Freedom of speech just took another hit

Far from aiding social cohesion, the new code on 'anti-Muslim hostility' will undermine it

You probably won't agree with all of Mr Embery's policy prescriptions, but he will force you to think outside your usual political grooves — Wall Street Journal

Photo: Felton Davis via Wikimedia Commons

SO THEY WENT and did it. After much wrangling, and in the face of a good deal of resistance, the government has unveiled its official definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’.

The definition – which runs to three paragraphs and has been introduced as part of a broader social cohesion plan – is designed to arrest what ministers say is a rising tide of hatred towards Muslims.

The text lays out what type of actions or behaviour will be deemed to cross the line. This can be, for example, ‘prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims, or people perceived to be Muslim, including because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or their appearance, and treating them as a collective group defined by fixed and negative characteristics, with the intention of encouraging hatred against them…’

Where to begin with that word salad?

Critics have raised the alarm over the implications for free speech, arguing that there is potential for the definition to stifle legitimate scrutiny of both the religion of Islam itself and some its more controversial customs and practices. They also point to the fact that words such as ‘prejudicial’ and ‘negative’, as they appear in the above passage, are highly subjective, meaning that application of the definition may be wildly inconsistent.

These concerns are well-founded. There are few good reasons to support the introduction of this definition and plenty to oppose it. It has all the makings of a back-door blasphemy law and will persuade people that it is safer to just button their lip rather than express their genuinely-held beliefs in any discussion about Islam or Muslims.