Criticising Mohammed or Islam is NOT Islamophobia - but Labour Wants to BAN ALL Criticism

Our guest on this week's Whittle is Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern and author of an upcoming publication on free speech & Islamophobia. Tim & Peter discuss "Islamophobia Revisited" (https://www.civitas.org.uk/publicatio... ), a new report by Civitas' Hardeep Singh. Tim reveals the disturbing ways in which criticism of Islam is being silenced. All Parliamentary political parties except for the Conservative Party have adopted a broad and "problematic" definition of Islamophobia which links it with racism and makes any legitimate criticism of the religion "Islamophobic". In Islamophobia Revisited, Hardeep Singh conducts a thorough investigation into how Islamophobia is defined by local authorities describing a ‘panoply’ of different approaches and definitions. In response to a large-scale Freedom of Information exercise, Singh discovers that one in seven (15.6 per cent) local authorities in England have adopted a definition of ‘Islamophobia’ described by the government as ‘not fit for purpose’. Singh finds 22.7 per cent of Welsh local authorities and 25 per cent of Scottish local authorities have adopted this disputed definition. The adoption of a disputed definition of Islamophobia has ‘taken on a life of its own’ according to Singh, who raises concerns over conflating race with religion and claims that ‘Islamophobia is a type of racism.’ Singh raises concerns over an officially recognised definition of Islamophobia, something he says ‘conflates race with religion’ across local authorities. Singh provides compelling evidence that not enough due diligence or scrutiny has been conducted by local authorities over their approach to defining Islamophobia as a form of racism, with concerns over free speech ‘largely dismissed.’ Singh claims the adoption of a disputed definition of Islamophobia prevents ‘an honest conversation about public policies relating to faith or religion, or basic historical truths’, and recommends that local councils do more to protect free speech and avoid critics of religion or religious practice being described as ‘racist’ and potential prosecution under hate speech laws. You may read "Islamophobia Revisited" here: https://www.civitas.org.uk/publications/islamophobia-revisited/ --------------- SUBSCRIBE: If you are enjoying the show, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube (click the Subscribe Button underneath the video and then Click on the Bell icon next to it to make sure you Receive All Notifications) AUDIO: If you prefer Audio you can subscribe on iTunes or Soundcloud. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-923838732 itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/s... SUPPORT/DONATE: PAYPAL/ CARD PAYMENTS - ONE TIME & MONTHLY: You can donate in a variety of ways via our website: http://www.newcultureforum.org.uk/#do... It is set up to accept one time and monthly donations. JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Web: http://www.newcultureforum.org.uk F: https://www.facebook.com/NCultureForum/ Y: http://www.youtube.com/c/NewCultureForum T: http://www.twitter.com/NewCultureForum (@NewCultureForum)