Rejecting Muslim hostility definition sends message ‘your safety doesn’t matter’, peer says

Shaista Gohir says every group has right to be protected after critics warn proposed definition risks breaking law

Failing to adopt a definition of anti-Muslim hostility would signal to British Muslims that their safety does not matter, a charity's head has warned, as critics argue that adopting a definition risks breaking the law.

Shaista Gohir, a cross-bench peer and head of the Muslim Women's Network, was part of a working group on anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia launched by the government in 2025 to define what would constitute unacceptable treatment, prejudice and discrimination against Muslims.