Pragna Patel from Southall Black Sisters spoke to Martin Thomas from Solidarity about the controversy over the Government’s rejection of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) definition of “Islamophobia”.
We were against the idea of having a specific definition of “Islamophobia”. Racism against Muslims exists. It is pervasive and needs to be resolutely challenged. “Islamophobia” conflates legitimate criticism of religion, which groups like Southall Black Sisters have always engaged, with racism towards people of a particular minority. The use of the term “Islamophobia” makes it very easy to label criticism of religion as “Islamophobic”.
It is a linguistic minefield. There is no satisfactory interpretation of what “Islamophobia” means. Even the Runnymede Trust, which put the term forward in 1997, accepted its own definition as problematic.
Why not speak instead of anti-Muslim racism? Anti-Muslim racism is like any other form of racism — the vilification, the attacks.
Can’t it be said that it is a merit of the definition that it says explicitly that criticism of Islam is not necessarily Islamophobic?
I don’t accept that. This defining of Islamophobia creates a norm within society which makes it hard to speak out. We’ve seen it many times. Why call it Islamophobia? Why not just talk of anti-Muslim racism? [Workers’ Liberty] Read more
