Ministers condemn claim by leading Muslims that Britain's stance is putting this country at risk

What else can they do? The link between our foreign policy and its role in generating terrorism is the elephant in the room they are desperate not to mention. Now they find themselves condemning their own MPs including loyalists for whom career always comes before community. Kim Howells is leading the charge against the enemy within. He says " I have no doubt that there are many issues which incite people to loathe government policies - but not to strap explosives to themselves and go out and murder innocent people.' This is a deliberate and cynical missing of the point as if to say that the muslim community is somehow excusing terrorism rather than highlighting the obvious and damaging effect of deliberate hypocrisy - such as supplying weapons to Israel and obstructing an immediate ceasefire whilst talking about peace. The muslim community is not stupid. No amount of spin and bluster can dress up the real damage caused by anti-muslim policies in support of the Bush Regime and the zionist regime. What is 'dangerous and foolish' is the insistence that there is no connection because that pretence antagonises the community even further. Yes, there has been terrorism in Muslim countries for decades but that was always aimed against West-friendly despots who rule without democratic legitimacy and carry out torture and persecution at the behest of their western political masters. The observer describes the 'controversy over the protest letter' but there is actually no controversy, just a desperate rearguard PR exercise by the Blair government to limit the spread of this kind of thinking into the broader UK electorate. Meanwhile arson attacks are taking place against mosques because of the hysteria and hatred stirred up against ordinary muslim members of the UK public by the governments ever-helpful media attack dogs. Stand by for more calls for muslim leaders to 'tackle the extremism in their midst'. I wish they would exercise this advice for themselves and tackle Blair the extremist in their own midst.