Tim Dieppe, the Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, believes that any attempt to define ‘Islamophobia’ and punish those responsible for it, whether by cancelling them or changing the law to make ‘Islamophobia’ a ‘hate crime’, would have a chilling effect on free speech. That is particularly true of the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslim’s definition, which, among other things, means anyone who disputes Hamas’s description of Israel’s military operation in Gaza as a ‘genocide’ is guilty of ‘Islamophobia’ and, by extension, of ‘racism’. It is not ‘racist’ to dispute that claim, any more than it is ‘racist’ to criticise the religion of Islam or to acknowledge that the history of Islam involves spreading the religion by the sword and subjugating non-Muslims. We should continue to be vigilant against anti-Muslim hatred, but consign the word ‘Islamophobia’ to the dustbin of history.