[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]
Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said, “The Government’s working definition of Islamophobia which it has renamed anti-Muslim hostility announced yesterday appears to be a diminished version of that recommended by the Government’s own Independent Working Group last year.
Given the concerns about dilution, the motivations of some of those driving the dilution, the lack of transparency and meaningful engagement with grassroots community representatives throughout the process and the need for us to consult widely on this important matter – we are unable to endorse such a definition at the present time.
Rather, it is for the Government to convince and earn the trust of the British Muslim community that this definition will help stem the rising discrimination, systematic othering and harms that British Muslims are facing on a daily basis.”
The MCB reminds civil society partners, local authorities and major employers across the public and private sector that the 2018 definition of Islamophobia by the APPG on British Muslims remains the most widely recognised and adopted definition in the UK to date, supported by over 800 community organisations, over 100 academics and every major political party except the then governing Conservative Party.
This includes the Labour Party in opposition, before it cynically U-turned after coming into Government in July 2024. The Macpherson principles made clear that communities must have a central role in defining the hatred they experience and the British Muslim community is no exception to this.
However, success is measured in outcomes, not definitions. Noting the long overdue creation of a Special Representative on anti-Muslim hostility – which we urge the Government to ensure has equal remit and resourcing as the Government’s Independent Antisemitism Advisor role created in 2019 – actions the Government can take to earn the community’s trust in the next six months include at a bare minimum:
- Emphasising fairness, not favours – messaging about Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hostility needs to be in parallel to antisemitism, to dispel the misinformation spread by bad faith actors that somehow British Muslims are being afforded special treatment. The precedents include the Government since 2016 adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and since 2019 appointing an Independent Antisemitism Advisor.
- Curbing toxic media content – The volume and toxicity of algorithm-warped content pumped out by social media platforms owned by Big Tech companies is poisoning our nation. It is encouraging to see aspects of the Social Cohesion Strategy announced yesterday acknowledging this. However, the Government needs to go further by initiating a rapid audit of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023, and implementing innovative solutions like algorithmic pluralism suggested by the CCDH.
- Security funding reform – The Protective Security for Mosques scheme administered by the Home Office is not fit for purpose. It needs complete reform and transparency in how funding is assessed and distributed, including assurances that it is separate to PREVENT infrastructure. A rapid and independent audit and review of the scheme needs to be completed to make it streamlined, transparent and accountable.
- Grassroots engagement – It is telling for the nation to see the continued restriction of British Muslim community representation to the UK Government to hand-picked interlocutors, while boycotting elected representatives of community-rooted groups like the Muslim Council of Britain and others. Engagement is only genuinely two-way and respectful when there is agency for each party to select its representatives.
[ENDS]
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