Guest Eliza,

You said it . . . a very gentle African Muslim. He is most welcome - in fact, any gentle race, religion, colour or creed is welcome. Hand in hand with gentleness is often respect for one's self and for others. I've no argument at all with that.

What I am appalled by, is the (let's call it well-meaning) insidious way many people are being denied the opportunity (freedom) to discuss this topic openly for fear of being labelled a racist.

I am a white male, one of our best friends is a lesbian (openly) and another a black girl - who says 'I am black', she gets mightily irritated when 'do-gooders' try and 'invent' words to describe her racial characteristics avoiding the word 'black' - what's wrong with it? Or her? Nothing. They are gentle people too - and damn good friends too.

Whether it's just the Western media, or whether it's fact, just about all the terrorist attacks in the last few years are attributed to radical Muslims - I hate them fervently - but I also hate murderers, rapists, bent politicians, priests who prey on their flocks and other perpetrators of whatever colour, creed, religion. I particularly abhor radical Christians - they are no better. The way religion (all types) is manipulated by those with a vested interest is abhorrent and more often that not flies in the face to what the religion stands for - doesn't stop it happening though.

I dislike that fact that BP have had to pay billions to the the USA when Union Carbide paid peanuts to the survivors of Bhopal, where thousands were KILLED, and only four Indians were prosecuted - where's the vicarious liability there being discharged?

The baroness appears to be addressing just part of the problem in talking about the British public's bigotry as much later in the article, almost at the end, she actually manages to say the Muslim community also have to make it clear that the radicals are not observing the tenets of that religion and are not welcome.

But their silence on these issues is deafening.

By the way, it takes a lot of courage to post, baring your soul like that. You have my respect (for what it's worth - which is quite a lot, to me).