Liz from Bristol I believe has expressed what many people in the West feel about hijab, beards and prayer. I personally can't grow anything more than stubble. As for the hijab taking women back 500 yrs, Islam gave full rights to women more than 500 yrs before western women got their rights. The fact that many so-called Islamic societies have relapsed into their own tribal customs is not the fault of Islam, which is the religion/ideology that has had the biggest part to play in the progress of mankind. Name and address withheld

I came to England in 1972 from Uganda. There were Muslims living in Leicester, and it was rare to see women wearing hijabs or seeing lots of men with beards and white robes. Then all of a sudden, there were lots of women wearing hijabs and men wearing beards and white robes. It seems to me that this sudden change was caused by some ideological change in the outlook of these people. This questions the oft-quoted argument about "freedom". If it was a quesion of freedom, then we would expect the law of averages to apply; however, here there is something more going on. Ashok Dattani, London

I don't know where Liz, of Bristol, gets the idea that this is a "secular" country. Despite an unusually high degree of personal freedom, as compared with many other countries, Britain is constitutionally a Christian monarchy. The Queen is simultaneously Head of State and Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Edmund Burke, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey

I am a Saudi woman living in London and I am so happy to live and work without wearing hijabs or yashmaqs. I can never understand Muslim women in this country who feel the need to wear medieval dress. Women who wear traditional dress in a country like Saudi Arabia have no choice; women who wear it by choice can be nothing more than fanatics in my opinion. You can be Muslim and you do not have to dress like a circus tent. Amina Al-Gahtani, London

As a "hoodwinked" Muslim woman, I would appreciate being given a little more credit by the likes of Mr Taheri. I made an informed decision to wear the headscarf, based on my own reading of the Holy Quran, and my conviction of its utility in society. It is both frustrating and patronising when Muslims are lumped together and these simplistic statements are made about their practice of faith. I am a Shiite wearing the headscarf, as much an "infidel" in the eyes of wahabi terrorists as any non-Muslim, so how could my scarf be worn in their support? Furthermore, the colour of my headscarf has no religious significance whatsoever, and I will not allow Mr Taheri or Al-Qaeda to hijack any particular colour: I will carry on wearing a black scarf whenever it suits the rest of my outfit. Zahra Al-Rikabi, Oxford

As a Western woman, I experience the wearing of the hijab as an act of aggression against everything women in this society have fought for in the last 500 years. I dress fairly modestly and it's certainly not hard for Moslem women to dress modestly too, without proclaiming their (or rather their menfolks') rejection of our hard-won freedoms. This is a secular country and we should follow the lead of France and the US and discourage the wearing of religious garb in our schools. I'd go so far as to remove religion from school too. Liz, Bristol

In the five years that I lived in the Middle East, young Saudis, to avoid referring to anyone directly by name, would mime stroking imaginary long beards when talking about someone whom they considered a fundamentalist. In the very heartland of Islam the way you dress and present yourself physically is a crucial sign of your political and religious allegiences. I think that it is impossible to dismiss wearing a hijab or long beard and short gown as having no other significance than showing yourself to be extra pious. In my experience, those Muslims who did not make such a fuss about their external appearances were usually the more genuinely devout. Dene Croxford, Southall, Middx

If wearing a hijab or a beard is a longstanding tradition of Islam then not wearing it anymore because an organisation like al-Quaeda is perverting Islam to justify a so-called jihad is the equivalent of refusing to take the Tube to work because of bomb attacks: giving in to terrorism. Maybe the problem lies rather with us "Christians" who stereotype every hijab and beard-wearer as a potential terrorist. I think that the most important thing at the moment is that we keep our unity-in-diversity and refrain from any kind of prejudice. It will lead to disastrous results to persecute and alienate the whole Muslim community by giving them the choice to assimilate or else be regarded as sympathising with Osama Bin Laden. Despite the understandable paranoia right now, we have to differentiate and allow all fellow citizens to dress as they want, without judging at first sight. Julia Carter, London

I do not recall any of the London bombers wearing "hijabs, beards and Taliban-style clothes". Adam Goldman, London

Many Muslims living in Britain and elsewhere in the World who do not wear hijabs or beards, including me, lead a perfectly peaceful and God-fearing lives and they do not feel lesser Muslims because of that. I think people who think wearing a hijab or beard makes them good or better Muslims are, to put mildly, simply wrong. Khalid Abbas, London

There are some Muslim men who have beards and women/girls who wear hijabs just to please their families, unfortunately. A true Muslim, who understands Islam, won't be an extremist. If someone has studied Islam properly, they could see that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) never ordered the killing of innocent people just because they were not Muslims. Every one was free to practice their own religion as long as they didn't disrespect other religions. Britain has given us the same freedom. The backlash after 7/7 is a normal human reaction. I think that if any Christian, Jew or someone from another religion carried out atrocities in a Muslim country their community might face the same kind of reaction. Ali Humair, London

It is unfair for people to launch an attack on an entire faith in response to the actions of a tiny minority. I think we need to stand back, and take things into perspective here. We are all, especially us Londoners, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, deeply disturbed by what has been happening. Not only is it frightening every time my train stops in a tunnel, but I also have to deal with people staring suspiciously and flinching at the slightest move I make. I do understand why they are behaving this way and so instead of taking offence I try and make an extra effort to ensure that I am very conscious of my behaviour so that people do not feel uncomfortable. The current environment is very tense and we should all be doing whatever we can to help reduce this tension but at the same time remain vigilant and responsible. Shabnam Mohammad, London