Angela Rayner is planning to create a new council on ‘Islamophobia’ and is lining up an ex-Tory minister to lead it, according to the Telegraph. The 16-strong body will also help to draw up an official government definition of Islamophobia, sources say.
Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General for England and Wales, has reportedly been recommended to chair the council, which will be part of Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). In 2015 Mr Grieve chaired the Citizens UK Commission on Islam, which aimed to promote dialogue between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, and is a trustee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
More worryingly, in 2018 he wrote a foreword to the controversial report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims which set out a definition of Islamophobia that was later adopted by the Labour Party. The definition has been criticised for being so wide that it curbs free speech, amounts to a de facto blasphemy law and stifles legitimate criticism of Islam as a religion.
The APPG – co-chaired by Wes Streeting, now the Health Secretary – published its definition after an 18-month consultation. It reads: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”
In his foreword, Mr Grieve said he “greatly welcomed” the report, saying it “makes an important contribution to the debate as to how Islamophobia can best be addressed. It is well researched and can give all of us food both for thought and positive action.”
But as Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, has argued in a Free Speech Union briefing, any attempts to define ‘Islamophobia’ and punish those accused of it would inevitably chill free speech. In particular, Tim warned that the APPG definition, by relying on perceptions, invites subjective interpretations, deterring legitimate criticism of religious beliefs and practices.
Likewise, Fiyaz Mughal, founder of the anti-Muslim hate monitoring group Tell Mama, has described it as a “smokescreen” that could stifle necessary scrutiny of cultural practices. “Bad behaviour wherever it is, in whichever religious group, needs to be called out,” he said.
Last September, the government acknowledged some of these criticisms after the Network of Sikh Organisations wrote to Angela Rayner raising “grave concerns” about the APPG definition.
Lord Khan, the Faith Minister, admitted in his response that the definition didn’t align with the Equality Act, which defines race in terms of colour, ethnicity and nationality – but not religion. However, he indicated that the government would nonetheless continue to seek a formalised definition, stating: “Defining Islamophobia is a complex issue, and we want to ensure that any definition comprehensively reflects multiple perspectives and implications for different communities.”
Asked about his possible role on the new council, Mr Grieve said he hadn’t had a formal approach from MCHLG, but he told the Telegraph: “If I can be of assistance in doing something constructive requested by any government on a non-party political basis I am willing to consider it. It depends on what it is and whether I can add value and help the wider public service.”
Asked about the APPG definition, he admitted: “It was apparent at the time that defining Islamophobia is extremely difficult for perfectly valid reasons relating to freedom of expression.”
Meanwhile, among the candidates shortlisted for the council is Qari Asim: a Leeds imam dismissed as a government adviser by the Conservatives in 2022 after backing calls for a ban on the film The Lady of Heaven about the Prophet Mohammed’s daughter.
Paul Stott, co-author of a Policy Exchange report last week on extremism, said: “The government is giving off worrying vibes – that it is potentially amenable to restrictions on ‘blasphemy’ and that its mind is made up in favour of a definition of Islamophobia. If so, that is terrible news for freedom of speech.”
More on the story here.
