For immediate release 3/19/21
World Hijab Day Organization (WHD) launched a new global initiative on March 19, 2021 called ‘Fast For Unity.’ This initiative invites people of all faiths and backgrounds to observe fasting during the Islamic month of Ramadan starting April 13 (dates may vary). The mission is to foster religious tolerance and understanding through this initiative.
WHD is asking people to fast for a day, two, 10 or all 30 in solidarity with Muslims against rising Islamophobia (anti-Muslim racism) sentiments worldwide such as these:
- According to the American Muslim Poll 2020, 60 to 62 percent of Muslims face discrimination in the United States of America.
- 2020 Annual Report of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) revealed that 61% of Muslim students have experienced religious-based bullying. 33% of Muslim students have altered their appearance, behavior, or names to hide the fact that they are Muslims.
- A EU Minorities and Discrimination Survey found that on average one in three Muslim respondents faced discrimination and prejudice in 2017 and 27 percent experienced a racist crime.
- Recent research by the European Network Against Racism shows that Islamophobia can especially impact women. It may impact women in the job market for example.
- In 2019, a widespread mistrust towards Muslims across Europe was found when the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Religion Monitor conducted research. Countries such as Germany and Switzerland reported that Islam was perceived as a threat by every second respondent. Meanwhile, in the UK, two in five share this perception. Islam is often stated to be incompatible with the “west”, and 60 percent of both Spain and France agree. In Austria, one in three doesn’t want to have Muslim neighbors.
- Anti-Muslim prejudice and racism in Germany occurs particularly frequently. A surveyed showed that 52 percent of those asked, found Islam as a threat. That 2019 survey confirmed that the negative perception Muslims remained stable at a high level for 10 years. The number of crimes classified as Islamophobia rose by 4.4% to 950 offences in 2019 according to German police statistics.
- In a 2020 poll, Poland was found to have a strong dislike for not only Muslims in general, but Arabs (usually identified as Muslims), Fifty-five percent of Polish respondents show dislike towards Arabs and have for more than 10 years.
Those who are interested in taking part in Fast For Unity are asked to register here: https://worldhijabday.com/F4U-Register/
There are many ways one can get involved in this initiative:
- Invite your friends, family, acquaintance, neighbors, etc. to take part in this great initiative.
- Observe fasting starting April 13.
- Attend the Fast For Unity Facebook event and invite your friends.
- Share the Fast For Unity promotional materials on social media.
- Use the hashtag #FastForUnity to voice your opinion against Islamophobia and raise awareness about this initiative.
- Ask news media to do a news coverage on this initiative.
- Write letters to local government officials about protecting the rights of Muslims.
- Support our mission in fighting Islamophobia through your generous donations using this link: https://worldhijabday.com/store/donations/
For more information, visit https://worldhijabday.com/store
For media inquiries, please contact us at info@WorldHijabDay.com