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Higher Education: Anti-Muslim Hostility

Asked by Claire CoutinhoConservativeDepartment for EducationTabled Answered 24 March 2026UIN 121478

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Government's definition of anti-Muslim hostility with the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

Answered by Josh MacAlister

As with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which the government adopted in 2016, a clear definition of anti-Muslim hostility is an important step towards combatting the unacceptable hostility that Muslims face.

Where higher education providers adopt this definition, they must do so in a way that is compatible with their duties to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom.

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