People, led by the media, are too quick to generalise the beliefs and behaviours of a minority across to a majority. I know the recent publishing of cartoons satirising Mohammed caused offence and triggered a range of violent responses across the globe. Some of the protests in London were chilling, with one man dressed as a suicide bomber, and others holding up signs threatening a new 9/11 for Europe. I’d like to think I can step back and recognise these people as a subset of a minority, and not generalise their rage and provocation to Muslims across the globe. It’s like saying all Christians think and act the same way as the fundamentalist ones who shot and killed the abortion doctor at his clinic.

The interactions of religious movements and factions leave many grey areas, and recent world events add layers of emotion to the history, especially fear, complicating and clouding debates on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I keep coming back to the word ‘co-exist’. You practice your religion, I’ll practice mine, and we’ll have a meal together talking about the things we have in common – our humanity, our lives, our families, our struggles, our jobs, all the things everyone does, regardless of which God they talk to. Is tolerance really too much to ask and expect?