LON DON, Mar 10 : The UK has adopted a new definition of “anti-Muslim hostility” and will appoint a special representative to support the government’s action to tackle hate crimes targeted at the community.
UK Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed tabled the definition alongside a social cohesion strategy in the House of Commons in London on Monday.
He told MPs the new definition will be non-statutory, or without legal backing, and is designed as a crackdown on “unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim”.
“The definition safeguards our fundamental right to freedom of speech – about religion in general or any religion in particular – and ensures that concerns raised in the public interest are protected,” Reed told Parliament.
“We are committed to appointing an anti-Muslim hostility tsar, who can advise and be a critical friend to the government in doing the work that we need to do.
“We will engage widely across local government, schools, universities, broadcasters, the NHS [National Health Service] and others to agree on how we can best utilise the definition in order to support the Muslim community,” he said.
The definition, which had been opposed by some British Hindu and Sikh groups for fear of choking out legitimate free speech, has been dubbed a “working” tool for the government and organisations to better “understand, measure, prevent and address” such hostility.
The full definition reads: “Anti-Muslim hostility is intentionally engaging in, assisting or encouraging criminal acts – including acts of violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation, whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated – that are directed at Muslims because of their religion or at those who are perceived to be Muslim, including where that perception is based on assumptions about ethnicity, race or appearance.
“It is also the prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims, or people perceived to be Muslim including because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or their appearance, and treating them as a collective group defined by fixed and negative characteristics, with the intention of encouraging hatred against them, irrespective of their actual opinions, beliefs or actions as individuals.
“It is engaging in unlawful 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.”
The Commons heard that over 40 per cent of all recorded religious hate crimes target British Muslims, which the minister described as being “wildly out of proportion with the number of Muslims” in the UK.
Hindu Council UK was among the organisations to caution against “unintended consequences” of definitions of this nature, which tend to be enforced not through courts but through institutional policies.
The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) had also previously expressed concerns over the “extremely vague” nature of the definition.
On the legal front, discrimination of an individual due to their religion or belief is already unlawful under the UK’s Equality Act. (PTI)
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