Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

My Lords, the Bill is intended to give faith communities the levels of safety and security to which they are entitled in a diverse, civilised and democratic society. Put simply, it is about preventing people inciting hatred and providing all communities with equal protection. As has been mentioned by many noble Lords, the Race Relations Act 1976 protects the Jewish and Sikhs communities, and rightly so. Northern Ireland has religious discrimination laws. However, mainland Britain does not. This new law seeks to rectify this anomaly and to assure all communities, irrespective of whether they adhere to a particular religion, that British law does not discriminate or prioritise certain groups over others. Is it really conducive to social cohesion and to the common good to have the Muslim community feeling aggrieved by the contemporary laws? Since the terror attacks on 9/11 and 7/7, the multi-ethnic Muslim community in Britain has been under the spotlight as never before. As a community, we have been called upon to account for the actions of a radicalised minority who espouse a doctrine of hate and belligerence and who are as synonymous with Islam as KKK are with Christendom. We must acknowledge the current climate and act to eliminate this growing pathology of xenophobia right from the root of the problem. Inciting racial and religious hatred is a recipe for disaster and can cause civil unrest. Hence we must ensure that the very conditions which are conducive to creating a racial and religious melting pot are not allowed to come to fruition. Anyone who doubts these words can look no further than the appalling race riots in the north of England where racists actively stirred up riots by attacking the religion of the local communities, as highlighted by ACPO in the House of Lords Select Committee. Let us not forget that we have had an offence of incitement to racial hatred in laws in this country in one shape or form since 1936 when it was introduced to protect the Jewish community from the fascist activists of Oswald Mosley’s Black shirts. It was needed then and it is needed now. Islamophobia has become a contemporary form of racism. We should not shy away from the fact that it is on the rise. Silence on the matter only indicates a sign of apathy on this most disturbing of developments. I recall that when I was a young man—not that I am old now, of course—it was all too common to hear a black person referred to by the ““n”” word. I heard what the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, said. We have the 1976 race relations laws which protect minorities. Likewise, in those days, Asians like myself were frequently called ““pakis””. One need not stop there. Derogatory terminology for women and homosexuals were in the not too distant past deemed socially acceptable and, indeed, in some cases one can argue it was encouraged by mainstream society. Today, of course, none of those offensive terms would be acceptable by the mainstream and we are better off for it. I ask only that we extend this positive evolution of the way in which we conceive our fellow citizens to enfranchise those who associate themselves closely with their respective religions. What critics of the Bill fail to recognise is that religions are increasingly becoming multi-ethnic. It is not only members of minority ethnic communities who are victims of religious hatred. White Europeans who have converted to Islam, particularly women who are easily identifiable as Muslims because they wear headscarves, are also subject to incitement of hatred. On what basis are white and European Muslims targeted if not for their faith? The existing laws are at best shaky in covering these people. Hence we must acknowledge that Islamophobia is a form of prejudice independent of ethnocentricism and devise ways to eliminate it from our society. Feeling victimised is an awful experience and, as the past evil treatment of the Jewish communities has shown, can lead to a climate where the unthinkable is tolerated. Finally, let us seize this opportunity to ensure that certain minorities in our diverse community do not feel as though xenophobia of a religious kind is to be tolerated in our society. Let us also ensure that those who wish to divide and fragment us into this Huntington type ““clash of civilisations””—