While I agree that the Government has been ineffectual in its response to the Abu Hamzas and Omar Bakris, it is imperative that Muslims reverse the victim mentality that has gripped them. It is this that allows extremism to fester.

More than 80 per cent of those polled feel it is unacceptable for the police to view Muslims with greater suspicion on the ground that the 7/7 bombers shared their faith. But what do British Muslims expect? I would rather be stopped and searched to prevent a terrorist attack than not on the ground of political correctness. These are difficult times and the police must act with respect and sensitivity, but they must be supported in maintaining security.

The fact that 7 per cent of Muslims believe that suicide attacks on British civilians are justified in certain circumstances is deeply disturbing. If this reflected the opinions of Britain’s 1.6 million Muslims then more than 100,000 people would see nothing wrong in another 7/7. And that nearly half of Muslims believe further suicide bombings in Britain are highly unlikely or unlikely compared with 16 per cent of the general population is indicative of an acute sense of denial. I have met scores of highly educated Muslims who still buy the conspiracy theory nonsense that 9/11 was a Mossad plot.

The poll suggests how far we have to go to bridge the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain. Unsurprisingly, half of those questioned cited Britain’s role in Iraq as the principal reason for the London bombings, but it would be simplistic to assert that Muslim hostility to the West began with the invasion. More worrying is that 56 per cent feel that the War on Terror is a War against Islam. The battle for Muslim hearts and minds is clearly being lost.

The poll also exposes the gulf between how Muslims see themselves and how the wider population sees them. Nine out of ten Muslims believe that their community makes a valuable contribution to Britain; only 59 per cent of the general public agree.

That Muslims and nonMuslims agree that Muslims must do more to integrate into mainstream British culture is encouraging. How that culture is defined in a post-multicultural context, and what form such integration should take, poses a huge challenge for us all.

The writer was a Conservative parliamentary candidate at the 2001 and 2005 general elections

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