Inspire’s Sara Khan, US presidential candidate Donald Trump, Channel 4 News reporter Cathy Newman and the BBC sitcom Citizen Khan are among the nominees for the 2016 Islamophobia awards.
The event on March 5 is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission and features a satirical awards ceremony where those who’ve been the most Islamophobic over the past year are rewarded for their efforts.
The event aims to subvert Islamophobia through comedy while simultaneously addressing a serious and significant issue in a creative manner.
The awards are split into four separate categories: UK, International, News/Media and Film/Book/TV Series. Nominees were submitted by the general public who had the chance to chose who they felt had displayed prominent symptoms of Islamophobia.
Familiar names crop up in the “UK” category with the likes of David Cameron and last year’s “Overall Islamophobe” winner Theresa May but there are new faces too with appearances by OFSTED head Michael Wilshaw and the “counter-extremism organisation” Inspire.
Reasons cited include Cameron’s alienating rhetoric, May’s police-state policies and Wilshaw’s suggestion to ban face veils in schools.
Nominees in the “International” category are literally spread across the globe with the inclusion of Burmese politican Aung San Suu Kyi who has ignored the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minority in the region; Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ben Carson who have both been comfortable attacking Muslims during their respective campaigns for president; and the government of Tajikistan where police have shaved nearly 13,000 people’s beards and closed more than 160 shops selling traditional Muslim clothing in the past year.
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“News Media” features last year’s clear winner Fox News; Sky News’ Kay Burley for her easy and direct dismissal of the suggestion that what she was saying was both racist and Islamophobic; and journalist Cathy Newman for her infamous incident with an unfortunate South London mosque.
This year also sees numerous television series nominated in the “Book/Movie/TV” category as well as Glenn Beck’s latest book and the newly-released movie “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”
Winners will be highlighted during the spoof awards ceremony which will be taking place on Saturday, 5 March 2016 at The Clay Oven in Wembley. The ceremony will be accompanied by live entertainment and stand-up comedy.
The general public can purchase tickets here and they can vote for who wins here.
2016 ISLAMOPHOBIA AWARDS NOMINATIONS:
UK:
David Cameron
Maajid Nawaz
Katie Hopkins
William Shawcross
INSPIRE
David Coburn
Mona Siddiqi
Theresa May
Metropolitan Police
Michael Wilshaw
INTERNATIONAL:
Donald Trump
Ben Carson
Charlie Hebdo
Bill Maher
Marine le Pen
Karamay, China
Geert Wilders
Aung San Suu Kyi
Rupert Murdoch
Tajikistan
NEWS & PRINT/ONLINE MEDIA:
Daily Mail
Fox News
The Sun
Ann Coulter
Isha Sesay and John Vause; CNN
Cathy Newman
The Daily Caller
Breitbart
Sam Harris
Kay Burley; Sky News
MOVIE/BOOK/TV SERIES:
Homeland
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
It IS About Islam: Exposing the Truth About ISIS, Al Qaeda, Iran, and the Caliphate by Glenn Beck
Tyrant
State of Affairs
Citizen Khan
Arrow
Marvel’s Agents Of Shield
