"Accusations of 'braindeadness' are facile, Jim."
No Mike, they are not
Anybody who sets out to deliberately to persecute or terrorise people because of their race, etnicity, religion... deserve the description of 'braindead, from 'Paki-bashers' to the passive thugs who egg them on by advocating racial or cultural inferiority from the comfort and safety of their keyboards.
Islam is no more or less dangerous than any other religion taken to extremes, especially when it gains the support and becomes entangled with politics - until all religions become a matter of personal choice and are totally divorced from the running of the state they will continue to be a threat.
"UK has racists like any country Jim, but is more tolerant than most."
Not in my experience and not in the experience of British Pakistanis who are 10 times more likely to be persecuted than any other ethnic group.
Following the Lawrence murder, the police force as a whole was declared to be "institutionlly racist" - changes were initiated, but the problem of racism is still an issue within the British establishment, as shown by the racial flashpoint that preceeded last years riots (and numbers of other early similar disturbances).
Britain as a whole is far from racially tolerant, and that situation is set to intensify given the present economic climate.
Jim Carroll