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Since 2015 the Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) has been lobbying to get parity for all faiths when it comes to the government’s existing ‘Abrahamic-centric’ hate crime policy.

During this time, we have achieved a number of important milestones:

  • Uncovering through FOI significant numbers of non-Muslims are recorded by forces like the MET under the ‘Islamophobic hate crime’ category (data for 2015/16)
  • Commitment from ministers that religious hate crime figures will be disaggregated from April 2017
  • Submission of written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into hate crime and its violent consequences (2017/18)
  • Submission of written and oral evidence to the APPG on British Muslims inquiry into a working definition of Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred (2018)
  • Articles (news and opinion editorials), letters and radio interviews in the mainstream media including the BBC, The Telegraph, The Spectator, The Daily Mail (since 2016)
  • A clarification from the Evening Standard on an article to make sure it acknowledged statistics included non-Muslims, who also face ‘Islamophobia’ (2018)
  • A complaint to the Guardian to correct an article to include non-Muslim victims which was reported on by the Press Gazette (2018)
  • Our Director has raised the issue in several debates in the House of Lords and in correspondence with ministers. (2015 onwards)
  • Engagement with senior officers in the MET police to highlight concerns about recording and reporting (2018)
  • Engagement with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (2018)
  • Commitment from government in early 2017 to help Sikh and Hindu communities report hate crime through True Vision portal. (2017)

 

The Home Affairs Committee inquiry into hate crime and its violent consequences have published our second piece of written evidence which can be viewed here.

We are delighted that one of our policy recommendations from last year was heeded by Ministers, but it still needs to be implemented. We will be pushing for action on this specific commitment to Hindus and Sikhs, and would like to see the initiative implemented this year.

Despite this limited success, the NSO continues to be disheartened by the government’s lack of parity when it comes to the suffering of non-Abrahamic faith communities. Especially given FOI disclosures to us (for 2015 and 2016) from the MET police revealed significant numbers of non-Muslims including Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Atheists and Agnostics are being recorded as victims of ‘Islamophobic hate crime’.

We will continue to hold the government to account on what has clearly become a bias and ‘Abrahamic-centric’ policy approach to hate crime.

Graphic symbols of different religions on white

[Graphic symbols of different religions]

It matters that people learn about religion. The Network of Sikh Organisations (NSO) has long stressed the importance for us all to have a basic understanding of all the major faiths, which in turn, motivate the behavior and attitudes of significant numbers of people in Britain. In understanding the role of religions in society, we provide ourselves with an informed platform to better engage with others.

Last week our Director Lord Singh asked the government, “What steps they are taking to combat religious extremism and to promote a cohesive society by enhancing religious literacy at all levels of government.”

Minister of State, Baroness Williams of Trafford responded by informing peers the government is countering extremism through Prevent. She said, “We are working closely with faith groups to understand the impact of policies and to improve religious literacy in government. The Home Secretary and the Communities Secretary hosted a round table for representatives of all faiths last November.”

Unsatisfied with the Minister’s response, Lord Singh added: “The Government paper on the hate crime action plan contained no mention of non-Abrahamic faiths. That suggests something about the religious literacy there. Does the Minister agree that democracy implies being attentive to the legitimate concerns of all sections of the community, not those of a single religious or other majority?”

He went on: “Does she further agree that teachings and practices that go against human rights must be robustly challenged, but that we need to know something about what we are challenging before we can do that? Programmes like Prevent cannot be effective without such knowledge. One final point is that I have put the basics of Sikh teachings on one side of A4 at the request of the DFE, and that can be done for other faiths as well. Should that not be essential for religious literacy in government departments?”

The Minister responded thus: “He said that the hate crime action plan did not specifically refer to non-Abrahamic faiths, but the tenets of the action plan cover points on hatred on the basis of religious belief, disability, sexuality and so on. It is therefore implicit within it that, for example, Sikh communities are included.”

She added: “As for the understanding of religious literacy within both government and wider society, both the Home Office and DCLG engage widely and often with faith communities. Shortly after the referendum, I myself met people from different faiths, including Sikhs, in Manchester to discuss religious literacy, the outcome of the referendum and the corresponding hate crime attached to it.”

It is encouraging to hear the Minister often engages with faith communities. However her response didn’t acknowledge the government’s failure in including faiths outside the Abrahamic traditions in Action Against Hate – the government’s four-year hate crime plan. The NSO believes that improving religious literacy in government circles can only enhance policy development, and prevent any future exclusion of minority faiths that aren’t as vocal in their approach to lobbying.