Government appoints new body to monitor Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate
British Muslim Trust will be led by Akeela Ahmed, who was made co-chair of the British Muslim Network earlier this year, and replaces Tell Mama
The UK government has appointed the newly formed British Muslim Trust (BMT) to monitor reports of Islamophobia across England, replacing Tell Mama — a non-governmental organisation that had recorded incidents of hate against Muslims since 2012.
The BMT, which will be funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), will be responsible for monitoring Islamophobic and anti-Muslim hate, working with affected communities, and publishing regular public reports.
The announcement follows controversy earlier this year over Tell Mama’s future. Reports emerged in March that ministers had cut future funding for the organisation, but the government denied the claim and the faith minister Wajid Khan told parliament that £1m was still available to Tell Mama if it signed a government grant funding agreement.
But in April, Tell Mama’s director, Iman Atta, declined a further six months of public funding, citing a strained relationship with the department, and the government instead asked for applicants to run a new Islamophobia monitor.
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Founded by the Randeree Charitable Trust and the Aziz Foundation, the BMT says it aims to address not only hate crimes but also the structural inequalities that shape British Muslim experiences. The organisation says its mission is to help build a society in which British Muslims are seen and treated as equal members, free from racism, prejudice and fear.
The organisation is chaired by Shabir Randeree, with Akeela Ahmed serving as its chief executive. Ahmed was recently appointed co-chair of the newly launched British Muslim Network, a national body that aims to connect Muslim experts in different fields with the government and other policymakers. She is also part of a government working group tasked with delivering a definition of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.
Ahmed said the BMT would work “by listening to communities, amplifying their voices, and working with partners across society to ensure that no one is left to face hate alone”. She added: “We are here to stand with victims and help shape a more inclusive, united Britain for all.”
Randeree echoed this, and said that “tackling anti-Muslim hatred is essential to building safer, more inclusive communities”.
The announcement has been welcomed by MPs, community leaders and civil society figures. Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Manchester Rusholme, said the service was “long overdue” and highlighted the gap in reporting.
“It is well known that many Muslim victims do not report the abuse and hostility they frequently endure,” he said. “However, suffering in silence is not the solution. Evidence-based data and analytical statistics must be collected to fully understand the scale and depth of the problem.”
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Ismael Lea South, director of The Salam Project — a youth mentoring initiative in London — said the BMT’s appointment had come at a crucial time.
“The year-on-year rise in anti-Muslim attacks, the violence and hate targeting Muslims in the summer riots of 2024 and the outpouring of anti-Muslim racism and abuse online demands that we do more to tackle this growing and pernicious form of racism and hate in our country,” he said.
The word “Islamophobia” does not appear in the government’s announcement of the new body, with ministers having quietly rejected a working definition that was proposed in 2019 by the all-party parliamentary group on Muslims, in favour of coming up with its own. In 2024, Conservative planning minister Lee Rowley said the then Tory government preferred “anti-Muslim hatred”, a term advanced by the right-wing thinktank Policy Exchange, as it was “more precise” and would allow “space for critical debate about theology, culture and religious practice”.
The working group tasked with delivering a definition refers to “anti-Muslim hatred/Islamophobia”.
The BMT will begin accepting reports in early autumn.
