British Labour adopts Islamophobia definition while Conservatives dither

Elis Gjevori

There is growing pressure on the Conservative Party to accept a working definition of Islamophobia as it faces increasing instances of members using inflammatory rhetoric against Muslims.

Britain’s Labour Party has adopted the working definition of Islamophobia produced by the All Party Parliamentary Group (AP-PG) at the end of last year.

In adopting the definition, Jennie Formby, the General Secretary of the Labour Party said: “I’m proud that Labour’s NEC adopted the working definition of #Islamophobia produced by the APPG on British Muslims. We must tackle Islamophobia, build a common understanding of its cause and consequences and express solidarity with Muslim communities.”

The APPG spent more than two years speaking to academics and civil society organisations before adopting the following definition: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

The adoption by the Labour Party puts it at odds with the ruling Conservative Party which has so far failed to adopt a working definition of Islamophobia.

The APPG in its report criticised Theresa May’s government for not doing enough to tackle Islamophobia saying: “There has been no attempt to adopt a definition of Islamophobia by Government despite recognising the significant impact the problem has on British Muslim communities.”

The Labour MP and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Naz Shah, also recently called out the Conservative Party response to Islamophobia citing its refusal to “listen and deny the problem exists let alone accept the need for any inquiry.”

Shah, who is also the Vice Chairman of the APPG which produced the working definition, has also called the refusal by the Conservatives to come to terms with discrimination in their party as “disgraceful”.

The Conservative member of the House of Lords and former Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi has spoken out against the deeply rooted Islamophobia in her party.

Citing the London mayoral campaign of 2016, which saw the Conservative nominee Zac Goldsmith use Islamophobic rhetoric against his Labour rival Sadiq Khan, Warsi said that it “clearly showed me that there is a strand within the party for whom Islamophobia is a deliberate political strategy – and that breaks my heart”.

In light of the terrorist attack in New Zealand, which saw 51 Muslim worshippers massacred by white nationalist Brenton Tarrant, Warsi spoke of the need for her party to confront Islamophobia, adding: “u can duck & dive but I will keep bringing this fight to u [sic].”

The former Conservative foreign secretary Boris Johnson has called women who don the niqab “letterboxes” and have been widely condemned for normalising discrimination towards Muslim women.

Not everyone, however, agrees with the current proposed definition.

Goldsmith, who ran the Islamophobic campaign against Khan, has said that the APPG should not have accepted the current definition of Islamophobia.

“If you ask supporters of Islamism to write up a definition of ‘Islamophobia’, you can’t be surprised if they craft it to insulate themselves from scrutiny,” said Goldsmith.

Overnight on March 21st West Midlands Police in Birmingham were alerted after five mosques were attacked by as yet unknown assailants. As yet the reason for the attack is unknown.

There has been an increasing level of Islamophobia in the UK with women more likely to be victims, a recent study found.