Islamophobia Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Baroness Uddin
Main Page: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Uddin's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(2 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Greenhalgh (Con)
My Lords, I always thank the noble Lord for providing me with an easy question. Of course we want to work on establishing a definition that can be adopted, but I want the House to recognise that this is not a straightforward matter and will take time.
Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)
My Lords, do the Government recognise that in any attempt to elucidate a formal definition of Islamophobia, religion and not race must be the central tenet? I agree with the noble Lord’s earlier response. Will the Minister give a personal assurance to the noble Lord, Lord Sheikh, me and others that he will do everything he can to resolve this as a matter of urgency?
Lord Greenhalgh (Con)
My Lords, I can give the assurance that we are tackling this as a matter of urgency. I completely agree with the point made about the need not to conflate race with religion. We need to get the definition of Islamophobia right.