The latest on the London bombings (please NOT 7/7!) is that the bombers were 4 lads from Leeds. This is apparently the nightmare scenario. The true nightmare I believe is that this is an open door to hate-mongers in the UK to whip anti-muslim, anti-asian, anti-anyone-who-doesnt-look-like-me feeling. But with this threat comes one positive opportunity I think.

I don't believe you can win a war against terrorism militarily or through intelligence or legislation. The most our government and security forces can do is thwart terrorists from executing their outrages. Of course they can also help in not doing things that will give collateral material to extremists, such as invading Iraq. However we've done that and much as I approve of how Tony Blair has responded to the bombings I WISH someone in the government had the guts to admit that, just possibly, the war in Iraq may have had something to do with it. But no - officially at least, there is no link. For shame.

Terrorism will only be "defeated" when people see a real alternative or no longer believe in its effectiveness, or indeed are no longer attracted to the cause itself. The government can't make that happen; only the Islamic community itself can do that. And that's why I see a crumb of hope in the awful news that the suicide bombers were Brits. Because it will make it starkly clear to community leaders that they must put their house in order. An ostrich-like response is no longer enough, they must take on the extremists and perverters of Islamic doctrine. And this is the glory of free speech: let the extremists talk and identify themselves and then let's take them on. Shine the light of truth on them and they will wilt.

The wider community has a part to play in this. Our part is to support and encourage, to not invade any more countries, to fight Islamaphobia and anything that will give ammunition to people who want to alienate our youth.

At work today I was wondering what I can do. Not much I thought but I wanted to reach out to the Muslim community if only in a small way. So I went up the Shepherds Bush mosque this evening because I wanted to talk to someone. Usually there are people hanging around the front but today there were none. I decided to go inside and taking off my shoes I walked in. The main room was cool and tranquil after the noise of the Uxbridge Road on a very muggy July evening. A few chaps were praying but I approached a man sitting against the back wall.

"Assalam alaikum" I greeted him
"wa alaikum assalam" he replied

He was a small man, probably about 50 years old. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say but I asked if I could talk to him for a second. It took a while to get the message across but it was clear he was happy to talk to me. I explained that after the events of the last week I was worried about a backlash against the Islamic community and I just wanted to come and say that I was with them and offer my support. He said how awful the bombing had been and what a tragedy for all. I agreed with him on that and thanked him for his time. We shook hands and as I left he said "Thank you, thank you very much, thank you". Maybe it was just gesture politics on my part but it felt like something worth doing.