by Stefan Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
LONDON (Worthy News) – British Christian leaders and politicians fear a new working group advising the government on “anti-Muslim hatred /Islamophobia” will lead to blasphemy legislation that would further limit freedom of expression.
In a statement obtained by Worthy News, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, said that the “rise in anti-Muslim hate crime is unacceptable and has no place in our society. That’s why we’ve committed to defining Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia as a crucial step forward in tackling it and creating a society where everyone feels safe and welcome.”
However, David Alton, who chairs Britain’s Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, warned against pursuing any semblance of blasphemy laws in the country.
“The U.K. should tread very carefully before incorporating anything which resembles a blasphemy law into British Statute,” Alton said in published remarks.
“In jurisdictions which have such laws, I have personally seen how they can be misused against people of other beliefs or no belief – including death sentences and long-term imprisonment.”
It was a reference to countries such as Pakistan and Iran, where Christians and others have languished in prisons for years for alleged blasphemy against Islam while some have been killed.
Danny Webster, director of advocacy for the U.K. Evangelical Alliance, said Islamophobia should be set within the broader, legal understanding of the freedom to disagree with those of other faiths.
ANTI-MUSLIM HATRED
“Any definition of anti-Muslim hatred, or Islamophobia, has to safeguard the freedom of others to criticize religious belief and support the freedom for people to change their beliefs,” Webster stressed.
If a definition of Islamophobia means that views about perceived identity can be subjectively classed as “hatred,” then this would limit freedom of expression and religious belief, he stressed.
“It is vital that we encourage good relationships between people of different faiths, and this is fostered by accepting deep differences and allowing free expression, rather than either criminalizing disagreement or pretending it doesn’t exist,” Webster added.
The advisory group’s chair, Dominic Grieve KC, admitted in a statement seen by Worthy News that “Islamophobia is as challenging to define as its existence is undoubted.”
However, he stressed, “We need to balance addressing the lived experience of those who are victims of it and the right of British Muslims to feel heard and protected as equal citizens of our country.”
He added that these rights should be “with the unwavering requirement to maintain freedom of thought and expression under law for all. I welcome the government’s decision to bring forward this needed work. And I am hopeful that this commission will come up with principles in defining Islamophobia which are compatible with those requirements and can thus help support positive change in our country.”
The government suggested that the advisory group is needed as in the year ending March 2024, “there were 140,561 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales,” although that was a “5 percent decrease compared with the previous year.”
Yet Alton called it a “ploy” to introduce blasphemy laws that Christians fear could lead to persecution of non-Muslims in Britain and beyond.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israel is closely monitoring the expanding military confrontation between the United States and Iran but is not currently participating, an Israeli official said Sunday evening.
A federal appeals court has upheld the termination of in-state college tuition benefits for illegal immigrants in Texas, rejecting an attempt by students and advocacy groups to revive the state’s 24-year-old Dream Act.
The United States launched another wave of strikes against Iran late Sunday, targeting military sites near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz after Tehran attacked commercial shipping and widened its assault against American-aligned Gulf nations.
Israel will hold its next national election on October 27, 2026, after coalition leaders confirmed Sunday that the vote will proceed on the date originally established by law.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday after a weekend in which numerous people died in Russian air strikes and Kyiv’s counterattacks, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced fresh changes to his war-torn nation’s government.
At least 27 people have been killed in a fire that tore through a bar in Bangkok, one of the world’s nightlife centers, Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
French anti-terrorism prosecutors launched an investigation Sunday after weapons were discovered inside an abandoned vehicle near a synagogue in Sarcelles, a Paris suburb home to one of France’s largest Jewish communities, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of people.