British premier ducks question over abandoning official definition of Islamophobia

BIRMINGHAM, England

Pressed over dropping plans to officially define Islamophobia, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dodged the question on Wednesday, offering instead general remarks condemning “hatred.”

During Prime Minister’s Questions, independent MP Shockat Adam asked why an official definition of Islamophobia – accepted by the party while in opposition – had been abandoned in government, citing several high-profile attacks on Muslims, including fatal incidents outside places of worship,

“Islamophobia is real, at least for Zaynab Hussain in my city, who was run over, not just once, but twice, simply for being a Muslim. She survived. Not so lucky was Makram Ali, who was killed outside Finsbury Mosque simply for being Muslim. Not so lucky was Mohamed Saleem, who was stabbed to death simply for being a Muslim,” Adam said.

He then asked Starmer what has changed within the Labour government to drop the term Islamophobia.

Not addressing the policy shift, Starmer instead offered general remarks condemning hatred.

“Hatred in all its forms should be condemned by all of us in this House,” he said, adding that the government intends to act on anti-Muslim sentiment. He did not comment on what had changed since government ministers withdrew support for the definition.

The government has not provided a timeline for revisiting the issue, and Wednesday’s exchange drew renewed attention to concerns from advocacy groups, who say the lack of clarity leaves gaps in policy and enforcement.