The New York Mayor’s Office Just Launched the #IAmMuslimNYC Campaign

In light of the recent surge in the number of hate crimes against Muslim-Americans, it is absolutely crucial that we take steps — both inside and outside the Muslim community — to educate others about Islam and what it’s like to be Muslim-American.
In an effort to achieve this, the New York City Mayor Bill DiBlasio’s office has just launched a social media campaign designed to put a stop to the Islamophobic acts that have occurred against Muslim New Yorkers in recent months.

We also love our communities, and we are also afraid. There is no reason to alienate us, or to attack us, or to tell us to go back to where we came from.

The campaign, which launched on Monday, Sept. 26, consists of banner ads featuring five different Muslim-Americans. The banners have the following message:

I AM MUSLIM. I AM NYC. New Yorkers of all faiths deserve to live safely, and free from discrimination. In NYC, it’s illegal to discriminate against or harass someone based on their religion creed. #IAmMuslimNYC

The hashtag for the campaign speaks volumes. It’s an attempt to explain to New Yorkers — and to the entire country — that Muslims can be both Muslim and American.

We also love our communities, and we are also afraid. There is no reason to alienate us, or to attack us, or to tell us to go back to where we came from. There is no reason to light our clothes on fire, or assault our children. We’re standing alongside you, and we have the same concerns.

The ads will hopefully serve as a reminder that Muslims contribute their skills and talents just as much as other New Yorkers, and that they deserve to feel safe when they walk to work or when they get on the subway.

The city-wide campaign comes at a pivotal moment. A number of unsettling incidents involving violence against Muslims have taken place in New York recently.

The ads will hopefully serve as a reminder that Muslims contribute their skills and talents just as much as other New Yorkers, and that they deserve to feel safe when they walk to work or when they get on the subway.

Earlier this month, a Muslim woman dressed in traditional garb was attacked while she stood in front of a store on Fifth Avenue; the suspect lit the woman’s blouse on fire. A week before that, two Muslim women and their children were attacked in Brooklyn. The two incidents occurred just a month after the fatal shootings in Queens of Imam Maulama Akonjee and his assistant, Thara Uddin.
With these kind of instances occurring at such an alarming rate, the city’s campaign might be the best line of defense against the Islamophobic and anti-Muslim rhetoric that has embedded itself so deeply in everyone’s minds.

According to a recent article, the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit will work with NYC Muslim community leaders and the Commission on Human Rights to provide workshops and events aimed at teaching the general public about Islam.

We can only hope that this campaign will start a new conversation, one that encourages people across the country to take the time and get to know their Muslim neighbors, classmates and colleagues.

The first of these workshops is scheduled to start next month.
In a city like New York, where there is such a diverse population, it’s difficult to imagine how and why these hate crimes have occurred. We can only hope that this campaign will start a new conversation, one that encourages people across the country to take the time and get to know their Muslim neighbors, classmates and colleagues.

The campaign is a great initiative on the city’s part to clear up any misconceptions about Islam by helping non-Muslims understand their Muslim counterparts a little better.
It’s a reminder that, even among so much hatred and cruelty, there are always those who are willing to spread positivity.