Today’s announcement by Michael Gove that the government is widening the definition of extremism to catch mostly mainstream Muslim organisations is the latest in a series of Islamophobic measures seeking to exclude Muslims from public life.

The blackballing of Muslim groups as a threat to a state-defined “British way of life” plays to a host of Islamophobic tropes designed to incite hatred and hostility.

Rather than fight social divisions as the government claims the new measure is actually designed to exacerbate them. There is no doubt that this policy will lead to more violence against the Muslim community.

Most of the Muslim organisations suggested for exclusion have effectively been cancelled by the government for a number of years anyway. Putting their names on an extremist blacklist serves no real purpose except dog whistle electioneering in the run up to a general election the Tories have clearly decided to run on a culture war ticket.

The timing of this move also speaks to a cynical use of power to try and blunt the sustained pro-Palestine protests taking place across Britain. By officially ostracizing Muslim and pro-Palestine groups the govt hopes to scare the British people from supporting or marching alongside them.

It should say everything about the draconian nature of the policy that one of the most extreme former Home Secretaries to date, Priti Patel, has herself criticised the policy as shameless electioneering.

IHRC chair Massoud Shadjareh said: “This smacks of desperation. Having failed to stop the anti-genocide demonstrations the govt is resorting to that well-known tactic of fascists – authoritarianism – in order to achieve its objectives. But the mask is well and truly off and everyone can see that it is they, not protestors or the dissenting public, that are the real threat to democracy”. [ENDS]