Being Muslim@UoM: a round-table discussion

The ‘Being Muslim @ UoM’ round-table discussion, held virtually on Monday 29 November, is believed to be the first staff-focused event dedicated to marking Islamophobia Awareness Month at the University of Manchester. Organised by volunteers from the BAME Staff Network Group, the panel aimed to increase awareness of what it means to be a Muslim on campus and the intersections of religious identity with the workplace. It was also an opportunity to reach out and connect with colleagues across the University with the intention to form a collective voice for Muslims.

Laverne Condappa-Ward, Co-Chair of the University’s BAME Staff Network, explained: “The BAME Network are very proud to have been involved with this event to raise awareness about Islam during Islamophobia Awareness Month. The Network recognises the diversity of our members and also recognises the importance of intersectionality issues being addressed and supported.”

The event welcomed around 50 attendees from various parts of the University, including Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Luke Georghiou.

Introducing the session was Banji Adewumi, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University. This was followed by keynotes from Zara Mohammed, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, and Dr Sadek Hamid, Education Specialist at Read Foundation UK.

The second half of the session took the form of a panel discussion, hosted by the Muslim Chaplain, Mohammed Ullah.

From the importance of Muslim identity to challenges faced in practising religion at work, the panel discussion was rich and thought-provoking. Panel members shared thoughts, experiences and questions around issues such as having to draw awareness to religious needs, to the struggle for appropriate and well-designated prayer spaces, to the desire for a visible commitment to Islamophobia.

The discussion brought forth lots of positive suggestions for change. This included a suggestion for a mentoring scheme with senior staff who have similar or shared experiences and incorporating religion into the University’s Wellbeing and Social Responsibility strategies, both of which are inherent to these discussions.

There was also a recommendation for effective interventions from the Senior Leadership team at the University. As one panel member put it: “The understanding of Muslims and Islamophobia shouldn’t be informed by epistemic injustice or stereotypes, but well-explored evidence. The University needs to show leadership in a very authentic way and sincere way. It is not enough to invite people to the party – you must understand their tastes in music.’

And to understand differing tastes in music is not difficult. This was one such event designed to reach out, and one that we hope is the start of fruitful conversations and positive change.

Staff are invited to join The University of Manchester’s Muslim Staff Network for regular updates (please note this is open to Muslim and non-Muslim staff).

To subscribe, please email listserv@listserv.manchester.ac.uk with ‘subscribe uom-msn’ in the message body.