UK Islamophobia definition to protect right to 'insult religions'
The UK government has published more details about a working group set up to advise it on a possible definition of Islamophobia which would also protect the right to "insult" religious beliefs and practices.
The membership of the working group appears to signal that the government is engaging with the recently launched British Muslim Network (BMN), but not the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) - the largest umbrella body claiming to represent British Muslims.
Dominic Grieve, a former Conservative attorney general, has been appointed chair of the group with BMN co-chair Akeela Ahmed among its four other members.
Earlier this year it emerged that the government was planning to create a working group to draw up an official definition for anti-Muslim discrimination.
This suggested it was rowing back plans to adopt the definition proposed in 2018 by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Muslims.
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That definition, which the Conservative government rejected, was criticised by some as potentially stifling criticism of Islam, which the APPG strongly denied.
Adopted by Labour in opposition, the definition characterises Islamophobia as "a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness".
In September 2024, Labour's faith minister Lord Wajid Khan said that "the definition proposed by the APPG is not in line with the Equality Act 2010, which defines race in terms of colour, nationality and national or ethnic origins".
Freedom of speech
The new working group's terms of reference, published on Monday, include giving advice on "the merits of government adopting a non-statutory definition of unacceptable treatment of Muslims and anyone perceived to be Muslim, including what a proposed definition should be".
This establishes that the government has not yet decided that it will adopt any definition of Islamophobia.
In apparent reference to widespread criticism, the terms say that any 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."
Ahmed's inclusion in the working group comes just weeks after the official launch of the BMN in February with backing from faith minister Khan, and after Middle East Eye had previously revealed it had lost much of its Muslim support and was being backed by a charity set up by disgraced former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
MEE reported ahead of the launch that several Muslim MPs privately said they would not attend after a series of controversies.
Critics have suggested that the BMN's co-chairs and advisory board lack credibility, warning that the government could use the network to continue to avoid engaging with the Muslim Council of Britain.
But the BMN's leadership has argued that the government should engage with a "whole range" of Muslim groups, including both the MCB and BMN.
Consecutive governments have followed a policy of refusing to engage with the MCB - despite it having over 500 member organisations, including mosques, schools, local and county councils, professional networks and advocacy groups.
Starmer's government adopted this approach and even ignored communications from the MCB during the far-right riots that raged across the country for over a week in August.
The BMN does not claim to be a similarly representative body. But its representation on the new working group indicates that the government has chosen to engage with the organisation while continuing to boycott the MCB.
Another notable omission from the membership list is Tell Mama, an Islamophobia reporting service funded by the communities ministry and accused of severely under-reporting hate crimes.
The Guardian reported earlier this month that no grant will be provided to the organisation from the end of March, leaving it facing closure.
Working definition
Also on the working group is Professor Javed Khan, managing director of Equi, a new think tank which says it was "born out of the UK Muslim community".
At the parliamentary launch of an Equi report last month, Khan told parliamentarians and civil society figures that the think tank was "seeing engagement" from the Labour government, including ministers and special advisers.
"The government needs to be faith literate in its policy development," he said.
Equi's report on Muslims in the British arts and culture scene notably warned that Muslim creatives are often "herded" into receiving funding from the contentious Prevent counter-extremism programme, which "often toxifies, devalues and limits artistic intent".
Grieve, the chair of the working group, previously chaired the Citizens' UK Commission on Islam, aimed at promoting dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims, and wrote the foreword to the contentious APPG report on Islamophobia in 2018, calling it "food both for thought and positive action".
He said last month that "defining Islamophobia is extremely difficult for perfectly valid reasons relating to freedom of expression", but noted that "perfectly law-abiding Muslims going about their business and well integrated into society are suffering discrimination and abuse".
Baroness Shaista Gohir, a crossbench peer and CEO of Muslim Women's Network UK (MWNUK), is another member of the working group.
MEE revealed in late February that an MWNUK event in parliament in March celebrating the "cultural contribution of Muslims in the UK" was supported by TikTok, the social media giant accused of censoring content on human rights abuses faced by Uyghur Muslims in China.
Aisha Affi, an independent consultant, is also named as a member of the working group.
The terms of reference say that the group will have six months to deliver a working definition of Islamophobia to ministers.
It establishes that the government "has the right to disband the Group at any point and without notice if they deem that it is no longer meeting its aims and objectives".
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