UC Berkeley Islamophobia Conference

WASHINGTON -  The University of California, Berkeley Center for Race and Gender will today conclude its conference, called "Islamophobia Production and Re-Defining the Global 'Security' Agenda for the 21st Century," to address civil rights issues resulting from the alarming rise in anti-Muslim sentiment in American society.

Scholars, activists and experts, including representatives of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), will take part in panel discussions on topics such as "Producing Islamophobia and Fomenting Fear," "Islamophobia, Citizenship, Patriotism and the Security State," "Race and Racism in US Elections: Wedge Issue and Who Benefits?" and "Clash of Civilizations Discourses and Muslim Otherness."

Today, Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR's San Francisco Bay Area chapter, will discuss balancing civil rights and national security.

Other panelists will include:

* Dr. Hatem Bazian, UC Berkeley professor and co-founder of Zaytuna College

* Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder Zaytuna College

* Max Blumenthal, The Nation Institute

* Prof. Munir Jiwa, Graduate Theological Union

* Prof. Nadine Naber, University of Michigan

* Prof. Rabab Abdulhadi, San Francisco State University, AMED Program

* Sumbul Ali-Karamali, author of "The Muslim Next Door"

* Veena Dubal, Staff Attorney, National Security & Civil Rights Program, Asian Law Caucus

"We welcome this important effort to address the growing phenomenon of Islamophobia in our society by presenting research-based analysis and offering concrete proactive policy recommendations," said CAIR's Awad.

Awad said the research papers presented at the conference will be published later this year in the inaugural edition of UC Berkeley's Islamophobia Studies Journal.

Islamophobia Production
and Re-Defining Global "Security" Agenda 
for the 21st Century

All sessions begin at 9 am

University of California, Berkeley
Booth Auditorium, Boalt Law School

CONFERENCE PROGRAM:


3:00 PM – 4:45 PM - Islamophobia and the Security State in Post 9/11
Veena Dubal, Staff Attorney,National Security & Civil Rights Program, Asian Law Caucus
Zahra Billoo, CAIR SF Bay Area Executive Director
Sumbul Ali-Karamali, Author of the Muslim Next Door
Moderator: Prof. Marianne Farina, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, GTU

5:00 PM- 5:30PM - Closing Remarks and IRDP Future Plans 
Dr. Hatem Bazian, UC Berkeley