Islamophobia, anti-racism and the British left

By Scarlet Harris

Drawing on first-hand accounts from anti-racist activists and community workers in two British cities, Islamophobia, anti-racism and the British left explores the treatment of Islamophobia by those committed to challenging it. The book interrogates the ways in which anti-racist activists and community workers understand the problem of Islamophobia, and what this means for their organised responses on the ground. Islamophobia remains one of the most misunderstood varieties of racism in the current moment. By combining empirical research with sociological theory, the book casts a clarifying lens on Islamophobia’s complex relationship to ‘race’, other modalities of racism and wider structures of racial capitalism. Furthermore, it offers a critical assessment of recent attempts to talk about and tackle Islamophobia. Reflecting on key political trends in Britain, from the entrenchment of ‘counter-extremism’ policy, liberal hegemony and resurgent left nationalisms, to histories of Black radicalism and recent pro-Palestine activism, Islamophobia, anti-racism and the British left offers an alternative approach to resisting Islamophobia from and for the anti-racist left.

Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2025. 177p.