Retrospect: The Croissant Club

“The Croissant Club” is a project supported by DialoguePerspectives as part of the alumni micro-grant programme. Initiated by DialoguePerspectives alumna Zahra Beg, the virtual book club brings together young people from around the world to explore hybrid Muslim identities in predominantly Muslim minority countries.

Impressions and insights from the founder Zahra Beg:

The Croissant Club is an international monthly virtual book club founded in December 2021 by Zahra Beg a DialoguePerspectives alumni, with the overall goal of enabling young individuals (aged 18-40) to discuss issues surrounding hybrid Muslim identities while living in predominantly Muslim minority countries. Our members come from a variety of backgrounds including the UK, Belgium, Spain, UAE, Kenya, Pakistan, USA and Canada. The Croissant Club welcomes both Muslims and non-Muslims. Past readings have included The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Towards Sacred Activism, Climate Change is Racist and As Long as the Lemon Tree Grows. In July 2023, we hosted a sold-out in-person screening of Quo Vadis, Aida? in London to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, followed by a discussion on the impact of Islamophobia in Europe and actionable steps to raise awareness.

With funding from DialoguePerspectives e.V., the Croissant Club successfully expanded its reach by making both physical and digital copies of the books discussed available to a wider audience. It played a crucial role in creating and sustaining a digital community for the Muslim diaspora members of The Croissant Club. By removing financial barriers and providing essential digital infrastructure, the club successfully created a safe environment for literary discussion and community development, covering a wide range of topics including Islam and intersectional identities, as well as the rise of far-right rhetoric and growing Islamophobia in the ‘global north’. With many members based in the UK and across the European Union, it is important to discuss social and political issues in this context.

Here is the link to the Instagram Account: @the_croissantclub

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DialoguePerspectives is a great programme not only because of all the things you are going to learn during the seminars, not only because of the cool people you are going to meet but also because of the un-learning process that you will go through, getting rid of all the prejudices that you are not even aware of having.
 

Asmae, DialoguePerspectives participant

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