[Glice]

The problem is that for every single instance of mosques being opposed in the UK, there's any number of cities we can point to that suggest otherwise. London, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds are flush with mosques. Bristol doesn't have a very big Muslim population by comparison, but it does have ample mosques. There's plenty of instances of people opposing the building of new synagogues (most recently in High Barnet). I know of a church that failed to get planning permission. You can see these things as symptomatic of a broader 'Islamophobia' if you like, but the issue is much more complex than that.

I'd also add that Islam is in a very different position to, say, Hinduism or Sikhism. There's been a Beth Din in London for ages; there are motions in place to get Sharia courts in place on a similar basis. Properly Hindu cremations are still impossible, and Sikh burial rites similarly.

I'm not saying that my part of Europe doesn't have pockets of worrying attitudes towards Islam, but without a proper knowledge of the complexity of the issue, and looking at comparable religious groups, the criticism just seems a bit high-minded and fatuous.

Have you got any comment to make on the widespread spraypainting of swastikas on synagogues in (sharp intake of breath) areas with a high population of Jews and Muslims?