The Labour Party government in Britain is reportedly seeking to create a “council on Islamophobia” in what critics warn will usher in de facto blasphemy laws through the backdoor.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, through her Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is planning to establish a 16-member council to advise the government on so-called Islamophobia, The Telegraph reported.
The council would also be tasked with coming up with an official government definition for the term, which was popularised, at least in part, by the Muslim Brotherhood terror group.
According to the broadsheet, the government is considering Dominic Grieve to chair the council. The former Attorney General of David Cameron’s Tory government and hardline anti-Brexit campaigner formerly chaired the Citizens’ UK Commission on Islam, which was involved in the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) 2018 report on British Muslims.
He was kicked out of the Conservatives in 2019 but was considered to be on the very left wing of the party.
Despite Islam being a religion and not a racial group, the APPG defined Islamophobia as being “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”. This highly contentious and — some say — dangerous definition was later officially adopted by the now-governing Labour Party.
Opponents of the definition have warned that it is too broad and could result in effective two-tier blasphemy laws being instituted in Britain through the “back door”. The report suggested that criticising Islam, or its history and practices, could be deemed as “Islamophobic”.
The report identified some examples of “classic Islamophobia”, such as “Muhammed being a paedophile, claims of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword or subjugating minority groups under their rule.”
The Free Speech Union warned that the formalisation of such a definition by the government would result in more people being criminalised for their speech in the UK, saying that “if Labour gets its way, even more voices will be silenced.”
“Once adopted as official guidance for public bodies, individuals could face accusations of Islamophobia simply for criticising aspects of Islam or Islamic practices,” the FSU wrote on X.
“In the worst case, such remarks could even be treated as ‘stirring up religious hatred’ under Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986, risking criminal charges and jail time.”
Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “The Government should drop its plans for such a deeply flawed definition of Islamophobia. Of course we should tackle anti-Muslim hate wherever it occurs, but this definition is a Trojan horse for a blasphemy law protecting Islam.
“Why do Labour MPs think it is acceptable to mock Christianity but not Islam? Time and again this Labour Government displays an Orwellian disregard for freedom of speech.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage suggested that the move to establish an Islamophobia council was politically motivated in that it would help the Labour Party shore up its support among Britain’s Muslim community.
UK Muslims have traditionally been one of the most reliable voting blocs for the left-wing party. However, there has been a growing trend, particularly in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel in 2023, for Muslim independent candidates to challenge Labour in local council and parliamentary elections.
Indeed, Labour fell to five independent candidates, including far-left former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who ran on a pro-Gaza platform in last year’s general election. Typically safe seats also came under heavy pressure from sectarian candidates, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting — one of the co-chairs of the 2018 APPG report — narrowly avoiding defeat by just over 500 votes over independent Leanne Mohamad.
Similarly, veteran Labour MP Jess Phillips, who recently came under fire for blocking a grooming gang inquiry in Oldham, only held onto her seat by hundreds of votes after edging out a pro-Gaza candidate.
