Community leaders will gather Wednesday evening for Welcoming Diversity: A Community Action Forum against Islamophobia and Intolerance.
Guests will discuss Islamophobia, interfaith relations, the Syrian refugee crisis and the role of media in shaping public perception of these issues.
The event starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomas Center, situated at 302 NE Sixth Ave.
Iman Zawahry, an affiliated faculty member of the UF Center for Global Islamic Studies, said misguided people sometimes believe Muslim faith and scripture tell them to kill.
“We always say they’re hijacking our religion,” she said of violent Muslims, “taking the name of Islam as if it is a violent religion.”
Zawahry said she wants to arm everybody with knowledge and answer any questions they might have about Islam.
Terje Østebø, director of the Center for Global Islamic Studies, said the forum will focus mostly on Gainesville residents.
“We’re not going to change national politics,” he said, “ but we want to make sure that our local community is a welcoming community.”
Østebø also emphasized the importance of welcoming refugees.
“Saying no one can come in is an unfair and un-American way to deal with the problem,” he said.
About 150 guests said they were attending on the event’s Facebook page as of press time.
“We don’t want this to be an endpoint, but rather a starting point for continuous activism within the local community,” he said.
