A committee against Islamophobia

Anti-Muslim prejudice is finding expression in more hate crimes. We need to tackle the problem at a nationwide level.

.... The events in Loughton are by no means isolated ones. Recent months have seen several arson attacks on mosques around the country including in Luton, Bishop's Stortford and Woolwich.

.... In 2005 a parliamentary committee against antisemitism was established to "confront and defeat antisemitism in this country and beyond". At a time when anti-Muslim bigotry has become pervasive and is now translating into actual hate crimes, it is surely crucial that a similar committee against Islamophobia is also set up to monitor and help combat anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination. [Guardian CiF] Read more

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A parliamentary committee on Islamophobia? Inayat Bunglawala, one of the grandees at the Muslim Council of Britain, has had a sensible idea....

.... If it performs as well as the committee on anti-Semitism, it could turn out to be very useful. It would be able to highlight incidences of low-level Islamophobia, as well as more shocking cases. Of course it isn’t a panacea, but it would demonstrate to Muslims that the authorities are taking Islamophobia (or Muslimophobia to be more accurate) seriously. [Pickled Politics] Read more