Thread by @docrussjackson

#THREAD

Over the last week, Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick & Lee Anderson have all mobilised vile anti-Muslim hatred rhetoric.

This thread is focused on the @Conservatives' refusal to accept the definition of #Islamophobia offered by the APPG on British Muslims back in 2017.

In October 2017, Conservative Baroness Warsi, in an oral question in the House of Lords, asked the Government whether it had a definition of #Islamophobia.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, replied that the Government was committed to eradicating religious hatred and intolerance.

However, regarding a definition, Lord Bourne stated:

"The Government do not currently endorse a particular definition of #Islamophobia. Previous attempts by others to define this term have not succeeded in attracting consensus or widespread acceptance."

Various organisations and commentators have argued that an agreed definition would aid initiatives to tackle #Islamophobia.

Consequently, the Government has been urged to adopt a formal definition of #Islamophobia, in the same way the Government adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of #antisemitism in December 2016.

In the foreword to the Runnymede Trust's 2017 report, '#Islamophobia: Still a Challenge for Us All', Baroness Warsi claimed that to challenge Islamophobia “the starting point must surely be a definition, a mechanism that leads to accountability”.

runnymedetrust.org/publications/i…

The report recommended that the Government should adopt its updated definition of #Islamophobia.

The report provided both a short definition – “Islamophobia is anti-Muslim racism” – and a longer definition:

Prompted by the Government’s reluctance to adopt a formal definition of Islamophobia, the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims established an inquiry into a working definition of #Islamophobia in April 2018.

appgbritishmuslims.org

The APPG claimed that “no amount of documentation of the evidence of discriminatory outcomes faced by Muslims […] can satisfy our desire to reverse these results if we cannot begin from the point of an agreed definition”.

Following a “widespread consultation with academics, lawyers & Muslim organisations”, it recommended the adoption of the following definition:

"#Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness."

The culmination of almost two years of consultation & evidence gathering, the definition took into account the views of different organisations, politicians, faith leaders, academics & communities, & the views of victims of hate crime.

theconversation.com/why-uks-workin…

The #Islamophobia definition was supported by a range of Muslim organisations & was adopted by @UKLabour, the @LibDems, #PlaidCymru, the Mayor of London & all major Scottish Parties.

The Govt rejected the definition amid claims it would limit free speech.
theguardian.com/news/2019/may/…

The proposed definition faced criticism, including from Sajid Javid, who urged the Govt not to adopt the definition, & the National Secular Society described it as “vague & unworkable” & that it “conflates hatred of, & discrimination against, Muslims with criticism of Islam”.

In December 2018, the Government was asked, in a written parliamentary question in the House of Lords submitted by Baroness Tonge, about the definition of #Islamophobia and whether the Government:

In reply, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth stressed that the Government took #Islamophobia very seriously and that it was committed to tackling all hate crime. He stated, “it is now of vital importance that we hear a range of views on the proposed definition.”

In 2005, the Council of Europe said #Islamophobia was the:

"fear of or prejudiced viewpoint towards Islam, Muslims and matters pertaining to them [taking] the shape of daily forms of racism and discrimination or more violent forms, Islamophobia is a violation of human rights."

A section of the 2016 definition offered by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research stated that: "#Islamophobia operates by constructing a static ‘Muslim’ identity, which is attributed in negative terms and generalized for all Muslims."

In the UK, there is no specific law prohibiting #Islamophobia.

However, anti-Islam activity may be covered by more general legislation on hate crime, online abuse, and equalities.

There are several ways that legislation deals with hate crime motivated on the grounds of race or religion, including:

offences of stirring up hatred;

aggravated forms of certain “basic” criminal offences;

and enhanced sentencing for offences motivated by hate.

The CPS: “persons associated by their religious beliefs may also be part of a racial group”, & prosecutors should “consider on the facts of each case if the aggravating feature arises from hostility towards a religious belief or a racial group (or both)”.
cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance…

The Public Order Act 1986 criminalises certain acts intended to stir up racial hatred & makes provision for certain acts intended to stir up religious hatred.

The 1986 Act states racial hatred is defined as:

Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, perpetrators of specified “basic” criminal offences can be charged with an aggravated form of the offence (carrying a longer maximum sentence) if they demonstrated or were motivated by hostility on the basis of race or religion.

