Stuff Not Fluff: Bringing Academic Insights to the ‘burbs

To celebrate the UN International Peace Day 2017 on 21st November, Basmala ISU and Islamic Council of NSW hosted a Double Book Launch which I emceed, called:  “Stuff not Fluff: Improving Narratives on Refugees and Migrants Though Increased Dialogue & Informed Debates Influenced by Scholarly Literature” at the Bankstown library.
The 2017 theme set by the UN for this year was “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All” with a focus on improving negative narratives about migrants and refugees.
As the current discourse on Migrants and Refugees in Australia is highly toxic, one way to recalibrate dialogue, is with scholarly literature (beyond simplistic social cohesion strategies) that promote substance, away from the current contest of trading insults.
The two books launched were:

Malay Court Religion, Culture and Language: Interpreting the Qurʾān in 17th Century Aceh, by Peter Riddell, and 

Hasan Mustapa: Ethnicity and Islam in Indonesia, by Julian Millie.  
This was an evening of scintillating conversation and new learnings.