It is about time that we collectively extended to them the rights and respect other citizens enjoy. I am not suggesting special treatment for Muslims. They should be subject to the law of the land and the same democratic scrutiny as the rest of us.

Virulent anti-Semitism or homophobia being preached in British mosques should be exposed and rooted out. But by exactly the same token, Muslims should be given the same protection from insults or ignorant abuse as other minority groups.

They are our fellow citizens, we nevertheless misrepresent them and in certain cases we persecute them. Our attitude can lead only to estrangement and alienation. And therein lies the greatest danger.

Because if we continue to demonise Muslims, we make it all the easier for Al Qaeda to find recruits from within those communities. Islamophobia will backfire on us  -  and simply magnify the very threat it presumes to address.

Also don't forget that ex- Labour foreign secretary Jack Straw suggested women who wear veils can make community relations harder. And recall Polly Toynbee of the Guardian, who likes to be thought of as a model of political correctness and a champion of the oppressed. As long ago as 1997 she wrote: 'I am an Islamophobe, and proud of it.'