The riots across England and Northern Ireland in 2024 and the rise in tensions across the UK in the Summer of 2025 were stark reminders that British Muslims are subject to record levels of pervasive hatred and discrimination. The Government’s appointment of an independent working group in March to explore a definition of Islamophobia – despite the context of rejecting the 2018 working definition with wide community acceptance – was a step in tackling this hatred.
It now appears, however, that this working group has been subject to personal intimidation – with harassment from hostile journalists – together with unprofessional behaviour from some civil servants who have attempted to frustrate the deliberations of the working group from the get-go. This has been fuelled by a coordinated campaign from parts of the media and political establishment who seem determined to scapegoat British Muslims for wider social and political failures.
This has resulted in media speculation of a watered-down definition – or indeed a more perverse demand that there is no need for such a definition and Muslims should be subjected to hate. Commenting on these reports, Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said:
“People were literally trying to burn down mosques in Britain earlier this month and there have been arrests for plotting terror attacks on Muslims in West Yorkshire, Glasgow and Belfast. Yet, rather than focus on community safety, right-wing ideologues such as Nick Timothy and his ilk are reaching for conspiratorial tropes about Muslims, reframing what should be a discussion about protecting communities – into one about free speech and counter-terrorism.
When the IHRA working definition of antisemitism was proposed in 2016, the UK Government adopted it without hesitation later that year. There was no outcry about threats to free speech from the same bad-faith actors — the Free Speech Union, Trevor Phillips, or the discredited Policy Exchange “think tank” and more — who now vocally oppose a non-statutory definition of the hostility, discrimination and prejudice that British Muslims face.
Whilst the British Muslim community is sadly accustomed to double standards in parts of the legacy media, the gaslighting we have witnessed in recent days is on a scale rarely seen before.”
The Muslim Council of Britain awaits to see the independent working group’s full report, which we expect Labour Ministers to transparently publish in full. Until then, we caution against spun media narratives about the report’s outcomes by conspiracy cranks obsessed with Muslim “take over” stories parading as free speech champions.