Islamophobia Watch

"A clergyman in East London has been kicked in the head by Asian youths, one of whom screamed the words 'f------- priest' at him. Police are treating the attack on Canon Michael Ainsworth, vicar of Hawksmoor's magnificent St George-in-the-East, Wapping, as a 'faith hate' crime. But was it? A lot hangs on the answer. Does the use of a single word automatically turn a savage but common assault into a new (and essentially artificial) category of crime, or has the tide of Islamic anti-Christian persecution reached these shores?

"... The Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme and a friend of Canon Ainsworth, reacted to the attack by calling for 'condemnation of this cowardly behaviour by senior Muslims in the community'. There may well have been some condemnation – I haven't tracked it down so far – but can you imagine how much louder the outcry from would have been from church leaders if a Wapping imam had been kicked in the head by Christian youths?"

Damian Thompson at Holy Smoke, 16 March 2008

For the response of local Muslim leaders to the attack, see the East London Advertiser 

Update:  See also Inayat Bunglawala's piece at Comment is Free