British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett:
"But let us deny the terrorists the historical importance they claim to themselves. They have no right to speak for the great and noble faith of Islam. This is a not a battle between civilisations but a stand-off between the whole of society on the one hand and a fairly small and particularly nasty bunch of murderers and criminals on the others.
In practical terms that means avoiding the temptation to artifically polarise debate.
I've seen it so often in the long-running debate on climate change: wheel out the resident sceptic, however unrepresentative or discredited, to generate tension and voice provocative views in the name of editorial balance.
It makes for more heated exchanges and louder headlines. But it is not the way to build a common consensus on the ground we share. And when it comes to counter-terrorism that is positively dangerous. It buys into the twisted rhetoric of division, so assiduously fostered by those who are the enemies of us all.
So when the next story about relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in this country hits the headlines lets look for other voices than those that represent a tiny minority viewpoint on one side or the other – and offer the microphone to measured, mainstream voices who have the credibility and influence to tackle extremist distortions and offer a genuinely more balanced interpretation of events.
In other words, we should let the extremists bark in the night while we, the vast moderate majority, find a common way to defeat them and the terrorism they espouse.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The extremists talk of a clash of civilisations, of an implacable war between Muslims and non-Muslims.
But there is no such clash, no such war.
There is only the determined struggle of the vast majority of civilised people in the world who want to live, work and prosper together against a few who would drag that world into chaos.
One of the most chilling statements I have ever heard was made by one of the British men responsible for last July’s bombing, Shezhad Tanweer. He was repeating a mantra used many times before by Al Qaeda. He said that those who sent him to his death would be victorious because 'We love death in the same way that you love life'.
No. And that is why the terrorists will lose. Whatever their religion or creed, whatever their colour, the peoples of every country in the world love life with a ferocity that the terrorists will never match."
Where to start, where to start? With her attempt to denigrate terrorists and their supporters by comparing them to people who don't toe the liberal line on global warming?
With the various polls that show a significant minority of British Muslims to be terrorist sympathizers?
Those would be good, but I think the most ridiculous statement has to be the last sentence I quoted. Western Europe clearly doesn't love life enough to pass it on by having children...
