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On 11 November, Valencia will host the 1st Congress against Islamophobia in the Valencian Community, organised by Jovesólides, in collaboration with Casa Marruecos and with funding from the Regional Ministry of Equality and Inclusive Policies. During the conference, which will take place at the Carmen Contemporary Culture Centre, a dozen speakers and activists will analyse racist behaviour in different political and social spheres, discuss strategies to combat xenophobic and hate speech and exchange experiences in the fight against Islamophobia in Spain.
This is a pioneering forum in Spain designed to raise awareness about Islamophobia as one of the main forms of racist discrimination suffered by Muslims in the country. It is a meeting to showcase innovative initiatives and different ways of encouraging Islamophobia. The Congress was created as a unique space to appreciate the universe that surrounds Islamic civilisation through history, architecture, music, gastronomy and other forms of social and artistic expression.
Under the slogan 'Make visible, act and respect to stop Islamophobia', the organisation has put together a multidisciplinary programme with more than a dozen speakers, experts and activists who will take part in conferences, round tables and open dialogues with the public throughout the day.
The first to speak in the MAKE VISIBILE module will be the academic Eloy Martín Corrales, who will reflect on Islamophobia throughout history, Jenabou Dembaga Susoko, sociologist and activist against racism and Islamophobia, who will dedicate a space in this congress to explain the link between Afro populations and Islam. Feminist Fátima Tahiri will analyse the daily discrimination suffered by Muslim women beyond the veil, and expert Lurdes Vidal will explain how the stigmatising gaze of the media continues to perpetuate negative stereotypes and clichés related mainly to terrorism. In addition, the social educator and graduate in Spanish: Language and Literature. Zenib Laari will pay attention to the daily discrimination that occurs in the community against children and adolescents in the field of education. Lastly, journalist Ibrahim Rifi will unravel the Orientalist elements transmitted through popular cultural manifestations, which have contributed to building a collective image among the Western population that conceals the true identity and artistic richness of Arab civilisation.
In the ACT module, where we will learn first-hand about experiences in the fight against Islamophobia, the activist from Reus Mohamed Said Badaoui, who after more than 30 years living in Catalonia is facing an expulsion order after the Ministry of the Interior refused to grant him Spanish nationality despite his full family, work and social integration in the country. The participation of the young feminist from Elche, Hind El Fadli, is a also noteworthy. A pioneer in setting up a meeting place for young Muslim women where they claim their identity and rights, she raises resistance to a society that limits their aspirations because of their religion and gender. On the other hand, Ahmed Khalifa from the Moroccan Association of Malaga, Ana García Yepes from the Islamic Cultural Centre of Valencia and Rahma Basraoui from Casa Marruecos of Valencia will also take part in this module to share their strategies in the deconstruction of Islamophobia.
Finally, the module RESPECT will review the heritage of tangible and intangible cultural manifestations of Arab culture today. The art historian Belén Cuenca will uncover the traces of Andalusian and post-Andalusian Islam in the most Arabised region of Spain, and the expert Felipe Vidales will offer a dialectic tasting of the flavours and recipes of 13th century Islamic gastronomy, the result of intense historical research. The Congress will be rounded off with a live performance by the Arabic and flamenco fusion group 'Mediterranean Women', who will delight the audience with a repertoire that covers some of the flamenco styles twinned with Arabic melodies.
The 1st Congress against Islamophobia in the Valencian Community will be held in the emblematic Carmen Centre of Contemporary Culture, built in the historic centre of Valencia on the remains of a very well-preserved Islamic house of the old Balansiya.
The detailed programme of the Congress is available at https://jovesolides.org/proyectos-emprendedores/congreso-de-islamofobia.
