At ICJS, we believe in equipping everyone with the tools to tackle prejudice in our workplaces, classrooms, friend groups, and families. Conversations with loved ones can be challenging, but they are essential. We are committed to confronting religious prejudice in the U.S. using the resources at our disposal.
One powerful tool at your disposal is your voice. You might wonder how your words can make a difference, but every voice matters. Silence in the face of prejudice is harmful.
Susannah Heschel shared a profound insight from her father, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a revered 20th-century Jewish leader and Holocaust survivor:
Words, my father often wrote, are themselves sacred, God’s tool for creating the universe and our tools for bringing holiness or evil into the world. He used to remind us that the Holocaust did not begin with the building of the crematoria and Hitler did not come to power with tanks and guns. It all began with uttering evil words, with defamation, with language and propaganda. Words create worlds, he used to tell me when I was a child. They must be used very carefully.
Recognize the power of your voice in combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim bias. Your words are powerful; they still create worlds.
Our culture, by its architecture, builds in biases against certain groups: Muslims, Jews, African Americans, women, etc. These biases make their way into everyday interactions and language. We call this everyday antisemitism and Islamophobia. Here are some resources for recognizing and responding to it.
Today, antisemitism is still a social and political problem. However, many disagree as to what it actually is. This minicourse explores the various efforts in history to define antisemitism and the political factors that inform them.
How do we recognize and respond to antisemitism and Islamophobia when we see them? In this video ICJS scholars examine instances of religious bias and bigotry in our daily lives and some strategies for responding to them.
This overview of Muslim life and practice opens with a discussion of negative public narratives and stereotypes about Islam in the media and public discourse.