Letâs protect both our communities and our civil liberties.
A Call for Transparency in Defining Islamophobia
By Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of United by Faith
Unifying Christians from All Walks of Life Around Common Values and Concerns
A new UK government working group has been tasked with defining "Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia"âa move that may appear well-intentioned on the surface but is raising serious concerns among religious liberty advocates, secular thinkers, and human rights defenders.
The group, chaired by former Attorney General Dominic Grieve and led under the oversight of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, is expected to deliver a non-statutory definition within six months. While aimed at curbing rising levels of anti-Muslim hostility, critics fear the working groupâs one-sided compositionâentirely made up of those in favour of such a definitionâcould produce a dangerously vague outcome that effectively imposes a blasphemy code.
Islam is a Belief, Not a Race
Critics across the spectrum agree that Muslims, like people of all faiths, deserve protection from hate and violence. But the term Islamophobia risks conflating criticism of a belief system with hatred towards individuals. Islam is not an ethnicity; it is an ideology, and in a democratic society, ideologies must remain open to scrutiny, debate, and even satire.
Lord Alton of Liverpool recently warned of the dangers of embedding blasphemy-style provisions into UK policy, citing how similar laws in other nations have been used to imprison, torture, or even execute those accused of "offending" religious sentiment. âI have personally seen how they can be misused,â he said.
Yet, despite these warnings, the government launched a quiet public consultation with little public awareness and brought the decision date forwardâcurtailing public scrutiny and meaningful engagement.
The Rise in Antisemitism and the Danger of Selective Focus
The sharp rise in antisemitism across the UK and Europe underscores the need for a balanced and inclusive strategy to address religious hatred. Since the October 2023 IsraelâHamas conflict, the UK has witnessed a surge in antisemitic incidentsâranging from the defacement of Jewish schools and synagogues, to verbal abuse on public transport, and physical attacks in broad daylight. In November 2023, a Jewish teacher in North London was hospitalised after being assaulted near her home. In another case, protestors in Manchester were filmed chanting threats outside a kosher supermarket. Yet while these deeply concerning trends persist, political and legal efforts to define religious hate often focus almost exclusively on Islamophobia, sidelining equally urgent threats. A fair, transparent framework must address all forms of religious hatredâantisemitism, kaffirophobia, and anti-Christian bigotryâwithout privileging one communityâs protection at the expense of others.
The Chilling Realities of Religious Censorship
The danger of enshrining a vague definition of Islamophobia becomes clear when we reflect on recent real-life cases in the UK and beyond.
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In 2022, screenings of the film The Lady of Heavenâa Shia perspective on Islamic historyâwere cancelled in several cinemas after protests by some Muslim groups, who claimed the film was âblasphemous.â This act of mob censorship, upheld by fear and silence, should not be the precedent for how our society engages with religious expression.
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Salman Rushdie, who spent decades in hiding after publishing The Satanic Verses, was stabbed on stage in 2022, in an attack fuelled by religious extremism. If criticising aspects of Islamic theology becomes classified as Islamophobia, even indirectly, such voices could be legally and socially silenced in future.
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Nissar Hussain, a British-Pakistani convert to Christianity, endured years of harassmentâincluding assaults and the firebombing of his homeâfor leaving Islam. Despite public appeals and police involvement, his family was eventually forced to flee their Bradford home. Would raising such concerns about Islamic communities or teachings under a new definition of Islamophobia be deemed âhatefulâ?
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Similarly, a disturbing trend of religiously motivated harassment has emerged against those who critique or leave Islam. In December 2018, Zaheer Hussain released a vile online rant targeting a Muslim convert to Christianity, threatening to sodomize him and mocking his baptism. Despite the victim facing ongoing threats and needing police surveillance, no prosecution followedâeven with video evidence. More recently, a separate video emerged showing a man threatening to urinate on a Bible in public, declaring that no Christian in England would dare stop him. Although police eventually began investigating, only after pressure from campaigners, Thames Valley Police initially dismissed the case when just one Christian reported it. These incidents highlight a chilling double standard: if a wide definition of Islamophobia is adopted, would public criticism of Islamâsuch as apostates sharing their faith journeysâbe censured, while Islamist threats and incitements to hatred go unchallenged under the guise of religious sensitivity?
BACAâs Longstanding Campaign Against Kaffirophobia and Apostasy Hatred
The British Asian Christian Association, or (BACA) has been actively working to challenge apostasy hatred and what it terms kaffirophobiaâa growing animosity towards non-Muslimsâfor many years. In 2016, BACA under a former guise submitted a comprehensive report to the UK Hate Crime Inquiry, authored by N. Lewis, and A. Hussain, outlining concerns and proposing actionable reforms. Many of these recommendations were unfortunately overlooked. Later, in 2019, researcher K. Gibbs and W. Chowdhry submitted further evidence to the Islamophobia Review Committee. In their most recent submission, BACA explored the connection between Islamophobia and kaffirophobia, arguing that any serious attempt to reduce anti-Muslim hatred must also address hatred against former Muslims and non-Muslims. They posit that addressing kaffirophobia holistically would help create a more balanced and just approach to tackling religiously motivated hate.
These examples show the asymmetry that can emerge when policy protects religious feelings over free conscience, speech, and belief. A narrowly defined understanding of Islamophobia could result in the suppression of apostates, reformers, journalists, filmmakers, academics, and artists, all under the pretext of fighting hate.
Free Speech Must Be Non-Negotiable
Danny Webster of the Evangelical Alliance warned that any definition of anti-Muslim hatred âmust safeguard the freedom to criticise religious belief and support the freedom for people to change their beliefs.â Without this, a climate of fear and self-censorship will emergeâone where disagreement is silenced under institutional guidance.
Even senior politicians have echoed this concern. Former Communities Secretary Lord Pickles said the real danger lies in rushing the process without adequate reflection, while Kemi Badenoch stated plainly: âThe definition of âIslamophobiaâ... creates a blasphemy law via the back door if adopted.â
Sign the Petition â Defend Our Freedoms
In light of these concerns, I have launched a UK Government petition to call for immediate changes to this process. We urge the government to:
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Pause the current working group process
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Conduct a fully open and transparent consultation
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Include voices from across faiths, ideologies, and communities, including ex-Muslims, secular thinkers, and human rights groups
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Ensure any definition protects freedom of speech, including the right to criticise religion
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Reject any definition that could criminalise dissent or empower mob censorship
We must ensure that hatred against Muslims is addressed, but not at the expense of suppressing freedoms that define British democracy.
Religious ideasâlike all ideasâmust be open to debate, not shielded by law. Please help defend this principle.
Letâs protect both our communities and our civil liberties.
