Islamophobia

Published: March 12, 2020, 10:43 a.m.

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The anti-racism campaigner Trevor Phillips has been suspended from the Labour Party over allegations of Islamophobia. Some have described the move as \\u201cOrwellian\\u201d; others believe he has a case to answer. The issue turns on what we mean by \\u2018Islamophobia\\u2019 \\u2013 although even to pose that question is to invite denunciation in some quarters; why split hairs when it\\u2019s obvious that anti-Muslim bigotry is rife? The Conservative party has been under attack for the allegedly Islamophobic utterances of some within its ranks, but it is waiting to agree on a definition of \\u2018Islamophobia\\u2019 before committing to an inquiry. It is 20 years since the term entered the political lexicon and almost a decade since Baroness Warsi declared that Islamophobia had passed the \\u2018dinner table test\\u2019 and become acceptable in polite society; yet, we still haven\\u2019t quite decided what it is and what it isn\\u2019t. Some people \\u2013 including many Muslims \\u2013 have a problem with the word itself because they think it reinforces the idea that Islam is something to be afraid of. Islam is a religion, not a race, but the definition used by the Labour Party calls Islamophobia \\u2018a type of racism\\u2019, because of the comparable experiences described by Muslims at the sharp end of group discrimination. Meanwhile, free speech advocates are concerned that any formal definition risks blurring the line between the unacceptable hatred of people (Muslims) and the legitimate criticism of ideas (Islam). Once we have our definition, whom should we appoint to decide whether particular words or deeds are Islamophobic? And if there\\u2019s a spectrum that runs from insensitivity and disrespect at one end to the most hideous kinds of hate crime at the other, where along that line should the law intervene? With Mohammed Amin, Myriam Francois, Ibrahim Mogra & Fiyaz Mughal.

Producer: Dan Tierney.

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