The specific offences covered by the 1998 Act include assault, criminal damage, public order, harassment & stalking: “monitoring had indicated these were the most common types of crime experienced by the victims of racially & religiously aggravated violence or harassment” (CPS).

There are several general criminal offences that could be used to prosecute online Islamophobia. The most relevant are the following:

The CPS has published guidance on the use of these offences (and others) to prosecute social media communications:

Back in 2021, the Government said it was “carefully considering” the Law Commission’s recommendations and “may use the Online Safety Bill to bring them into law, where it is necessary and appropriate to do so”.

But by 2022 the Govt had dropped its work on an official definition, promised in May 2019, when James Brokenshire said: “To get a firmer grip on the nature of this bigotry & division, we agree there needs to be a formal definition of Islamophobia to help strengthen our efforts.”

An adviser was appointed by the Govt to begin work on the definition of #Islamophobia but work stopped after Boris Johnson became PM.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Michael Gove, opposes the establishment of a definition.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

Appearing at a debate on extremism in September 2022, when he was not in government after being sacked by Boris Johnson for disloyalty, Michael Gove had said he wanted to target “political Islam”, which he called a “virus”.

Gove denied being an Islamophobe & said there was “resistance” in Whitehall because of a “desire not to cause offence”. He agreed with another panellist’s description of an Islamophobia definition formulated by the APPG on British Muslims in 2018 as “drivel”.

The event was hosted by something called the Counter Extremism Group - a little known or publicised #TuftonStreet group - on 6 September, & Gove asserted that it “would be very difficult to get a precise definition”.

https://x.com/docrussjackson/status/1745788465227149480?s=20

Gove said “I think there are dangers if a university or another organisation which should be the home of free debate uses a definition like that to police what people can say in order to penalise them for it.”

I haven't said much about is the Govt’s controversial PREVENT review, nor anything about Suella Braverman’s long history of divisive Islamophobic comments, & the woefully underreported appointment of Robin Simcox to the role of UK's Commissioner for Countering Extremism in 2022.

Simcox was appointed in despite (or because of?) his history of Islamophobic comments.

While at the Heritage Foundation he argued that making white supremacy the subject of a "countering extremism policy" was mostly driven by "political correctness":

https://x.com/docrussjackson/status/1745788467613663381?s=20

The UK Government have for decades felt safe that there would be little outcry over its failure to tackle Islamophobic anti-Muslim prejudice among the sections of the powerful right-wing press that regularly subject Muslim communities to negative and sensationalist reporting.

In November 2021, the “British Media’s Coverage of Muslims & Islam (2018-2020)” - one of the most extensive pieces of research done on how Muslims & Islam are reported in the British media - revealed the vast scale of negative "news" reporting associated with Muslims in the UK.

The report by the Centre for Media Monitoring analysed over 48,000 online articles and 5,500 broadcast clips, & revealed that almost 60% of online media articles and 47% of TV clips associate Muslims and/or Islam with negative aspects or behaviour.

cfmm.org.uk/resources/publ…

But finally, given the increasingly toxic & hateful Islamophobic rhetoric used by Lee Anderson, Robert Jenrick, & Suella Braverman, compounded by the grotesque comments made by Liz Truss at CPAC, news media are finally paying attention to the @Conservatives' antisemitism problem.

Yesterday, in a Twitter post, Kemi Badenoch again emphasised the Government’s reluctance to provide a definition of #Islamophobia, saying they instead prefer to use the term “Anti-Muslim hatred”, which she claims “makes clear the law protects Muslims.

https://x.com/KemiBadenoch/status/1761856858220798395?s=20

In this country, BadEnoch insisted, we have a proud tradition of religious freedom AND the freedom to criticise religion”, & argued that the definition of Islamophobia adopted by every other major UK political party would create “a blasphemy law via the back door if adopted.”

Now I’m no legal expert, but it is worth noting that Badenoch also argued yesterday that she knows that the widely adopted Islamophobia definition “is not in line with the law as written”.

https://x.com/KemiBadenoch/status/1761856862322889206?s=20

The only “evidence” she used to support her claim was from #TuftonStreet's CIVITAS, which started as the Health & Welfare Unit of the IEA, but divorced from it in order to grow & because libertarian elements within the IEA disapproved on the focus on non-narrowly economic issues.

