Thread by @AdamWagner1

For me this part of the Scruton interview is inexcusable and it was correct he lost his government post.

According to Wikipedia, Islamophobia was first used as a term almost a century ago. Maybe earlier in French

I found a dicey site claiming Islamophobia was invented by the Muslim Brotherhood to stop people criticising Islam, but that appears to be a conspiracy theory.

People of public prominence should stop saying it doesn’t exist or is invented to stop people criticising Muslims.

It’s bizarre to watch as Muslims suffer hate crimes and murderous attacks for being Muslim and at the same time claim Islamophobia doesn’t exist. I think a particular section of the right has lost the plot on this issue.

Free speech is important but so is sensitivity to people’s valid concerns about racial hatred. You can - and should - have a conversation over where the boundaries lie but to claim the entire concept of Islamophobia doesn’t exist or is concocted is bizarre.

It does remind me of some of the arguments you hear from the crankier left over antisemitism, eg Labour Against the Witch-hunt types, who have got it into their heads that left antisemitism is a concoction by Zionists to prevent criticism of Israel. It’s a conspiracy theory