by Will Jones, The Daily Sceptic
Britain will face social unrest and reinforced perceptions of a two-tier society if the Government pushes ahead with plans for a formal definition of Islamophobia, the head of a new campaign group has warned. The Times has more.
Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has set up a working group to provide recommendations to the Government on “appropriate and sensitive language” to describe “unacceptable treatment, prejudice and discrimination against Muslims”.
Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of the Tell Mama organisation which monitors anti-Muslim hate incidents, is leading a campaign against the definition, which he believes risks having a “chilling effect” on free speech and creating a “blasphemy law by the back door”. The campaign is called Keep the Law Equal.
While the definition will not be legally binding, Mughal raised concerns that the police, prosecutors other public authorities and employers would adopt it and that criticism of any practices associated with the Muslim faith would effectively become an offence.
He suggested it could curtail public discourse about the grooming scandals amid concerns that a disproportionate number of Asian men have been responsible. He also said that it could discourage legitimate debate about the hijab, the niqab and sharia courts.
“We are seeing a sense of people being very unhappy about two-tier application of the law, two-tier society,” he said.
“The same narrative is being potentially, I’m hearing, it’s being used around this definition. Why are Muslims getting extra protection? Why do they have to have more laws?