Concerns have been raised in the UK after it emerged that the Labour government is to enact a council on Islamophobia.
It was reported that Deputy Prime Minister, and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.Angela Rayner is to set up the 16 member council in order to advise government members on how to respond to instances of Islamophobia as well as solidify a definition in law.
Concerns have been raised about the impact of freedom of expression in the UK amid fears that the move may have the effect of bringing forth what critics say are in effect “blasphemy laws” specifically in favour of Islam.
A spokesperson for Rayner’s department previously said, “All forms of religious and racial hatred have absolutely no place in our society,”
“The government engages regularly with faith communities to help foster strong working relationships and we are exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia.”
Shadow Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Jenrick said the measures amounted to, “A Trojan horse for blasphemy law”.
In comments made on X, he said, “Of course we should robustly tackle anti-Muslim hate wherever it occurs” adding that the “APPG definition on Islamophobia is a Trojan horse for a blasphemy law”.
Jenrick asked, “Why is it acceptable to mock Christianity but not Islam?” saying that Labour “keep displaying an Orwellian disdain for free speech.”
Blasphemy laws were abolished in England and Wales in 2008 by section 79(1) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act of the same year.
The Free Speech Union sharply criticised the government’s actions saying that it came, “Less than 24 hours after a guilty plea in Manchester effectively instituted de facto blasphemy laws in the UK,”.
It said that the move risks “the suppression of criticism and satire in a free society”.
The comments relate to the naming and publication of the address by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) of a man who pleaded guilty to accusation of burning pages from a copy of the Koran.
GMP said the man, Martin Frost from Trafford was charged with causing “racially and religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm, distress.”
Frost was arrested after GMP said it received reports of “racially aggravated public order offence following an incident in the city centre at the Glade of Light memorial on Saturday 1 February.”
In 2019, giving evidence before a parliamentary committee,Miqdaad Versi, spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain.claimed that there were significant increases of “Muslim hate” and “Islamophobia” which he in part attributed to “the rise of populism” and “the far-right”.
“In the last few years we have seen, from the reports that we receive, an increase of over 100% in discrimination cases towards Muslim communities,” he said.
The UK’s Labour government has received sharp criticism for it’s handling of the grooming gang scandals where Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that those calling for a national inquiry into what has been called the biggest child abuse scandal in UK history were jumping on “a far-right bandwagon”.
Critics accused Starmer of trying to deflect from the fact that the majority of those involved in the scandal where so far abuse ciciles have been uncovered in 50 British towns are majority Pakistani origin Muslims.