The UK Labour government is advancing a non-statutory definition of “anti-Muslim hostility” or “anti-Muslim hatred.” It explicitly avoids the term “Islamophobia” in response to free speech criticisms.
The draft definition, reported by BBC News on December 15, 2025, states: “Anti-Muslim hostility is engaging in or encouraging criminal acts, including acts of violence, vandalism of property, and harassment and intimidation whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated, which is directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslims because of their religion, ethnicity or appearance.
It is also the prejudicial stereotyping and racialisation of Muslims, as part of a collective group with set characteristics, to stir up hatred against them, irrespective of their actual opinions, beliefs or actions as individuals. It is engaging in prohibited discrimination where the relevant conduct – including the creation or use of practices and biases within institutions – is intended to disadvantage Muslims in public and economic life.” (Source: BBC News, December 15, 2025).
Working group chair Dominic Grieve KC, a former Conservative Attorney General, states the definition fully protects freedom of expression, including the right to criticize Islamic doctrines and practices.
Baroness Shaista Gohir, another group member, says it recognizes real experiences of targeting based on perceived Muslim identity. Government officials point to a 19% increase in recorded anti-Muslim hate crimes for the year ending March 2025 (Home Office statistics) and insist the definition is only for monitoring and reporting, not new law.
Critics reject these assurances. Lord Toby Young of the Free Speech Union calls it redundant and dangerous, granting Muslims additional protections not given to other religious groups. He warns it duplicates conduct already criminalized under the Public Order Act 1986 and Equality Act 2010, while terms like “prejudicial stereotyping” and “racialisation” invite subjective interpretation.
Any religious or ideological belief system, including Islam, must remain open to criticism, ridicule, satire, or mockery without institutional penalties. Shielding one faith creates unequal treatment and undermines universal free expression.
This draft follows the 2018 All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition that framed “Islamophobia” as racism targeting “expressions of Muslimness.” The previous government rejected it for chilling speech.
Yet Labour, Liberal Democrats, and dozens of local councils adopted it informally, embedding it in education, workplace, and hate-crime policies without parliamentary legislation. The same non-legislative route is now being used again, allowing gradual restrictions through the back door.
In the United States, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) promotes a similar definition of Islamophobia as prejudice causing discrimination and oppression, often framed as structural racism. CAIR’s 2025 Civil Rights Report recorded over 10,000 complaints—the highest ever—linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Cities such as Seattle and Minneapolis, along with university systems like the University of California, have adopted comparable definitions informally for diversity training and hate-incident reporting. Campus speech codes using these concepts have already led to disciplinary actions and First Amendment challenges.
Recent 2025 designations of CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist-linked in Texas and Florida have been labelled Islamophobic by CAIR, intensifying calls for protective definitions. No national framework exists under the Trump administration, but localized implementations continue.
In both the UK and US, non-legislative adoption lets definitions influence training, reporting, and enforcement without proper scrutiny. Official assurances ring hollow against the risk that vague wording will deter legitimate debate on religious practices, integration, or doctrine.
This incremental process chips away at open discourse, prioritizing selective sensitivities over the fundamental right to question any belief system without fear.
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