Racism of any kind is socially unacceptable. Or so we thought. Senior Conservative Baroness Warsi declared in January that ‘Islamophobia’ is alive and well and has ‘passed the dinner table test’. She claims anti-Muslim prejudice is now normal and uncontroversial in respectable society. Warsi’s views are echoed by many British Muslims, who claim to experience such prejudice daily. So is there really widespread discrimination against Muslims, and if so has religion simply become a proxy for race as implied by Warsi? Or is the cry of ‘Islamophobia’ simply a way of deflecting legitimate criticism of certain backward ideas associated with religion in general and conservative Islam in particular?

Some argue we should fear Islam and the threat it poses to Western culture and values, often pointing to its ongoing association with terrorism. Others cite Islamic countries’ poor record on women’s rights and their intolerance of free speech as evidence that Islam should not be beyond criticism. But critics of Islamophobia insist it is Muslims who are being vilified and demonised, not just a set of ideas. Among other things, those worried about a rise of anti-Muslim prejudice cite the way senior Labour politician Jack Straw picked up on particular cases to suggest there is a wider ‘social problem’ of Muslim men grooming white girls. And with Muslim veils and minarets being banned in several European countries, many worry that innocent Muslim men and women are being made to suffer for no other reason than their religion.

Some thinkers argue ‘hate speech’ itself harms the very being of those at whom it is directed. Is this real harm, or does such talk indicate a lack of perspective on the part of those Muslims who take offence? Both sides of the debate have argued for curbs on freedom of expression and free speech. The free speech of Muslim ‘extremists’ is curtailed in the interest of community cohesion. And the freedom to criticise Muslim fundamentalists or even Islam is chilled by charges of Islamophobia. Do the censorious cries of ‘You can’t say that!’ and ‘You can’t wear that!’ mask a mutual fear of ideas? Is Islamophobia the new face of racism, or is our concern about it simply the latest manifestation of self-loathing liberal angst?