Islamophobia...

One problem with Islam - one problem out of many - is the Muslim insistence that they are entirely correct, in every particular of their religious beliefs, and that everybody else must therefore be entirely wrong. There is no tradition, in Islam, for subjecting the Quran to any kind of critical re-assessment. That would mean criticising the creator of the universe, who they insist wrote every word, and that isn’t going to happen. The figure of Mohammed, too, is considered to be impervious to criticism.

Literary ‘perfection’ for the Quran, moral ‘perfection’ for Mohammed: these two convictions, when juxtaposed, create a perfect barrier to constructive dialogue. In an article in today’s Guardian, Shada Islam argues against the “racism”, “Islamophobia” and “anti-Islamic political discourse” around Europe. She decries the “diatribes conflating Islam, extremism and terrorism”, while denying that this divisive and intolerant faith has any case to answer.

Licenced today: a Yodel delivery van…