Today marks the start of Islamophobia Awareness Month 2023, a time when politicians and the public must come together to reaffirm our opposition to hate against Muslims and recommit to taking all steps necessary to tackle this form of racism.

With most victims of hate crimes being Muslim and 90% of UK mosques having experienced acts of hate in the last year, it is clear that the UK Government must take urgent action to tackle Islamophobia.

In 2019, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims developed a working definition of Islamophobia as a first step to tackling it. Since then, this definition has been adopted by almost every political party, local authorities, metro mayors, trade unions, academics, individual parliamentarians and community groups across the UK. Regrettably, the Conservatives have declined to adopt the definition – both as a political party and in government.

I have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, calling on him to use this Islamophobia Awareness Month to show he is committed to supporting Muslim communities by adopting this definition of Islamophobia internally in the Conservative Party and at UK Government level.

You can read my full letter to him here.