London, March 1: The UK has launched a new review led by a former Opposition Conservative Party minister into anti-Muslim hate to provide the Labour Party government with a working definition of Islamophobia.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said on Friday that former attorney general Dominic Grieve will bring his years of legal and government expertise to the role, which will also support a wider stream of work to tackle the “unacceptable incidents” of anti-Muslim hate crimes hitting the highest number on record in 2024.
The new working group has been tasked to deliver a definition of anti-Muslim hatred, referred to as Islamophobia, within six months. “The rise in anti-Muslim hate crime is unacceptable and has no place in our society,” said Rayner, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
“That’s why we’ve committed to defining Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia, as a crucial step forward in tackling it and creating a society where everyone feels safe and welcome,” she said.
Her ministry said the new working group will advise the government on how to best understand, quantify and define prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime targeted against Muslims.
“We know Islamophobia is as challenging to define as its existence is undoubted. We need to balance addressing the lived experience of those who are victims of it and the right of British Muslims to feel heard and protected as equal citizens of our country, with the unwavering requirement to maintain freedom of thought and expression under law for all,” said Grieve.
“I welcome the government’s decision to bring forward this needed work and I am hopeful that this commission will come up with principles in defining Islamophobia which are compatible with those requirements and can thus help support positive change in our country,” he said.
The MHCLG officials said that alongside drawing on their own expertise, members of the working group will engage widely to ensure the definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of Muslim communities across the UK.
The group’s proposed definition will be “non-statutory”, designed to provide the government and other relevant bodies with an understanding of unacceptable treatment and prejudice against Muslim communities.
“The group’s proposed definition must be compatible with the unchanging right of British citizens to exercise freedom of speech and expression – which includes the right to criticise, express dislike of, or insult religions and/or the beliefs and practices of adherents,” MHCLG said.
Other religious groups in the UK had raised concerns over any such definition that could jeopardise the factual discussion of the history and persecution of religious minorities around the world. (PTI)
