“Islamophobia” is a meaningless word
Those of us who maintain that the belief system of Islam is essentially wrong, that the veiling of women is rooted in misogyny, and that no religious icon should be ringfenced from ridicule, are often dismissed as “Islamophobic”. This is to conflate the actions of bigots and criminals with those who are simply exercising their right to criticise ideas. It is linguistic sleight-of-hand. And it works.
Enough of the word games. Islam is not a race. Its disciples are not entitled to a life free from offence. Anti-Muslim hatred and prejudice exists and ought to be criticised, but it is not the same as the mockery or the denunciation of a religious creed. Any legislation against “Islamophobia” would be tantamount to a new form of blasphemy law. In a supposedly free society, this cannot be tolerated.