The UK government has introduced a new definition of anti-Muslim hate after months of consultation and controversy surrounding the process.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Communities Secretary Steve Reed unveiled the plan to parliamentarians.
“Religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims are also at record levels, with almost half of these crimes targeted towards the Muslim community and many living in fear that they will be targeted because of how they look or assumptions over where they come from,” Reed said in the House of Commons.
“This government has a duty to act but cannot tackle something that has not been defined.
“The government is taking the historic step of adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility which makes it clear what is unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim.”
Reed stressed that the definition did not contravene free speech protections or prevent criticism of Islam. Government guidance accompanying the announcement noted that “ridiculing or insulting a religion or belief, including Islam, or portraying it in a manner that some of its adherents might find disrespectful or scandalous” remains protected expression.
The new definition consists of three paragraphs, alongside a longer document published on the government’s website. It states:
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 government said the definition took inspiration from the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism which it adopted in 2016.
The definition however, does not include any reference to race, which Middle East Eye understands, was a contentious issue within the working group of experts who worked on defining anti-Muslim hatred.
He added that the government planned to appoint an anti-Muslim hate tsar, similar to the antisemitism tsar already in place.
Critics of the new definition, however, have raised questions on whether it goes far enough to address structural Islamophobia, and whether resources will be committed to enforcement and monitoring.
The Muslim Council of Britain, which serves as the UK’s largest Muslim umbrella body, criticised the definition, and said it was effectively shut out of discussions related to defining the term.
“The government’s working definition of Islamophobia – which it has renamed anti-Muslim hostility- appears to be a diminished version of that recommended by the government’s own Independent Working Group last year,” said Wajid Akhter, the Secretary-General of the MCB.
“Given the concerns about dilution, the motivations of some of those driving the dilution, the lack of transparency and meaning engagement with grassroots community representatives throughout the process and the need for us to consult widely on this important matter – we are unable to endorse this definition at the present time.”
The definition comes after months of consultation by a five-person working group of experts led by former Conservative minister Dominic Grieve and four other experts from the Muslim community.
Javed Khan, a member of the government’s working group and managing director of the think tank Equi, noted the definition not only protects Muslims but those perceived to be Muslim, acknowledging that hatred frequently targets people on the basis of ethnicity or appearance, regardless of faith.
“The decision to introduce, for the first time, a clear and wide-ranging definition of anti-Muslim hostility not only protects Muslims but those perceived to be Muslim, acknowledging the reality that hatred often targets people because of their ethnicity or racial background, based on appearance or assumptions,” Khan said in a statement.
Shaista Gohir, the CEO of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, also welcomed the definition, and said it will provide essential legal, social, and institutional clarity on hatreds towards Muslims.
“While the term ‘racialisation’ has been removed because it is not widely understood by the public, I am pleased that explanatory wording describing the process has been included in its place, including in the accompanying notes,” said Gohir.
“I believe the working group has achieved the right balance – safeguarding individuals while avoiding overreach because free speech (including the right to critique religion) remain protected.”
Monday’s announcement will come as a long-overdue step, years after similar non-statutory definitions were adopted for antisemitism.
Research by Equi found a 43 percent rise in anti-Muslim incidents between 2023 and 2024. The think tank also estimated that the 2024 summer riots alone cost the country at least £243 million.
But Equi’s research also found cause for optimism in public attitudes towards British Muslims, which are far more positive than political and media discourse suggests.
A majority of the British public holds either favourable or neutral views of Muslims, and this increases when people are shown real examples of Muslim contribution to British society, from charity work to community engagement.
The definition forms part of a wider government action plan, titled Protecting What Matters, aimed at strengthening social cohesion across the country amid what ministers described as a backdrop of rising hate crime, extremism and global insecurity.
The government also announced plans for an annual state of extremism report and said it would strengthen the visa watchlist taskforce to prevent hate preachers and so-called extremists from entering the country.
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