WHAT HAS CHANGED?
It has been 15 years since Adama's arrest. Although there have been many positive changes in Adama's life since the film was completed (see here for an update), Islamophobia is still an issue that demands urgent and vigilant attention. Donald Trump's rise to power has been accompanied by a dramatic spike in anti-Muslim terrorism. Countless Muslim-Americans have shared stories of being cursed at, spat on, slapped, punched, threatened with knives, guns, and even shot at. Anti-Muslim terrorists have vandalized mosques across the country, and even the KKK has recently announced they are recruiting to "fight the spread of Islam."
WHAT CAN I DO?
The suggestions below are adapted from a recent article by Brittany Packnett, a protester, activist and organizer for the Black Lives Matter movement.
1. Start small. The flood of Islamophobic attacks offers an opportunity to consider that maybe-just maybe-there is something wrong. Interrogate those feelings by researching more, paying attention to how Muslims are being treated, and represented within the media.
2. Listen, intently and without invalidation, to those most affected by injustice. Leave your hero complex at home: Muslim-Americans need no one to save them, but do invite you to stand with them with respect, humility and commitment. Follow working-class, female, queer and undocumented Muslim organizers on social media to counter the biased perspectives broadcast by disproportionately-white mainstream media outlets.
3. Examine your power. There is some space, some corner of the world, in which you lead. With your children, classmates or loved ones; with your employees, volunteers, congregants or clients, you possess the ability to influence how others live. Will you challenge the Islamophobia and racism you hear or walk away? Will you challenge anti-Muslim bigotry when it appears at your kitchen table, or choose comfort?
4. Support urgent systemic and targeted changes. Public officials derive their power from we, the people. We, the protesters, have to not let them forget it. Also - critical change doesn’t require critical mass. Studies show that major social revolutions - like the Civil Rights Movement - were accomplished not by persuading a majority of a society to change their behavior, but when 3.5% of the population - and sometimes less - committed themselves to sustained action and organizing.