The UK government has introduced a new definition of anti-Muslim hate after months of consultation and controversy surrounding the process.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Communities Secretary Steve Reed unveiled the plan to parliamentarians.
“Religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims are also at record levels, with almost half of these crimes targeted towards the Muslim community and many living in fear that they will be targeted because of how they look or assumptions over where they come from,” Reed said in the House of Commons.
“This government has a duty to act but cannot tackle something that has not been defined.
“The government is taking the historic step of adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility which makes it clear what is unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim.”
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The new definition consists of three paragraph, alongside a longer document published on the government’s website.
The government’s definition, however, does not include any reference to race, which Middle East Eye understands, to have been a contentious issue within the working group of experts who worked on defining anti-Muslim hatred.
He added that the government planned to appoint an anti-Muslim hate tsar, similar to the antisemitism tsar already in place.
Critics of the new definition, however, have raised questions on whether it goes far enough to address structural Islamophobia, and whether resources will be committed to enforcement and monitoring.
The definition comes after months of consultation by a five-person working group of experts led by former Conservative minister Dominic Grieve and members of Britain’s Muslim community.
Javed Khan, a member of the government’s working group and managing director of the think tank Equi, noted the definition not only protects Muslims but those perceived to be Muslim, acknowledging that hatred frequently targets people on the basis of ethnicity or appearance, regardless of faith.
“The decision to introduce, for the first time, a clear and wide-ranging definition of anti-Muslim hostility not only protects Muslims but those perceived to be Muslim, acknowledging the reality that hatred often targets people because of their ethnicity or racial background, based on appearance or assumptions,” Khan said in a statement.
Monday’s announcement will come as a long-overdue step, years after similar non-statutory definitions were adopted for antisemitism.
UK Islamophobia definition to protect right to ‘insult religions’
Research by Equi found a 43 percent rise in anti-Muslim incidents between 2023 and 2024. The think tank also estimated that the 2024 summer riots alone cost the country at least £243 million.
But Equi’s research also found cause for optimism in public attitudes towards British Muslims, which are far more positive than political and media discourse suggests.
A majority of the British public holds either favourable or neutral views of Muslims, and this increases when people are shown real examples of Muslim contribution to British society, from charity work to community engagement.
The definition forms part of a wider government action plan, titled Protecting What Matters, aimed at strengthening social cohesion across the country amid what ministers described as a backdrop of rising hate crime, extremism and global insecurity.
The government also announced plans for an annual state of extremism report and said it would strengthen the visa watchlist taskforce to prevent hate preachers and so-called extremists from entering the country.