Labour’s bid to redefine Islamophobia risks silencing legitimate debate

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Labour continues to be in thrall to minority identity politics, political commentator Rakib Ehsan claims

Providing further indication that Labour continues to be in thrall to minority identity politics, the party is being accused of lobbying the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to force through an unworkable definition of Islamophobia, despite the body opposing it.

Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by The Times, the EHRC revealed that during an “informal discussion with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the question of whether the Commission would consider adopting the definition was raised.”

Baroness Falkner of Margravine, former chair of the EHRC and Distinguished Fellow at the Policy Exchange think-tank, told the Times: “The reports that the government has secretly tried to get the EHRC – the regulator for freedom of expression — to sign up to its entirely unworkable ‘definition’ shows how ideological they are. They have been warned again and again that this definition will restrict speech and legitimate criticism of a religion or culture.”

The reports of the Labour Government applying pressure on the EHRC to accept a new definition of Islamophobia comes at a time when the party remains anxious about the further leakage of British Muslim support – primarily down the continued rise of ‘Islamopopulism’ in the shape of pro-Palestine independent politicians and to a certain degree, the Green Party.

Research published by Policy Exchange in the build-up to last May’s English local elections found that across key electoral battlegrounds, three in five British Muslims would tactically vote for a pro-Gaza independent candidate to block a Labour one from winning in their local area.

It also found that when asked what the most important issues were when determining their vote in those local elections, British Muslims in those parts of the country were more likely to choose Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hostility than the economy, housing, healthcare, and education.

There is no doubt that anti-Muslim prejudice exists in British society – rearing its ugly head in the aftermath of the horrific Southport atrocity.

Following the dissemination of unfounded conspiracy theories which suggested that the perpetrator was a Middle Eastern Muslim migrant who had arrived in the UK on a small boat from France, mosques and Muslim-owned businesses were attacked.

This targeted violent criminality is inexcusable. The question is whether a new Islamophobia definition would make Britain a safer place for its Muslim citizens - who currently do enjoy a golden package of political rights, religious accommodation, economic freedoms, and legal protections that they wouldn’t in most parts of the world, if any.

In this context, it is worth noting that along with religious belief being a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act, the UK also has the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act in place.

Any definition of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hostility risks being exploited by tribal identitarian outfits masquerading as social-cohesion organisations.

If the definition is exploited in a way that seeks to suppress national debate on security and integration issues such as Islamist extremism (which is the principal national terror threat), grooming-gang activity (with many scandals involving perpetrators of Pakistani Muslim heritage), and the threat posed by the small-boats emergency to female public safety (with many migrants originating from Muslim-majority nations such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, and Iran), it will do more harm than good for British civic life.

If this was to unfold across our public institutions, this will not benefit British Muslims – the overwhelming majority being law-abiding, decent-hearted citizens who simply want to serve their loved ones. It ultimately theatens to inflame community tensions and harden anti-Muslim attitudes in the mainstream.

If the Labour Government truly cares about our multi-faith democracy, it must resist the urge to pander to group-based interests and govern in the interests of national solidarity.

Failure to do so will only further wear down the country’s social fabric.