IRR special: A critical reading of the UK policy paper “Protecting What Matters”

Led by Professor Esra Özyürek with Peach Hoyle, this special session will discuss the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government paper Protecting What Matters (published 9 March 2026). Participants will consider how the report frames cohesion and conflict, challenges facing British society, where faith communities intersect with its proposals, and what its recommendations indicate about how the government sees race and ethnicity, religion, class, gender as well as the role of international conflicts play into life in British society.

Designed as a special edition of the Inter‑Religious Research seminar series, the event will offer space for informed reading, critical dialogue, and the sharing of expertise across disciplines and traditions.

The following Cambridge researchers will take turns in introducing a topic, passage or angle for reflection. Open discussion will follow.

• Peach Hoyle, PhD candidate (Divinity) | Hoyle researches Muslim and Jewish women's interfaith work, particularly as it relates to the public sphere and to gendered and domestic violence. They are also interested in the relationship between secular and religious feminisms.
• Dr Özge Onay (Sociology) | A sociologist of race and racism, Onay examines how Islamophobia, identity, and belonging shape the everyday lives of minoritised communities in Britain, with an emerging body of work exploring how environmental harm, racial capitalism, and colonial legacies intersect with Muslim lifeworlds across connected global contexts.
• Professor Esra Özyürek (Divinity) | Author of book-length studies on interactions between religion and state in Germany and Turkey, Özyürek has a longstanding analytic interest in how antisemitism and Islamophobia interact.
• Dr Tobias Müller (CRASSH) | A Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Müller’s research interests include political and social theory, the politics of climate change, secularism and Islam in Europe, and decolonial and feminist theory. His most recent article theorises “state projects” as an angle for better understanding how government interacts with faith communities.

About the Inter-Religious Research series

The Inter-Religious Research Seminar is convened by Professor Özyürek on behalf of the Faculty of Divinity and runs fortnightly during term time. Please note the different start and end time for this session.

The session will be livestreamed. Please register as a remote attendee to receive access information.