Fears have been raised for freedom of speech after Labour launched a major crackdown on Islamophobia.
The Government announced on Monday the creation of an official definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ and the country’s first tsar to tackle it in a £4million drive.
It said the ‘valuable guidance tool’ would improve measurement of the problem as well as responses to it, with helplines encouraged to record incidents.
Under the new definition, anti-Muslim hostility is defined as crimes such as violence or harassment directed at people who are either Muslim or are perceived to be, as well as ‘prejudicial stereotyping’ to encourage hatred against them and unlawful discrimination.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stressed that it must be read alongside a statement making clear that ‘open debate in the public interest’ must be protected.
It said that the fundamental right of freedom of expression includes criticising or ridiculing religions including Islam, including ‘portraying it in a manner that some of its adherents might find disrespectful or scandalous‘.
The Government also said that the definition – published alongside a long-awaited strategy on social cohesion – is not becoming law and does not mean that all anti-Muslim hostility would constitute a crime.
But critics warned it would still have a chilling effect, shutting down legitimate debates, and questioned why the move is needed given that there are already laws against religiously motivated hate crimes.
Protestors outside a mosque in Sunderland during nationwide disorder in the wake of the Southport stabbings in summer 2024
Paul Holmes, Shadow Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister, said: ‘This definition is so broad and subjective that it risks creating a back-door blasphemy law, with a chilling effect on free speech and legitimate criticism of Islamist extremism.
‘Anti-Muslim hatred is unacceptable, but Britain already has strong laws to tackle hate crime and discrimination, and they should be enforced.’
He added: ‘Coming so soon after the Gorton and Denton by-election, it is clear Labour is once again pandering to the politics of sectarianism instead of focusing on the shared values that unite our country. Identity politics is a dead end, not a route to a cohesive society.’
Former Labour MP and Government adviser Lord Walney said: ‘I can understand why British Muslims want support in the face of rising intolerance but I am not convinced this will help given extensive hate crime laws that already exist and the fact that religion is already listed as an aggravating factors in assault.’
And he warned: ‘I am deeply concerned that Islamist extremists will use this new definition to deflect scrutiny from their quest to undermine our values and intimidate fellow Muslims.’
Reform MP Sarah Pochin said: ‘This definition is yet another assault on free speech from a Labour Party that seeks to appease a sectarian voting bloc at the expense of British values.
‘No religion or idea should be beyond scrutiny or ridicule in a free and democratic society.’
Founder of the Free Speech Union Lord Young pointed out that a previous definition of Islamophobia put forward by a Parliamentary group was also non-statutory but had a ‘profoundly chilling effect on free speech‘.
He said it forced people ‘to bite their tongues about the grooming gangs for fear of being branded ‘Islamophobes’.
He went on: ‘The fact that the new definition is of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ not ‘Islamophobia’ won’t stop it being used to silence legitimate criticism of Muslims or Muslim organisations.
‘It will enable those who want to shut down discussion of politically difficult issues involving Muslims, such as female genital mutilation and honour killings, to accuse those raising them of being motivated by anti-Muslim hostility.’
Communities Secretary Steve Reed insisted in the Commons debate on the Protecting What Matters cohesion strategy: ‘There is absolutely no question of blasphemy laws by the back door.
‘But we will not do what they [the Conservatives] did and stand by and simply watch while Muslim communities face targeted abuse in ways that any decent country would consider to be absolutely intolerable.’
The definition document said that a record 4,478 hate crimes against Muslims were recorded in the year to March 2025, according to almost half of all religious hate crimes.
Mosques, schools and businesses have been vandalised while women who wear headscarves have been harassed and even positive comments online about Muslims are ‘often met with an avalanche of abuse’.
It said that many Muslims ‘fear using public services’ such as transport and healthcare and some even ‘feel forced to isolate themselves for their own safety’.
