The Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism (FAIR) was a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

and

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

group which campaigns against

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

in the form of

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

.T. Modood in: Spencer (2003) p. 106 It was established in 2001 as an independent

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

with the aim of monitoring media coverage of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

and Muslims, and challenging examples of Islamophobia through dialogue with media organizations. It produced numerous publications relating to Islamophobia in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Formed in 2000, Navid Akhtar and Samar Mashadi have been directors of FAIR.

Aims and activities

According to the group's mission statement, it was set up "for the purpose of raising awareness of and combating Islamophobia and racism, monitoring specific incidents of Islamophobia and racism, working towards eliminating religious and racial discrimination, campaigning and lobbying on issues relevant to Muslim and other multi-ethnic communities in Britain." FAIR was active in campaigning for passing of the

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (c. 1) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion. The Act was the Labour Governme ...

which outlawed the incitement towards religious hatred in Britain. They issued a

memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

in 2002 entitled "''The Religious Offences Bill: A Response''" to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

Select Committee in which they raised a number of publications by the far-right

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

inciting hatred against Islam and the Muslim community in Britain, stating that this exposed a loophole in British law wherein some communities were protected from incitement to hatred whilst others were not. In 2003, FAIR reported 29 incidents of assault or attacks against Muslims for that year, though they believe many went unreported. This included attacks on Muslim women and people wearing traditional Muslim clothes, as well as vandalism of

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s and Islamic centers. Also reported were desecration of Muslim graves. In 2004, the FAIR carried out a survey in association with the Muslim College and the Al-Khoei Foundation which found that since the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, 80 percent of Muslims surveyed reported being subjected to Islamophobia; 68 percent believed they had been treated and perceived differently; and 32 percent reported being discriminated against at airports in the United Kingdom. FAIR have also co-organised events and demonstrations alongside the

Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is a national umbrella body with over 500 mosques and educational and charitable associations affiliated to it. It includes national, regional, local, and specialist Muslim organisations and institutions from ...

(MCB) and the National Assembly of Black People. FAIR was dissolved on May 24, 2016.

Publications

* ''Counter-Terrorism Powers: Reconciling Security and Liberty in an Open Society: Discussion Paper- A Muslim Response''. (2004), London * ''A Response to the Government Consultation Paper, 'Towards Equality and Diversity: Implementing the Employment and Race Directives. (2002) London.

Notes

References

* * * * *{{cite book , last=Spencer , first=S. , title=The Politics of Migration: Managing Opportunity, Conflict and Change , year=2003 , publisher=Blackwell Publishing , isbn=1405116358 , url-access=registration , url=https://archive.org/details/politicsofmigrat0000unse

External links

Forum Against Islamophobia and Racism
(fairuk.org) official website. Opposition to Islamophobia Advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Civil rights organisations in the United Kingdom Islamic organisations based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2001 Anti-racist organisations in the United Kingdom