The UK government is expected to announce a new definition for anti-Muslim hostility soon, moving away from the term "Islamophobia." Lord Khan, who initiated the review into the definition, is urging the government to adopt the full definition provided by an independent working group to effectively combat hate crimes against Muslims. This working group, chaired by Dominic Grieve, was tasked with defining unacceptable treatment, prejudice, discrimination, and hate targeting Muslims, as a response to a significant rise in hate crimes.
While the government has stated that any definition will not infringe on freedom of speech or lead to blasphemy laws, concerns have been raised by the Conservative party. Tory shadow equalities minister Claire Coutinho worries that singling out one group for special protection could breed resentment and that existing laws already cover violence and harassment based on religion. She also contrasts this with the antisemitism definition, which she believes had an international consensus and addressed specific issues like Holocaust denial.
Despite these concerns, British Muslims report ongoing discrimination, and the lack of a specific definition is believed to lead to underreporting of hate crimes. Home Office data indicates a 20% surge in religion-based offenses last year, with Muslims being targets in nearly half of these incidents. How... download the app to read more
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