Raneem Saleh, a 20-year-old medical student at UCD, considers herself fortunate that, as a Muslim, she has not experienced hatred or prejudice while living in Ireland.
“I am fortunate not to have experienced any hate crimes but I have heard stories of prejudice against Muslims in Ireland and it is a very scary thing,” she said.
She believes the Irish media shares responsibility for perpetuating hatred of Muslims but also feels her fellow Muslims must be more outspoken and visible.
“I do not feel there is enough media representation of Muslims in Ireland. I also feel, though, that Muslims have to be more proactive,” she says. “They must get out there.”
She certainly is ‘out there’ in more ways than one.
Apart from her studies, she is a spoken-word performance artist, reading her own poetry and prose aloud in front of an audience.
The second eldest of four daughters, she was born in Canada and lived there for five years before her family moved to Saudi Arabia. “I am half Egyptian and half Saudi and most of my family are in Saudi Arabia now.”
She has many Irish friends, although close friendship is constrained by declining to attend any events where alcohol is served. “I am fortunate to have great friends who organise non-alcohol nights, which is fun.”
Raneem was one of a number of young Muslims attending a seminar in Dublin yesterday organised by the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The seminar on Muslims in the Media: Challenging Misconceptions was aimed at enhancing participants’ media relations skills.
At the event, participants spoke of how they feel Muslims are often misrepresented and negatively portrayed in the media and how, despite being one of the largest minority groups in the country, they feel there is little visibility of Muslims in the mainstream media.