In February, the United Kingdom government appointed a working group to provide a definition of “anti-Muslim hatred/Islamophobia”, which should have completed its work by the end of August. In the summer, Conservative MP Nick Timothy and a phalanx of like-minded groups waged a campaign against any such definition, which they argued would stymie free speech for those who wish to criticise Islam.

Since then, the government has been cowed into silence and delay. Last week, the BBC published a report suggesting that the definition will not use the word Islamophobia at all, opting instead for “anti-Muslim hostility”.

This is a mistake; hatred of Islam lies at the very heart of racism towards Muslims. And while the British state fails to even name Islamophobia, Muslims face an unprecedented level of danger. The unwillingness of the British government to name and confront Islamophobia is a scandal, one that is barely noticed by mainstream media.

Before the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the number of reported attacks on Muslims in England and Wales was already high and stood at 3,432. In the year up to March 2024, it went up by 13 percent, and a further 19 percent by March 2025. These most recent figures exclude London, due to changes in crime recording by the Metropolitan Police, so the increase is probably higher.

According to the most recent data, without London, 24 percent of religious hate crimes targeted Jews, and 44 percent were committed against Muslims. In addition, Muslims are consistently more likely to be

© Al Jazeera