A panel event will discuss the impact of Islamophobia on young people at an event in Manchester.

The British Institute of Peace (BIP) has been launched with the aim of addressing issues related to racism and extremism, both religious and far-right, in the UK. An official launch event has been organised at the Z Arts Theatre in Manchester on the 24 January 2019.

'The Enemy Within?’ will be a panel discussion before an audience of mainly young people and students. 

The panel consists of Baroness Warsi,  Amjad Bashir, Former UKIP MEP and currently a Conservative MEP, Katherine Ann Green OBE, MPfor Stretford

Leading academics on the panel include Dr Madeline Sophie-Abbas, expert in the field of hate crime and Islamophobia from the University of Manchester, along with Dr Julian Hargreaves, a researcher at the Woolf Institute in Cambridge and expert on hate crimes and community responses to extremism. Dr Zahid Iqbal, chairperson of the BIP, and Zaidi Hamid, president of the ISOC at the University of Manchester, complete the line-up of panellists.

The discussion will be hosted by BBC presenter Talat-Farooq Awan.

The event is an open and frank panel discussion on Islamophobia and the future of young Muslims in the UK. The audience will have full opportunity to ask questions from the panel.

This one-day event aims to provide a platform for young Muslims to be able to voice their concerns about the alarming growth of hate crime and Islamophobia in the UK, and the constant demonization of Muslims in the media, which is creating an environment of mistrust. Among many other things, these issues are leading to confusion in respect of identity and belonging. 

To join the audience or for more details, visit the BIP website here