Petition · past parliament
Recommend that the term Islamophobia be dropped.
Rejected
17 signatures
What the petition asks
The term Islamophobia is ill-defined, and has overtones of special protection and rights for one belief system above all others. It is widely criticised today as being inaccurate, divisive and restrictive of free-speech. We feel that this vague and problematic term needs to be dropped.
The government has previously issued recommendations on terminology e.g. for communicating about disabled people. It is high time for similar guidelines to be issued for communications about religious groups. “Anti-Muslim discrimination” would be a more precise and clear term, clarifying that it is animosity towards people which is not permitted, while respectful criticism of a faith is allowed. The new term is also easily adaptable to other religious groups and is therefore fairer.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We're not sure exactly what you'd like the Government or Parliament to do. The Government isn't responsible for the terms that people choose to use.
You might be interested to know that the UK Government has no definition of the term Islamophobia:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2017-10-17/debates/A731DF08-23EA-4D1F-B206-00FCB7EB2C67/Islamophobia
You might be interested to know that the UK Government has no definition of the term Islamophobia:
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2017-10-17/debates/A731DF08-23EA-4D1F-B206-00FCB7EB2C67/Islamophobia
Timeline
| 18 Jun 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 25 Jun 2018 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
17
Status
Rejected
Rejected
25 Jun 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.