On 8th June 2018, the Muslim Council of Britain submitted its response to the APPG on British Muslim’s consultation on the definition of Islamophobia.
The APPG’s call for evidence for a working definition of Islamophobia is welcome insofar as it helps institute the term among decision makers as a precursor to advocating for serious action to be taken. The Muslim Council of Britain has not previously adopted a formal definition. It has recognised that Islamophobia is only form of racism that still considered to be socially acceptable in large sections of this country.
Expanding on the think thank, Runnymede Trust’s definitions of Islamophobia, initially as “unfounded hostility towards Muslims, and therefore fear or dislike of all or most Muslims” and later defined as “anti-Muslim racism”, the submission states: ‘As is clear from both definitions, Islamophobia is not about disagreeing, criticising or condemning the faith of Islam. Instead, the concept refers to how that disagreement, criticism or condemnation involves the promotion of stereotypes and mistruths, and is used to intentionally promote, encourage or justify discrimination, hatred, bigotry or even violence’ [3.3].
The submission includes the following sections:
Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Summary statistics on Islamophobia
Section 3: Muslim Council of Britain working definition
Section 4: Key principles to be considered in the definition of Islamophobia
Section 5: Recommendations and conclusion
Read the full submission here which includes the MCB’s proposed definition of Islamophobia.