Policy Exchange today shines a light on how the term ‘Islamophobia’ is being regularly misused to silence open debate about contemporary issues, with a series of egregious examples since the 7/10 attacks by Hamas. Those examples are catalogued in this report, including how asking an MP to agree that terrorists should attack fewer people is ‘Islamophobic’, as is calling for the release of hostages while visiting a mosque.

The authors conclude that the use of the term ‘Islamophobia’ has become wider, less coherent and at times inflated to a remarkable degree. The threat to freedom of speech could not be more clearly signposted. In the absence of any single definition, the authorities should maintain their efforts to tackle anti-Muslim – as indeed any – prejudice, bigotry, and hatred in all its forms.

Policy Exchange is also re-releasing the 2019 report ‘On Islamophobia: The problem of definition‘. Written by Trevor Phillips, Sir John Jenkins and Dr Martyn Frampton, with a foreword by Khalid Mahmood MP, it continues to make the case against the APPG British Muslims definition of Islamophobia.