{"id":53,"date":"2026-01-07T14:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T14:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.edgehill.ac.uk\/rjmrg\/?p=53"},"modified":"2026-01-07T14:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T14:53:31","slug":"why-is-it-that-the-uk-government-cant-define-islamophobia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.edgehill.ac.uk\/rjmrg\/2026\/01\/07\/why-is-it-that-the-uk-government-cant-define-islamophobia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is it that the UK government can\u2019t define Islamophobia?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The proposed official definition of anti-Muslim hostility&nbsp;that does not address Islamophobia is dangerously inadequate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/james-renton\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a class=\"avatar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/james-renton\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Renton-photo-1766854933.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/author\/james-renton\">James Renton<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Published On 28 Dec 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In February, the United Kingdom government appointed a working group to provide a definition of \u201canti-Muslim hatred\/Islamophobia\u201d, which should have completed its work by the end of August. In the summer, Conservative MP Nick Timothy and a phalanx of like-minded groups waged a campaign against any such definition, which they argued would stymie free speech for those who wish to criticise Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, the government has been cowed into silence and delay. Last week, the BBC published a report suggesting that the definition will not use the word Islamophobia at all, opting instead for \u201canti-Muslim hostility\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2025\/12\/28\/why-is-it-that-the-uk-government-cant-define-islamophobia\">Why is it that the UK government can\u2019t define Islamophobia?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The proposed official definition of anti-Muslim hostility&nbsp;that does not address Islamophobia is dangerously inadequate. ByJames Renton Published On 28 Dec 2025 In February, the United Kingdom government appointed a working group to provide a definition of \u201canti-Muslim hatred\/Islamophobia\u201d, which should have completed its work by the end of August. In the summer, Conservative MP Nick [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4627,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islamophobia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why is it that the UK government can\u2019t define Islamophobia? - Racial Justice &amp; Migration Research Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.edgehill.ac.uk\/rjmrg\/2026\/01\/07\/why-is-it-that-the-uk-government-cant-define-islamophobia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is it that the UK government can\u2019t define Islamophobia? - Racial Justice &amp; Migration Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The proposed official definition of anti-Muslim hostility&nbsp;that does not address Islamophobia is dangerously inadequate. ByJames Renton Published On 28 Dec 2025 In February, the United Kingdom government appointed a working group to provide a definition of \u201canti-Muslim hatred\/Islamophobia\u201d, which should have completed its work by the end of August. 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