Faith=based Discrimination and Harassment in the British Parliament

 

Faith-based Discrimination and Harassment

Debated In the British Parliament on 20 March 2024

Dr. Mozammel Haque

There was a debate on Faith-based Discrimination and Harassment in the House of Commons of the British Parliament on Wednesday, the 20^th of March 2024.

Labour MP Fleur Anderson

Labour Member of the British Parliament from the Putney constituency, Fleur Anderson asked the question: “What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to help reduce faith-based discrimination and harassment.” 

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities,

Felicity Buchan

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Felicity Buchan, replied: All forms of religious hatred have absolutely no place in our communities, and we work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it. We are taking a broad approach to tackling religious hatred, and are engaging extensively with experts to explore how religious hatred is experienced by British communities and how it affects different faiths and individuals.

Labour MP Fleur Anderson

Labour MP said: “There has been an appalling surge of antisemitism and Islamophobia in recent months, but the anti-Muslim hatred working group has been suspended since March 2020, and the hate crime strategy is four years old; we clearly need a new one to tackle the hate crime in our communities.”

Labour MP Fleur Anderson asked, “Will the Minister commit to restarting the anti-Muslim hatred working group and bringing forward a new hate crime strategy?”

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Felicity Buchan

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Felicity Buchan, replied: As I said in answer to previous questions, we will appoint a new adviser on anti-Muslim hatred. We are engaging with the Muslim community at senior levels. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have recently met Tell MAMA, which plays a very important role in tackling hate crime. This Government are completely behind our Muslim communities, and we will absolutely do the right thing for them.

Mr Speaker called the SNP spokesperson.

 SNP spokesperson Kirsten Oswald

SNP spokesperson and Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire, Kirsten Oswald, said, “The increase in antisemitism and Islamophobia is eye-watering. It should be of serious concern to us all. Urgent action is needed on both fronts, and community cohesion and dialogue must be a priority. In recent months, there has been a 335% increase in Islamophobic hate cases in the UK. None the less, and despite our just having had the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, the UK Government have not convened the anti-Muslim hatred working group in more than four years. Now that the next anti-Muslim hatred adviser has quit over extremist threats, we need concrete answers.”

“When will the Government take tackling Islamophobia seriously?” asked Kirsten Oswald.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Felicity Buchan

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Felicity Buchan replied: “We have made it incredibly clear that the Government are completely committed to tackling anti-Muslim hatred. We have upped the amount of money going towards the protection of mosques and Muslim faith schools. We are about to appoint a new anti-Muslim hatred adviser. This is an effort across Government. I completely agree that the levels of both anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism that we see at the moment are not acceptable. That is why we are dealing with it.”