Journalism & Islam: Food For Thought

A blunt debate about the way journalists cover Muslims at home and abroad — in a mosque with a free lunch.

Date: Sunday, Nov. 20
Times: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Place: Islamic Center of Boca Raton
Cost: Nothing to attend, eat, listen, or talk

Is the term “Islamic terrorist” accurate or offensive? When should reporters mention the faith of a source? How do South Florida’s news media cover the Islamic community? How should they?

You don’t have to cover the Mideast, terrorism, or politics to face practical and ethical issues about reporting on the world’s second-biggest religion. 

Journalists and Muslim leaders will teach each other about how they approach these topics – and maybe both groups will learn something new.

Get inside the story…

Take a tour of Florida’s most controversial mosque of this election season, then eat a halal lunch buffet selected by Islamic community members, who will break bread with you while breaking down the issues.

This is a give-and-take, back-and-forth meal. No question is stupid, and all answers are open-minded.

Afternoon prayers will interrupt our discussion, and you’re welcome to observe and learn.

Meet your hosts…

Your moderator is SPJ Florida board member Emily Bloch. Along with leaders from the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, she’ll be joined by two opposite but uniquely qualified journalists…

• Lulu Ramadan is the only Muslim reporter at The Palm Beach Post. She covers Boca Raton and Delray Beach. She graduated last year from Florida Atlantic University, where she was editor of the student newspaper.
• Ilene Prusher is an FAU journalism professor, but for the previous two decades, she was a foreign correspondent for publications ranging from TIME to the Christian Science Monitor. An observant Jew, much of her coverage occurred in Muslim-majority countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkey. In 2012, her novel Baghdad Fixer was published.

The ICBR has invited several rotating panelists, including…

• Olivia Cantu, Emerge USA’s South Florida director
• Afifa Khaliq, SEIU’s communications director
• Bassem Alhalabi, ICBR president
• Annie Hyatt, ICBR PR and outreach director
• Wilfredo Ruiz, CAIR Florida communications director

Questions about Muslimedia? Holler.

You don’t need to reserve a seat, but it would sure help us plan for all the food. RSVP at our Facebook page.