I am looking forward to my nest presentation at the National Interfaith Anti-Bullying Summit in Washington, DC, on Saturday Dec 2. I will be speaking about long term impact of bias-based bullying based on my first book titled “A Life Interrupted – the story of my battle with bullying and obsessive compulsive disorder”. The summit is organized by the American Muslim health Professionals organization. Here is an excerpt from their website”
“American Muslim Health Professionals (AMHP) is pleased to host a National Interfaith Anti–Bullying Summit at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. This Summit is a collaborative effort between AMHP and various faith partners including the National Baptist Convention, Islamic Networks Group, the Hindu American Foundation, the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and Sikh Kid 2 Kid. Teasing, harassment, and bullying based on real or perceived religious differences have become an increasingly prevalent problem on school campuses. According to surveys, while one quarter of students overall say they have been bullied at school, half of Muslim students, for example, report having been bullied or harassed. Most often, these incidents are triggered by misperceptions about the religious beliefs of targeted populations. AMHP and its partners aim to increase awareness of religious-based bullying in schools, exploring causes, prevention, and possible remedies. The primary objective of the Summit, therefore, is to share research and best practices about an increasingly serious problem facing youth of various religious backgrounds. To the best of our knowledge, such an anti–bullying interfaith summit has yet to occur. At this time of heightened fear and discrimination, such an event and the efforts that follow from it are of critical importance”.