JOAN McAlpine (July 14) says Muslims must do more to combat terror. It would be the easiest thing in the world for me to join many Muslim leaders to say exactly that.

This begs the question - did Muslims really hear people threatening violence in this country but do nothing about it? I can say without reservation that if I had ever seen or met anyone proposing or hinting at bombings I would have no hesitation in reporting them. The reality is we don't know who these people are, even their families didn't.

The prime minister has of course welcomed this attitude and indeed led from the front on it. "In the end, this can only be taken on and defeated by the [Muslim] community itself, " he said on Wednesday.

By doing this he put the onus on Muslims to defeat terror, handily absolving himself of all responsibility. Muslims are not in denial of our duties as above. But much like global poverty, world peace can only be achieved by the prime minister and his powerful allies.

There is a phenomenon at play here, and it is Mr Blair who is in denial about his role in this. He was told by the security services that his and Bush's war in Iraq would put us in more danger, not less. Had Iraq not happened we would still be facing problems. But Iraq is the current front through which violence is being funnelled.

The Italian Parliament have now braced themselves for an attack on their soil. Why do they think they are next and not, say Norway?

Jack Straw this week apologised for Britain's role in the Srebrenica massacre. This is welcome, but these apologies need extended to Britain's more explicit roles in creating the injustices in the Muslim world. From the mess left in Kashmir, to the promising of one people's land to another in Palestine. Apologies would be a start, but need a recognition of our mistakes, coupled with a commitment not to repeat these errors.

Either you can think these suicide bombers are part of Islam, or an irrational reaction to the injustice taking place in the world.

If it's the first you have to explain why this hasn't existed for the 1400 years of the religion.

Osama Saeed, Scottish spokesperson, Muslim Association of Britain, 16 Queen's Crescent, Glasgow.

THE HERALD'S reporting of the London bombings has been firstclass, but some of the comment has been alarming and depressing.

On Friday we have letters from the usual suspects, who see every world event through the prism of the Iraq war. It's time they moved on: Iraq is now a democracy, albeit a troubled one. More worrying have been the articles by some of your columnists. First we had Melanie Reid arguing for draconian measures aimed particularly at Muslims. That way lies disaster.

Then on Thursday we had Joan McAlpine writing that "Islam should . . . deal with extremists".

That's about as helpful as saying that the Catholic Church should deal with the IRA, or the Church of Scotland should tackle the disorder after Orange Oder marches.

In fact we all have a responsibility to deal with extremists. The only way to defeat them is to behave with tolerance towards our fellow citizens, to respect diversity, to make society more equal and more open, not repressive and closed.

Leading figures from Britain's Muslim communities have worked incredibly hard to tackle the problem of alienated youths. The terrorists and their backers who struck in London are a challenge to us all. Despite Melanie Reid's scorn, the deputy chief commissioner of the Metropolitan Police was right: the words "Islamic" and "terrorist" don't go together. We're all in this together, and if we stick together we will emerge from this crisis with our values and society intact.

Doug Maughan, 52 Menteith View, Dunblane.