Fears over free speech as Labour gives definition to Islamophobia and announces its first ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ tsar
Fears over freedom of expression have risen after Labor launched a major crackdown against Islamophobia.
The government announced on Monday that an official definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ had been created, with the country’s first tsar tackling the issue at a cost of £4 million.
By encouraging helplines to record incidents, the ‘valuable guidance tool’ will improve not only the measurement of the problem but also the responses to it, it said.
Under the new definition, anti-Muslim hostility is defined as ‘prejudicial stereotyping’ that promotes hatred and unlawful discrimination against people who are, or are perceived to be, Muslims, as well as crimes such as violence or harassment.
The Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stressed that this should be read alongside a statement making clear that ‘open debate in the public interest’ should be protected.
He said the fundamental right to freedom of expression includes criticizing or ridiculing religions, including Islam, ‘depicting them in a way that some adherents may find disrespectful or scandalous’.
The government also said the definition, published alongside a long-awaited strategy on social cohesion, had not become law and did not mean that all forms of anti-Muslim hostility would be criminalised.
But critics warned it would still have a chilling effect, shutting down legitimate debate, and questioned why the move was needed given there are already laws against religiously motivated hate crimes.
Protesters outside a mosque in Sunderland during nationwide unrest following the stabbings in Southport in the summer of 2024
Shadow Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Paul Holmes said: ‘This definition is so broad and subjective that it risks creating backdoor blasphemy legislation, which has a chilling effect on freedom of expression and legitimate criticism of Islamist extremism.
‘Anti-Muslim hate is unacceptable, but Britain already has strong laws to tackle hate crime and discrimination and these must be enforced.’
He added: ‘So soon after the Gorton and Denton by-election, it is clear that Labor has once again delved into the politics of sectarianism rather than focusing on the shared values that unite our country. ‘Identity politics is a dead end, not the path to a harmonious society.’
Former Labor MP and Government adviser Lord Walney said: ‘I can understand why British Muslims would want support in the face of growing intolerance, but I am not convinced it will help given the comprehensive hate crime laws that already exist and the fact that religion is already listed as aggravating factors in attacks.’
And he warned: ‘I am deeply concerned that Islamist extremists will use this new definition to divert scrutiny from their quest to undermine our values and intimidate our Muslim brothers and sisters.’
Reform MP Sarah Pochin said: ‘This definition is a new attack on freedom of expression by Labour, which aims to appease a sectarian voting bloc at the expense of British values.
‘In a free and democratic society no religion or idea can be subject to scrutiny or ridicule.’
Lord Young, founder of the Freedom of Expression League, pointed out that the previous definition of Islamophobia put forward by a Parliamentary group was also illegal but had a ‘huge chilling effect on freedom of expression’.
He said this was forcing people to bite their tongues about grooming gangs for fear of being branded ‘Islamophobic’.
He continued: ‘The fact that the new definition is ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ rather than ‘Islamophobia’ will not prevent it from being used to silence legitimate criticism of Muslims or Muslim organisations.
‘This would allow those who want to stop discussion of politically difficult issues concerning Muslims, such as female genital mutilation and honor killings, to accuse those who educate them of being motivated by anti-Muslim hostility.’
Communities Minister Steve Reed insisted on the Protecting What Matters cohesion strategy in a House of Commons debate: ‘There is absolutely no question of having blasphemy laws at the back door.
‘But we won’t do what they did’ [the Conservatives] ‘They stood by and simply watched as Muslim communities faced targeted abuse in ways that any decent country would consider absolutely intolerable.’
A record 4,478 hate crimes against Muslims were recorded by March 2025, accounting for almost half of all religious hate crimes, the definition document said.
While mosques, schools and workplaces are destroyed, headscarved women are also harassed, and even positive comments about Muslims on the internet are ‘often met with an avalanche of harassment’.
He said many Muslims are ‘fearful of using public services’ such as transport and healthcare, and some even ‘feel obliged to isolate themselves for their own safety’.
