To tackle all kain racism na to treat every human being equal and fair, no to give one community special treatment pass another. Public policy suppose stand for fairness for everybody.

For 2018, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims — wey be cross-party forum of MPs and peers wey dey advise Parliament on matter wey concern Muslims for UK — consult plenty people and comot one working definition of Islamophobia.

That definition see Islamophobia as one kind racism for how e dey show: e dey treat Muslims like say dem be one kind people wey get bad character and bad association.

For short, Islamophobia mean to judge, dehumanise or discriminate against Muslims because of how dem take look, how dem take dress, or their faith identity.

Plenty Muslim women dey face threats and verbal abuse for public place — for bus and train, for road, for shops. Physical yawa wey dey happen include spitting, shoving, slapping, and people force remove their clothes like hijab.

Plenty energy don dey used to scatter the matter. Government put one working group wey Dominic Grieve KC chair, wey try mix Islamophobia with blasphemy law or with talk wey fit limit free speech.

Make we clear: Islamophobia no get anything to do with theology. Na targeting of people or groups based on prejudice or hate because dem dey see dem as Muslim.

Some people dey ask why definition dey needed at all. If you no define anything, e nor go easy to detect am, monitor am or challenge am.

Non-statutory definitions na praktikal tool too — dem fit help fight racism outside court, like through school education, equality monitoring, and employment practice dem wey go prevent unfair discrimination, hate and prejudice from the start.

Since APPG draft the definition, more than 800 academics, community groups, parliamentarians and local authorities don endorse am. Every major political party accept am, except the then-governing Conservative Party, wey reject the APPG definition and later sack the adviser wey dem appoint to propose alternative.

E painful say when Labour win the 2024 General Election, dem turn back on their own promise about the APPG definition.

For March dis year, Labour Ministers appoint Independent Working Group — again chaired by Dominic Grieve KC plus four independent Muslim experts — make dem recommend new definition so Ministers go review and decide. The group submit their recommendations early October, but up to when this text dey write, Government never publish the recommendations nor their own response.

Meanwhile, some unauthorised civil servants for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reportedly leak parts of the recommendations to right-wing media wey get bad intentions — and that one dey fuel corrosive, misinformed and sometimes fake media speculation for the last weeks.

British Muslims don dey used to see double standards for public life and for paper headline, but the last few weeks don reach level wey pass normal gaslighting.

For the past year, Islamophobia reach record levels. Muslims don suffer physical attack; mosques don become target for terror incidents, but dem no dey make front-page many times. Violence against Muslims don begin to look normal, even for mainstream media.

Home Office statistics for the year wey end March 2025 show say Muslims make up 45 percent of all religiously-motivated hate crimes, while Jews account for 29 percent.

This harsh reality show sey e clear sey government and wider British society need adopt one clear and explicit definition quick.

Compare this with how Government quickly adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism for 2016 — even though people don criticise am say e dey mix criticism of Israel with antisemitism.

According to the House of Commons Library, Sajid Javid — wey be Communities Secretary then — talk say IHRA working definition important to understand how antisemitism dey show for 21st century, “as it gives examples of the kind of behaviours which, depending on the circumstances, could constitute antisemitism”. Other definitions of antisemitism still dey, for example the 2020 Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.

If UK fit adopt IHRA definition inside months, why defining Islamophobia still dey hang after near ten years?

One useful test na to imagine these statements if dem apply am to any other faith group.

The following real-world headlines and quotes about Muslims don recently appear for national media and political talk:

1- Islam don dey problem for Britain for long time. Time don reach to face am.

2- Political Islam na problem wey dey grow for this country.

3- Government plan for definition of so-called "Islamophobia" go make division for society worse, no go fix am.

4- To define Islamophobia na really stupid thing.

5- Official definition of Islamophobia no need because law don already protect Muslims.

6- If Government wan adopt definition [of Islamophobia], we advise say make dem do full public consultation so all risk and benefit go fit consider.

7- Islamophobia definition 'risk undermining terrorism law'.

8- Labour 'tear up Islamophobia definition' because of free speech wahala.

9- The lethality of ‘Islamophobia’ accusations.

10- Some supporters of official Islamophobia definition ‘want to use it to undermine Britain’s counter‑terrorism laws and foreign policy’.

Make you imagine for small say all these lines replace the word Islam with Judaism or Sikhism. But when dem talk am about Muslims, people dey treat am like normal debate instead of clear double standard.

Government suppose act with transparency now: publish the Independent Working Group recommendations full. Wey lost for the noise na the real matter: community safety and equality, no be political point-scoring or media story.

Until Islamophobia dey recognise and define with the same seriousness wey other forms of racism dey get, Britain go still dey preach equality but dey practise double standards.