Question reference: S6W-22748
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 7 November 2023
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Current status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 21 November 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-06439 by Shona Robison on 10 March 2022, what the current status is of its work on adopting a formal definition of Islamophobia; whether it will commit to adopting the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims' definition of Islamophobia, and, if so, within what timeframe.
Answer
Nobody in our society should ever be subjected to Islamophobia, and we recognise we need to do more to tackle it in Scotland.
We previously consulted with communities affected by Islamophobia on whether adoption of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) or some other definition of Islamophobia would be helpful. Although communities were broadly supportive of a definition, there was no consensus on the APPG definition.
Our Hate Crime Strategy sets out our strategic priorities for tackling hate crime in Scotland, including Islamophobia. It was informed by communities with lived experience of hate crime, including Muslim communities.
Our Hate Crime Strategy Delivery Plan, published this week, commits to a range of meaningful, ongoing and participatory engagement. We will continue to engage with Muslim communities in Scotland to understand the issues of importance to them as we move into strategy delivery.