Adopting an official definition of “Islamophobia” would risk dividing Britain and making it harder to stop crime, a leading think tank has warned.

       The Rotherham grooming gang scandal was not stopped because people were “afraid of being branded racist or anti-Muslim,” according to a new report from Policy Exchange.

       The authors urge the Government not to bow to pressure and adopt a formal definition of “Islamophobia”, warning this “would make this problem worse”.

       They state: “The charge of ‘Islamophobia’ is often used by wrongdoers, criminals or bad faith actors who are Muslim to smear or deter those who seek to expose them. As we show, it was repeatedly used for this purpose in the Rotherham scandal and in other instances of grooming.

       “It continued to be used in this way even years after the facts were established beyond doubt.”

       Warning against stoking divisions in society, they state: “The Government rejects claims of two-tier policing. But adopting any form of Islamophobia definition would clearly create two-tier policy, formalising different treatment of people depending on their religion.

       “This would be very damaging for community cohesion, and for the position of British Muslims.”

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       A landmark report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2018 argued that “a definition of Islamophobia is vital”. It claimed Islamophobia is “now so prevalent in society and dispersed across institutional, social, political and economic life that it deserves to be recognised at Britain’s ‘bigotry blind spot’”.

       The Westminster group’s report warned that “age-old stereotypes and tropes about Islam” and “their modern-day iteration in the ‘Asian grooming gangs’ or ‘Bin Laden’ labels” heighten “vulnerability of Muslims to hate crimes”. Its definition of Islamophobia states it is “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”

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       It was reported earlier this month the Government is planning to appoint a council on Islamophobia which would advise on drawing up an official definition of anti-Muslim discrimination.

       Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has warned against creating a “Trojan horse for a blasphemy law protecting Islam”.

       The All-Party Group on British Muslims and the Home Office have been invited to comment.