“In reality, evidence for ‘Islamophobia’ – as distinct from a justified fear of radical Islamist terrorism or a desire to protect our freedoms, institutions and values from those who hold them in contempt – is anecdotal and slight. I have met one ‘Islamophobe’ – the gay gentleman who cuts my hair, which is hardly a firm basis to jettison centuries of hard-won religious give and take.”

Michael Burleigh in the Daily Telegraph, 9 December 2004