The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims has produced a well-intentioned but worrisome definition of Islamophobia. It states: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness”.

There are two big problems with this definition. First, while Islamophobia can be an expression of racism, it is not in itself racist because neither Islam nor Muslims are a race. Islam is an idea and Muslims include people from many races. Second, this definition has implications for free speech. Like all ideas Islam should be open to scrutiny and criticism. Yet very often all critiques of Islam are denounced as an attack on Muslim people.

This is unfair. In a free society, it is perfectly valid