Anyway, rather than address the complex legal debate, in researching for this thread I came across a Parliamentary on 24th November 2021, featuring Kemi Badenoch, which was imho very revealing.

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-1…

The November 2021 Parliamentary debate was focused explicitly on #Islamophobia Awareness Month, * below, I quote from it at length to highlight the total disconnect between some of Kemi Badenoch’s words, & the Islamophobic rhetoric of so many Conservative MPs.

Mohammed Afzal Khan, CBE - @UKLabour MP for Manchester Gorton since 2017, who was formerly Lord Mayor of Manchester (2005–2006), & MEP for North West England (2014-2017) - asked Badenoch some pointed questions about the appointment of William Shawcross to lead the PREVENT Review:

Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: “the Government appointed William Shawcross to head the supposedly independent (PREVENT) review, despite, as we have heard, his questionable actions as head of the Charity Commission in disproportionately putting Muslim charities under investigation.”

Kemi Badenoch said: “The highly partisan nature in which the debate has been opened, if watched by our Muslim constituents, will look not like people trying to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, but as if they, as a community, are being used as a political football for political goals?”

Badenoch: “I stand here not just as the Minister for faith but as the Equalities Minister. We must not allow those who seek to divide our diverse and multi-faith society to succeed. We are united here today in our determination to protect people and end discrimination.”

Badenoch: “Although I admire the passion expressed by the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Ms Qaisar), I disagree with her fundamentally when she says that we should not take the politics out of the debate. We should take the politics out of the debate—in fact, we must.”

Badenoch: “We all share the view that hatred of Muslims is a vile social ill. We have no time for people who seek to divide us. As I said before, we will not tolerate anti-Muslim hatred any more than we tolerate antisemitism or any other form of hatred.”

Badenoch: “Shameful that Muslims face verbal or physical attacks & are made to feel like outsiders in their own country.. It's our job as MPs to demonstrate leadership & set an example for others to follow in everything we do, from our public discourse to constituency surgeries.”

Badenoch: “To that end, it was incredibly disappointing that the hon. Members for Manchester, Gorton and for Streatham (Bell Ribeiro-Addy) used their speeches to attack William Shawcross... who is an outstanding public servant, as is Trevor Phillips.”

https://x.com/docrussjackson/status/1593613549737320448?s=20

Yasmin Qureshi, @UKLabourMP: “The Minister has just said that Mr Shawcross is a great man and she started her speech by using a trope about Muslims and terrorism, yet she is meant to be talking about Islamophobia. Shawcross has said that the Muslim faith is a fascist faith.”

Badenoch ignored Qureshi’s comment, & in her concluding comments asserted that “Our approach to discrimination is something that we should be proud of.”

independent.co.uk/voices/lee-and…

Finally, on 22nd November 2022, Labour MP Afzal Khan declared in Parliament that:

“I rise to present a petition about the need for the Government to formally define #Islamophobia to tackle hatred against Muslims.”

“The all-party group on British Muslims developed a definition of #Islamophobia that is supported by countless academics, community organisations, political parties, mayors, councils, trade unions and others. Last month alone there was a 600% rise in Islamophobia.”

The divisive & dangerous extremist 1930s-style rhetoric & conspiracy theories used over the last week by leading @Conservatives like #30pLee, Liz Truss, Suella Braverman, & Robert Jenrick has been imported from the US Right, & has been building for years.

https://x.com/docrussjackson/status/1463210342830456832?s=20

Changes in British attitudes to immigration 2002-22:

Very positive for the UK economy:
2002: 17%
2016: 44%
2022: 59%

Enriched Britain’s cultural life:
2002: 33%
2016: 46%
2022: 58%

Makes Britain a better place to live:
2002: 20%
2016: 39%
2022: 56%

theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/n…

Populists present themselves as someone who truly works in the public interest, fighting for the rights of “normal working people” - even if they happen to be in parties run & funded by divisive multimillionaires who became rich by exploiting workers.

https://x.com/docrussjackson/status/1737108449203495244?s=20