Wednesday, April 16, 2025
12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Virtual

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According to the 2021 survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), 69% of American Muslims said they have personally experienced one or more incidents of anti-Muslim bigotry or discrimination since 9/11, and 83% said they witnessed someone experience this.

As anti-Muslim discrimination and xenophobia are on the rise across the globe, Right To Be (RTB) and CAIR-Chicago have partnered to bring this training to support healing in Muslim communities and empower everyone to activate their power to stop Islamophobic and xenophobic harassment.

This training, as well as the companion "Bystander Intervention to Stop Antisemitic Harassment" training, is open to all UC Irvine students, faculty, and staff and is supported by an Addressing Bias and Building Community at UC Irvine (ABC at UCI) grant from the Office of Inclusive Excellence and cosponsored by UC Irvine Libraries, School of Humanities, School of Social Ecology, and School of Social Sciences.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

This interactive training will teach you RTB’s 5Ds (distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct) of bystander intervention methodology. It will start by talking about the types of disrespect that Muslims and those who are perceived to be Muslim are facing right now —  from microaggressions to violence —  using a tool we call the “spectrum of disrespect.” You’ll learn what to look for and the positive impact that bystander intervention has on individuals and communities. The trainer will talk through five strategies for intervention and how to prioritize your own safety while intervening. You’ll leave feeling more confident intervening the next time you see Islamophobic and xenophobic harassment online or in person.

REGISTER TODAY

ABOUT CAIR-CHICAGO

CAIR-Chicago is a nonprofit organization tasked with advocating for and protecting the civil rights of Muslim Americans and other affected communities. At the forefront of fighting Islamophobia and hate faced by Muslim Americans and other marginalized communities, it receives more than 300 claims of discrimination on an annual basis. In 2020, CAIR-Chicago partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago and RTB to offer bystander intervention trainings to the Greater Chicagoland Area. With persistent Islamophobia facing American Muslims, RTB and CAIR-Chicago are proud to partner to adapt RTB’s bystander intervention training to support the diverse Muslim community.

ABOUT RIGHT TO BE

Right To Be (RTB) started as a conversation in 2005 among seven young people. As the women in the group told story after story of their experiences of harassment, the men became increasingly concerned. Collectively, they resolved to make change.

Inspired by the story of Thao Nguyen, a woman sexually harassed in New York City who bravely shared her story online, the seven youths started a public blog where all could document their experiences of harassment. RTB became a nonprofit in 2010 and created bystander intervention trainings to teach people how to stop harassment, in all its forms. RTB’s mission is to build safe, inclusive public spaces by transforming the culture that perpetuates harassment and discrimination. They carry out this mission by building the power of everyday people to create safe and welcoming environments for all.