One man's mission to call out Islamphobia in the media

One point from class that stuck with me about Islamphobia is how even marginalized groups are often islamphobic and I think that is extremely true. Even mainstream left outlets are, like the NYT that posted an article with the heading "Islamist School can Segregate Boys and Girls." This is an example of priming because already before you read the article, your brain is making assumptions about how Islam is misogynistic.  

But one British secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Miqdaad Versi,  is checking Islamphobic rhetoric "politely," as the Guardian called it. Versi keeps a spreadsheet with almost 25,000 instances of Islamphobia in the media. He then reaches out to some of these organizations and explains to them how they are being Islamphobic or simply reporting inaccurately. He often receives mixed reviews. Many defend their case with other skewed notions of Islam and others sincerely apologize and make the appropriate changes to the article.

Versi is a good example of how we can make a difference just be speaking up and how it doesn't always have to be a formal protest or march, but a simply an email will sometimes do in calling out media outlets and others.