributions from a wide range of academics and experts, including chapters on the labour market, hate crime, prevent, civil society, gender, health, integration and more. Dr. Omar Khan, the Director of the Runnymede Trust, introduced the context of the report, and the original report looking at Islamophobia in Britain, published in 1998. To read this report, please see here.

The event was chaired by Dr. Therese O'Toole (Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, University of Bristol) and Sado Jirde (Director of BSWN), and explored the implications of the report for Bristol with the speakers that also included Professor Tariq Modood (Director, Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship), Alex Raikes MBE (Director, SARI) and Moestak Hussein (Community Co-Ordinator Countering Extremism, Bristol City Council).

The discussion was followed by a Q&A session with the panel of speakers, and the audience raised several points, including a lengthy discussion around the classification and recognition of islamophobia as a form of racism.

To read Professor Modood's blog further expanding on this topic titled 'No such thing as anti-Muslim racism?', please see link here.