Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillips tells us that “it is very important to separate moderate Muslims from Islamists”. But this poses the question: “how can you tell a genuine moderate from the dissimulators?”

And yes, you guessed it, the answer is that “the issue that defines true Muslim moderation is the absence of any hostility towards Israel”.

So, by that criterion, Mad Mel’s list of moderate Muslims would include Irshad Manji and … well, nobody else comes to mind, really.

According to Phillips, even Ed Husain is an extremist. When he opposed Israel’s assault on Gaza she accused him of adopting “the very narrative and rhetoric that are driving Muslims to mass murder”!