As ever, the headlines are more sensational than the speech, but marginally so in this
case. Baroness Warsi has asserted that Islamophobia is rife and socially acceptable in Britain. It is a peculiarly crass statement
for an ordinary politician to have made, but, then again, the gabbing Baroness is a very ordinary politician.
Some of her speech is sensible, even unanswerable. She attacks the media and the arts for ‘the patronising, superficial way faith is discussed in certain quarters.’ Questioning faith is the natural and welcome adjunct of a free society, but specific criticism is morphing into general hostility. Elements of the Jewish community walk in fear of rising anti-Semitism; the Pope’s visit was threatened by a preposterous attempt to arrest the Pontiff for crimes against humanity; often, the Catholic Church is described
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