Self-censorship, while less abhorrent than imposed censorship, is none- theless deeply alarming. It is an unhealthy society in which people feel constrained about what they can and cannot say. Good taste certainly dictates that caution may occasionally be advisable. Free speech confers responsibility. But to rewrite 400-year-old texts because they may not perfectly reflect contemporary concerns is a dangerous precedent. It is therefore with a sense of unease that we report the tweaking of Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great in order to protect Islamic sensibilities.

There are two broad concerns. Producers are not “improving” Marlowe by wielding their pens or making him more palatable to modern-day tastes. They are merely short-changing their audiences. And where does it lead? Shakespeare would need a thorough overhaul. No more references to “the Turk”. Shylock could be made less Jewish, or demand a mere drop of blood.

The other worry is more serious. The Muslim Council of Britain, with admirable common sense, cannot understand the fuss about Marlowe’s depiction of the burning of the Koran. But there will be wild voices in some Muslim communities who will greet the compromise with glee and seek to leverage it; the cultural mission creep of political correctness is endless. We are a confident enough society not to require a 21st-century Thomas Bowdler taking ludicrous judgments about what is and is not acceptable on our behalf. The 7/7 bombings understandably gave everyone a pause for thought. But none of the social or political issues they raised are solved by censoring a great Elizabethan play.