Sajid Javid backs report and claims term has been weaponised as a political football, to the detriment of enabling positive change
Extremists are exploiting the tag of Islamophobia to stifle free speech, says a report backed by Sajid Javid.
The report, published on Monday by the think tank Policy Exchange, details how the term “Islamophobia” is being misused to silence debate about issues such as moves to ban terrorist sympathisers of Hamas.
Examples cited since the Oct 7 attack by Hamas on Israel include branding as Islamophobic a challenge to an MP to agree that terrorists should attack fewer people and calls by Sir Keir Starmer for the release of hostages while visiting a mosque.
In a foreword to the report, Mr Javid, a former home secretary, said a new definition of Islamophobia, put forward by a parliamentary group and backed by Labour, would undermine efforts to tackle hatred of Muslims, would be a serious threat to free speech and could worsen existing divisions.
The definition, drawn up by an all-party group chaired by Wes Streeting, now shadow health secretary, described Islamophobia as “rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”.
‘Nakedly political motivations’
However, Mr Javid said it would risk creating a blasphemy law via the back door by targeting legitimate speech. “Many who propose this new definition have good intentions. But the nakedly political motivations from organisations like Cage and Mend are all too clear,” he said.
“Too often, Islamophobia has been weaponised as a political football, to the detriment of a meaningful conversation that can enable positive change.”
Describing the misuse of the label Islamophobia as a “creeping malaise”, the report highlighted more than a dozen examples, including criticism of Rishi Sunak by the Labour Muslim Network (LMN) after he urged Labour MPs to “call on Hamas and the Houthis to de-escalate the situation” in the Middle East.
The LMN described it as “clear Islamophobia” and “rhetoric” that was “dangerous” for the safety of Muslim officials and communities.
A speaker backing an event to campaign against the proscription of Hizb-ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation – after a member praised the Oct 7 Hamas attacks on Israel – claimed the ban was “an indication of the Islamophobia at the heart of the British counter-terrorism apparatus”.
The Muslim Association of Britain said Sir Keir’s call for the release of Israeli hostages during a mosque visit was “deeply offensive and Islamophobic”.
“Even before the events in Israel and Gaza, there were numerous recent examples of the term Islamophobia being used to suppress freedom of expression or shield wrongdoing,” said the report.
It cited as one example the row over The Lady of Heaven film, about the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed, which was branded “openly Islamophobic” before its withdrawal by cinema chain Cineworld.
Iran has also used the term against protesters supporting a young victim of the morality police, who clashed with pro-regime proponents during a Shia religious procession, according to the report.
Dr Paul Stott, head of security and extremism at Policy Exchange, said: “As the examples illustrate, in the period of emotion and tension since Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on 7th October, the use of the term Islamophobia has become wider, less coherent and at times inflated to a remarkable degree. The threat to freedom of speech could not be more clearly signposted.”