Artist Creates Guide About What To Do When You Witness Islamophobia

• Paris-based artist Maeril created a guide for those who may encounter Islamophobic harassment but have no idea what to do to help.
• According to the illustrator, it’s important to “ignore the attacker.”

As defined by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), Islamophobia pertains to “the fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them.”

The unfortunate fact today is that harassment of different forms have increased against members of the said religion, as some people blame them for acts of terrorism although this kind of generalization is completely illogical.

Maeril, an artist from Paris, decided to do something about this problem by creating an illustrated guide about what bystanders can do in case they personally witness Islamophobic harassments.

As she wrote on her Tumblr entry:

“I’m focusing on protecting Muslims here. As they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes – that way one cannot say they “didn’t know what to do”!”

Go check out the guide below:

The artist also continued:

“I’d like to insist on two things:

“1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked!

“2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you’re helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If you’re in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over – call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel!”

To see more of Maeril’s work, you may go check out her stuff on her official Instagram and Tumblr pages.