LONDON: The UK is planning to establish a council to offer advice to the government and discuss matters relating to Islamophobia.
The council, to be set up by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, will have 16 members. Among its duties will be helping provide a new official definition of Islamophobia in the UK.
Former Conservative Minister Dominic Grieve is thought to have been recommended to lead the council, having previously chaired the Citizens’ UK Commission on Islam.
Qari Asim, a Leeds-based imam who previously worked as an advisor to the government, has also been shortlisted to join the council.
Grieve wrote a forward to a 2018 all-party parliamentary group report which established an Islamophobia definition subsequently adopted by the Labour Party.
The all-party Islamophobia report determined that “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”
Grieve said he “greatly welcomed” the report in his forward, adding that it “makes an important contribution to the debate as to how Islamophobia can best be addressed. It is well researched and can give all of us food both for thought and positive action.”
He told the Daily Telegraph that he had not yet been approached to lead the new council, but added: “If I can be of assistance in doing something constructive requested by any government on a non-party political basis I am willing to consider it. It depends on what it is and whether I can add value and help the wider public service.”
On the report’s definition of Islamophobia, he said: “It was apparent at the time that defining Islamophobia is extremely difficult for perfectly valid reasons relating to freedom of expression.”
Grieve added: “Perfectly law-abiding Muslims going about their business and well integrated into society are suffering discrimination and abuse.”
The Daily Telegraph reported that Rayner is looking to establish a similar council on antisemitism, alongside plans to widen reporting of anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish non-crime hate incidents in the UK.
A spokesman for Rayner’s department told the newspaper: “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 actively exploring a more integrated and cohesive approach to tackling racial and religious hatred, including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. Further details of this work will be set out shortly.”
