The government’s anti-Muslim hatred working group (AMHWG) has been “on pause” for more than four years, despite repeated promises from officials and a sharp rise in hate crime.
The Guardian understands that members of the AMHWG last officially met in January 2020, before all working groups were adjourned because of the Covid pandemic.
With reports showing a 335% increase in UK anti-Muslim hate crimes since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, members of the AMHWG have expressed their concern over Michael Gove’s inability to restart the group and tackle the surge in anti-Muslim hate crime.
The group was set up during David Cameron’s premiership in 2012 with the aim of addressing anti-Muslim hatred, and monitoring hate crime and the police forces’ records of it, before looking at initiatives to prevent it.
Officials recall how “supportive” Cameron and his successor, Theresa May, had been towards the initiative, which they said stood in stark contrast to the previous three prime ministers.
It has been noted that May was able to distance her government from Boris Johnson’s Telegraph article in which he compared veiled Muslim women to “letterboxes”, while Rishi Sunak has been unable to do the same recently after Lee Anderson claimed the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, was under the control of Islamists.
Akeela Ahmed, the chair of the working group, said: “At this time of heightened fear, anxiety and tensions, government should be doing its utmost to fulfil its statutory obligations and responsibilities towards all communities.
“Yet when it comes to British Muslims, this simply isn’t happening. Since Theresa May’s premiership, the government’s reluctance to address Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred has become increasingly outlandish. Even when condemning the MP Lee Anderson for his remarks about the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Rishi Sunak was unable to name either.
“Politicised discussions about terminology have stalled the real work needed to address prejudice, bigotry and discrimination against British Muslims. Personally, I use the terms interchangeably, as I’m not precious about labels. But we do need to develop a robust definition.”
Questions as to what will happen to the group have mounted since 2022, when the government’s last independent adviser to provide expert advice on a definition of Islamophobia to the government, Imam Qari Asim, was removed. The post has remained vacant for two years. Senior government officials had given AMHWG members repeated verbal assurances that it will be restarted.
The Guardian understands that Gove is now trying to put together a new shortlist of candidates for the anti-Muslim hatred advisory role, after conflicting reports that No 10 blocked the appointment of Fiyaz Mughal on Friday night, or that he pulled out of the running. It is not clear whether the role will remain the same.
A government spokesperson said: “We are taking action to ensure that no extremist organisations or individuals are being given a platform by their actions and interactions with government. We will set out further details shortly.”
Last week the shadow equalities secretary, Anneliese Dodds, asked the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities what priorities they had identified in collaboration with the AMHWG and whether the group had identified any difficulty in delivery of the recommendations since 2019.
The housing minister, Lee Rowley, said: “We continue to take a broad approach to religious hatred, which will develop on the work of the previous antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred working groups,” and noted their plans to appoint a new independent adviser on anti-Muslim hatred.
