Security, Human Rights and the Media
The Seminar Series, falls within the University Research Centre "Security, Human Rights and the Media".
The series is called: ‘The War on Terror and the Impact on Muslim Communities – Security, Human Rights and the Media’. Lawrence was the first of the speakers.
The Seminar Series will be comprised of six separate events: four seminars, one half-day conference made up of two panels of three speakers and one workshop. The final half-day conference will be followed by the workshop hosted by the Law School, where staff members and interested external participants will consider and discuss the possibility for future interdisciplinary or multi-institutional research.
Key aims of the seminar series
- The consideration of key issues facing the Muslim community in the UK within the themes of ‘security, human rights and the media’.
- Further develop and consolidate knowledge and research in these areas within Brunel Law School, by concentrating on overlapping themes and taking an interdisciplinary approach.
- Forge interdisciplinary links within Brunel University, and externally.
- Better inform the understanding of the effect of each discrete theme ‘security, human rights and the media’ on the other themes, by utilising the issues facing the Muslim community in order to illustrate this relationship.
- Contribute to a better understanding of the potential impact of security issues on the rights of minority groups.
Background to seminar series
The War on Terrorism and 11 September affected Muslim communities in the UK more than any other group. This impact varies from legislative measures, which in the name of counter-terrorism interfere with the human rights of Muslims, to private actors, such as the media, which increasingly portray Muslims and immigrants in a negative light whilst also promoting discriminatory measures.
This seminar series will address the overlap and interconnection between "Security, human rights and the media" in relation to the Muslim community. While these discrete areas have been the subject of academic consideration, the interconnection between them and the impact that one theme has on the others has not been widely considered. The importance of this to the development of a cohesive, multicultural society cannot be understated. A solution to the continuing violation of the Muslim community’s human rights in the name of security; and media intolerance against Muslims in the name of free speech, needs to be identified.
