The Bridge Initiative: Achievements

The Bridge Initiative was established in 2015 to provide accessible and scholarly information on Islamophobia. Please see below for a brief overview of our list of achievements.

Bridge Research Output:

In the last five years (2020-2024), The Bridge Initiative has produced over 235 pieces of research (factsheets, articles, reports).

Our research has been featured in prominent media outlets, including the New Yorker, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, The Forward, The Intercept, TIME, and more.

Bridge researchers have been quoted and/or have published commentary in leading media outlets, including Religion News Service, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Haaretz, NBC News, Salon, Politico, The Independent, The Hindu, The Toronto Star, and more.

Communications:

Bridge maintains an extensive social media presence that serves as a platform for disseminating our analysis and amplifying broader content addressing Islamophobia.

Facebook: 1.1 million followers

Twitter: 29,500 followers

Instagram: 5,478

TikTok: 1,003 followers and 3,234 likes

Every year, we have hundreds of thousands of users who visit our website, and we average around 10,000 visitors per month. Our material has been accessed in over 100 countries.

Bridge Podcast:

We previously had a podcast, “Voices on Islamophobia”, which we re-launched with a new name, “Unpacking Islamophobia”, in 2022. In total, we have produced 28 episodes featuring prominent voices on issues related to Islamophobia from around the globe. Some of our guests have included Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MI), American Journalist Peter Beinart, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, British journalist Peter Oborne, Pulitzer-Prize award-winning American reporter Spencer Ackerman, and Canada’s first-ever Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby.

Events:

We have held or co-sponsored at least 20 events that have addressed a variety of issues when it comes to Islamophobia. These events have discussed the genocide of Rohingya Muslims, the rise of Hindu nationalism and its consequences in the UK, the targeting of Islamophobia studies in Academia, the prison at Guantanamo Bay, the role of Christians in addressing Islamophobia, and the Muslim Ban.

Reports:

Since 2015, Bridge has published 11 in-depth reports. These reports have covered a wide range of topics, including American Catholic public opinion regarding Islam and Muslims, Islamophobia in the 2016 US presidential elections, the Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, India’s repression targeting its Muslim population, and Hindu nationalism in Britain.

Bridge analysis on other hate-based ideologies:

In addition to Islamophobia, Bridge has also addressed other types of bigotry. When it comes to antisemitism, Bridge has published at least 38 pieces of research that address and/or highlight this issue.
 

Partnerships/Collaborations:

We have worked with independent researchers as well as students and scholars from the following international universities to produce timely research:

Western Sydney University (Australia)

Universidad de Granada (Spain)

Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Spain)

Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)