Islamophobia

Islamophobia has existed in the Anglophonic lexicon since the early 1980s, and was introduced into mainstream vernacular via the landmark report: ‘Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All’ by the Runnymede Trust Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia in 1997. As such, the term has existed as part of public discourse, recognised and utilised for decades.

Islamophobia manifests in the same way as other forms of racism, for example through social attitudes and engaging in racial stereotypes, prejudice and hate; through verbal and physical abuse or violence; through discrimination, for example in the workplace; and most importantly structurally within institutions such as politics, media, employment and criminal justice. It targets expressions of Muslim identity including Muslims, those perceived to be Muslims and Muslim institutions (e.g. schools, cemeteries, mosques).

In determining Islamophobia, context is crucial, not of private intentions but specifically dependent on what is being said or done, who is saying or doing it, and the consequences of what is being said or done. The risk of Islamophobia is greater when the perpetrator is in a position of authority or influence and has a track record of making inflammatory statements (including politicians, someone writing in a national media outlet or those with a significant following on social media). Similarly (as long established discussions of comparable forms of racism have shown), the risk of Islamophobia will also be different depending on whether the perpetrator identifies as a Muslim, and how they comport themselves towards the expression of Muslimness.

A non-exhaustive list of examples of Islamophobia (albeit dependent on context) includes:

• Causing, calling for, aiding or justifying the harm against a Muslim
• Causing, calling for, aiding or justifying acts of aggression against Muslim targets
• Denying the right of a Muslim to be an equal citizen
• Dehumanising, demonising or making stereotypical allegations about Muslims in a way that is not used to those of other backgrounds
• Making unjustified assumptions about Muslims and their beliefs
• Demanding from Muslims that which is not demanded of others
• Denying the suffering of Muslims in a way that would not be done of other faiths or backgrounds
• Prescribing to/propagating or mainstreaming far right tropes and conspiracy theories about Muslims such as the “Great Replacement” theory, or that Muslims & Islam are a threat to the West and incompatible with Western values
• Criticism of the Islamic faith where the underlying argument is racist

Furthermore, it is when Muslimness is the target, that it is Islamophobia.

For example, a Muslim woman might be targeted because she is a woman (in which case it may be sexism), or because of her Muslimness (in which case it may be Islamophobia), or for both reasons! Similarly, a black Muslim may be targeted because of their blackness (in which case it may be racism), or because of their Muslimness (in which case it may be Islamophobia), or for both reasons.

Below are examples of what Islamophobia is not (albeit dependent on context).

• Being critical of Islam or religions in general, would not automatically make you an Islamophobe unless you were using the language of racism and Islamophobia.
• Citing poll data faithfully and accurately about Muslims in context with those of other groups, to make evidence-based conclusions.
• Critiquing a specific practice that a proportion of Muslims engage in, based on a principle that is not specific to Muslims, including, for example:
  • Intellectually disagreeing with the wearing of specific Islamic dress;
  • Campaigning against all forms of religious slaughter where the animal is not stunned (including Halal meat).
• Calling out and campaigning against criminality where Muslims may happen to be involved without impugning all Muslims.

It is vital to note that the above very often could be Islamophobic, dependent on the context and if the language of Islamophobia is used. For example, it is possible for an individual to have a strong personal aversion to the niqab but that would become Islamophobia if:

• A structural law or policy focussed on the niqab was introduced targeting the Muslimness of the individuals, rather than for reasons of security, for example;
• A senior public figure demonises those wearing a niqab in a way that leads to hate crime on the street; or
• Dehumanising language adopted by the far-right, such as “bank robber” or “letterbox” are used

The above examples of what is and what is not Islamophobia, cannot and will not answer every question about Islamophobia. There is always going to be a grey area, where people may have different views. However, this is the case with all types of racism, and does not undermine the existence or understanding of what racism is.

There is no single consensus definition of Islamophobia, but there is unlikely to be significant divergence in considering the above framing to be the scope of Islamophobia.

The most widely accepted definition of Islamophobia, with the greatest number of supporters across Muslim organisations, academics in the field and political parties, is the APPG definition of Islamophobia. However, the Conservative Party (uniquely amongst major UK parties) when it was in government between 2010-2024 did not adopted any definition of Islamophobia.

Greater information about Islamophobia is available in the MCB’s report: “Defining Islamophobia: Comprehensive report amplifies what it is, what it isn’t and why it matters”