UK Government Faces Criticism Over Islamophobia Definition Consultations

UK Government Faces Criticism Over Islamophobia Definition Consultations
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The UK government is under fire for excluding the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) from consultations on defining Islamophobia while engaging figures accused of anti-Muslim prejudice, Middle East Eye reported. A working group, established in February 2025 and overseen by former pro-Israel lobbyist Joel Salmon, has been barred from consulting the MCB—the UK’s largest Muslim umbrella group—due to a longstanding government policy of “disengagement.”

The group instead consulted Trevor Phillips, a politician previously suspended from Labour over Islamophobia allegations, and ex-diplomat John Jenkins, who has endorsed social media posts criticized as anti-Muslim. It also approached the neoconservative Policy Exchange think tank, which declined participation.

Critics accuse the government of bias, noting the group’s chair, Dominic Grieve, previously endorsed a contested 2018 parliamentary definition of Islamophobia as “racism targeting Muslimness.” The current process appears to reject that definition, with Faith Minister Lord Wajid Khan stating it conflicts with the Equality Act 2010.

The MCB condemned the exclusion as “petty cancel culture,” while the government defended the consultations as “engaging a wide range of faith communities.” The working group’s report is expected within six months.