Why won't the UK Government just ask a couple of simple questions to put all our minds at rest?

It seems that the police and MI5 have today foiled the first ISIS plot to visit terror on the streets of the UK. Not via an invasion but via people who were already here. An 'enemy within' as it were. Telegraph article here.

As things stand, when we seem to be dealing with people for whom death in the name of 'extremist' Islam - killing non-believers - represents a glorious undertaking which brings its reward in 'heaven', it seems to me only a matter of time before the horrors we're seeing in the Middle East are happening here in the UK.

I think one would have to be very optimistic not to think that this is an increasingly likely scenario: We know that there are extremists already living in the UK - significant numbers of them have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS already. And whilst life is (sadly) considerably cheaper in that part of the world, imagine the effect that such terror in the UK would have in terms of this conflict as a whole? It would send shock-waves throughout the world - and similar events are also likely to occur in the US and other European countries.

Unless we act to prevent it. Quickly and comprehensively.

But how can we do that, in our 'don't offend anyone' PC-driven world.

I have had brief conversations on twitter in recent days with an Imam and a Muslim ambassador both of whom were responding to my concerns about the lack of condemnation of the ISIS beheading of Alan Henning.

Both responses are I think responsible and positive. But the thing is when I asked about actually creating dialogue between 'us' (by which I mean ordinary Brits) and the Muslim community, both of these people fell permanently silent. It suggests to me that they might have something to hide. Now I'm not making this accusation of these individuals, but it does suggest to me that they probably know that there is an issue here - in the UK rather than the Middle East - and that it is one which they are uncomfortable confronting.

I've heard people advocating internment as happened before and during WW2 in order to remove the threat that we (I think undoubtedly) face from some elements of the Muslim community as evidenced by people clearly supporting ISIIS in the UK. I think that would be draconian and we're dealing with families who are 'Brits' and have been for several generations. It is simply not going to happen and in my view nor should it.

But - and this is a big 'But' - I do now think that we need to talk to more Muslims and ask the question, in a civilised manner and, crucially, in a public environment, of some our fellow citizens as to how they view the world and where their loyalties lie.

I say 'publicly' because in my view this needs to be an open process that can be 'seen' not just by non-Muslim Brits (in order to reduce tensions), but also by Muslim Brits, some of whom are, I think, bullying their fellows into ignoring or indeed supporting stuff that we really don't want to see in our country.

And this 'stuff' is not just support of ISIS, but electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets, forced marriages, FGM, the grooming of 'white trash' girls in towns and cities across the country by Muslim men of Pakistani 'heritage'. All of which seems to me to be undermining the rule of law in our homeland with the assistance of our PC local authorities, police, the media and Central Government.

If we can, in this civilised manner ask the questions we need answers to, and those answers tell all of us that 'Moderate Muslims' do not support, accept or ignore these hideous crimes, then we might have a strong stance against the extremists in our country and one which can be used to undermine and drive them out.

If, on the other hand we cannot achieve this consensus - that some of the teachings of the Quran are not applicable in our modern world, at least then we will have identified the problem and can then address it as required. Whatever that means.

My concern (I have to say) is that Muslims follow Islam and Islam teaches that the Quran is the unalterable and unquestionable word of God (Allah). And the Quran says that non-believers are kaffirs, unclean, animals and should be forced either to convert to Islam or be killed, usually brutally and in a way which involves detaching their head from their bodies. Now I know that we would see this as a medieval approach, but it seems it is one which is alive and well in our modern world.

The Quran is 700 years younger than our Christian faith (which has some equally barbarous teachings but has also been translated and reinterpreted for modern times). 700 years ago we were burning witches at the stake and burning unbelievers alive. We're not exempt from criticism on that basis, but we do now live in a modern world where secularism is accepted and religious faith is based on personal choice, not enforcement upon pain of death. This does not seem to be the case with Islam in any way shape or form.

So if you are a believer in Islam and also consider yourself a 'moderate Muslim', is there a disconnect between some of the Quranic verses that your religion espouses or not? That is the question we need to ask of some of our fellow citizens, and given the threat we now face not just in the Middle East but here at home, we need, in my opinion, to do so as soon as possible.

If the answer is that there is not a disconnect between the teachings of the Quran and modern life in the UK, we have pretty serious problem in our country.

Thanks for reading.