Press Release May 24th, 2022
For immediate release
Contact: info@worldhijabday.org
On Friday, May 27th, 2022, at 9:00 am Eastern, World Hijab Day Organization (WHD) will commemorate International Muslim History Month (IMHM) by presenting an educational and interactive discussion on Facebook and YouTube channels @WorldHijabDay.
This week’s talk will focus on Muslim change-makers from history related to Discovery (i.e., inventions, exploring & innovation). Through this discussion, we will present the background of various individuals, recognizing what they were known for creating and what impact and legacy they leave on us to this day.
Our captivating speaker for this week will be Eamonn Gearon. He is an author, educator, and public historian who has spent his professional life involved in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including more than 20 years living in the region. For the past decade he’s been responsible for training both American and British diplomats to better understand the history and peoples of the MENA region.
Gearon has written and filmed three lecture series on Middle Eastern history for The Great Courses, (recently rebranded as Wondrium): Turning Points in Middle Eastern History (2016); The Middle East in the Twentieth Century (2021); and The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age (2017).
While an Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins-SAIS, Gearon was approached by the US Department of State to design and deliver MENA Area Studies training. Currently based in the UK, Eamonn now trains diplomats for the British Foreign Office, and is completing a DPhil at the University of Oxford, where he also co-teaches a modern Middle East history course.
As a young man, Gearon lived in the Sahara with the Bedu, and explored the great desert with a trio of camels. He is the author of The Sahara: A Cultural History (2011). Gearon is passionate about education in its broadest possible sense. This includes providing his young son with the tools to one day set forth to discover the world for himself, and helping those of us already out in the world to better understand it, and each other.
This discussion is the last of a series of four. The previous presentations have focused on Muslim Change Makers in Medicine, STEM, and Liberal Arts.
Celebrating its second year of ‘International Muslim History Month,’ for the month of May 2022, International Muslim History Month (IMHM) has already been recognized by the New York State in resolution J718. Our theme this year is Muslim Change Makers from Golden Age to Modern Times, using the hashtags: #HearOurHistory & #MuslimHistoryMonth.
Founded in 2021 by Nazma Khan, the CEO and founder of World Hijab Day Organization, the mission of this initiative is to dismantle Islamophobia globally by celebrating Muslim history. Worldwide, Islamophobia is at an all-time high from the public sector to the private sector and systematically apparent in the government sector.
- According to the American Muslim Poll 2020, 60% to 62 % of Muslims face discrimination in the United States of America. This number has been consistent for the last five years. [1]
- The 2020 Annual Report of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed that 61% of Muslim students have experienced religious-based bullying. Additionally, 33% of Muslim students have altered their appearance, behavior or names to hide the fact that they are Muslims. [2]
- A EU Minorities and Discrimination Survey found that on average, one in three Muslim respondents faced discrimination and prejudice in 2017 and 27% fell victim to a racist crime. [3]
WHD Organization holds the opinion that education and awareness are the sources to dismantling hate. The goal of this global initiative is to have the world come together to learn more about and celebrate the accomplishments of Muslim men and women from the past and the present who have shaped humanity as we know it.
👉Download the graphic package here.
👉For the Social Media Toolkit, click here.
👉For Community Guide, click here.
👉Join the Facebook event here.
Let’s dismantle Islamophobia globally by learning, honoring, and celebrating Muslim history!
For more information, visit https://worldhijabday.com/store/Muslimhistorymonth
For media inquiries, please get in touch with us at info@worldhijabday.org
References:
[1] ISPU. (2021, February 5). American Muslim Poll 2020: Full Report. Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. https://www.ispu.org/american-muslim-poll-2020-full-report/
[2] CAIR Massachusetts (2020). 2020 Annual Report, Council on American-Islamic Relations Massachusetts. https://www.cairma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CAIR-MA-2020-Annual-Report.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3bDAnWwc_LDTHEi1_txQAfUj-SJ6cTmltQBruwNxc1w0EfGf452Ysf8RA
[3] “Muslims in the EU: High levels of trust despite pervasive discrimination,” European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights, September 21, 2017. https://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2017/muslims-eu-high-levels-trust-despite-pervasive-discrimination