CAIR-WA was heavily involved with the planning, sponsorship, and promotion of the "Confronting Islamophobia" conference that took place at Saint Mark's Cathedral on May 6 & 7. Each staff member of CAIR-WA led at least one workshop, with panels on myths about Islam, being an American Muslim, and digital propaganda.
Click here to view photos of the entire conference
Community Outreach Coordinator Abigail Stahl led a workshop entitled "The Revolution Will Be on the Web" which focused on a few key anti-Muslim hate bloggers and strategies used by anti-Muslim groups to spread hate and misinformation about Islam and Muslims on the internet. Abigail focused on blogs and the strategies used by bloggers to gain greater readership and legitimacy, YouTube, Facebook/ Twitter, and the use of action alerts. This included an explanation of the rhetorical strategies bloggers and websites use, the frequency of information to "go viral", and the importance of information proliferation through social media. After leading participants through various strategies employed by hate groups, Abigail showed samples, clips, and screen shots from hate-mongers in the digital realm.
In addition to informing participants on the strategies used by anti-Muslim organizations and individuals, Abigail then led them through tactics and approaches to use to combat Islamophobia in the digital realm. This included basic tips such as responding in online article comments sections to unbalanced news articles related to Islam, using one's personal social media to post accurate stories and information about Islam and Muslims, and other efforts such as writing a letters to the editors of local newspapers.
The participants provided wonderful feedback on the workshop, noting for example, "[the presentation] opened my eyes to [the] impact of blogging" and another that: "I learned the power of social media [that can be used] for good". Many attendees signed up for CAIR WA's article comments team and letter to the editor team-an encouraging sign that they are ready to take action!
