We don't have a 'Muslim problem', we have a problem of Islamophobia

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Sun journalist Trevor Kavanagh wrote that Britain has a 'Muslim problem' in his most recent Sun column (DAVID SANDISON)

The Sun‘s column by Trevor Kavanagh is yet more proof that Islamaphobia has become socially acceptable in the UK. This is yet another attempt to dig a chasm between Muslims and non-Muslims and fan the embers of hate, discord, social segregation, alienation and intolerance.

The vast majority of Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding people and have been vocal in disavowing all forms of terrorism perpetrated by the very few in their midst. It is time to revisit the Amman message that focuses on the magnanimous message of Islam and other divine faiths as an address of brotherhood, fraternity and humankind.

Dr Munjed Farid Al Qutob
London NW2

The Sun saying there is a “Muslim problem” is a bit like saying that all Christians feel Trump has the right to blow up North Korea or kill those involved in abortions. It is a generalisation used to inflame. I am sure many Muslims feel outraged at the accusation along with many others.

Alan Derbyshire
Address supplied

Why we have austerity despite low unemployment

With the lowest unemployment rates for 37 years, we should expect above average tax revenues and below average benefit costs. The 95.6 per cent who are employed should be able to provide a reasonable standard of living for the 4.4 per cent who are not. Yet we have austerity. Why?

The obvious culprits are low wages and excessive housing costs. Both can, and should have been, remedied. The minimum wage should be a living wage that does not need government subsidies. Any consequent inflation is just removing a government subsidy on our consumerism.

Rents should reflect the cost of building houses with a reasonable cost for land. Allowing a shortage of housing to push house prices to their astronomical level has been foolhardy and the Government must help increase supply, ensure the banks are acting prudently and stop the economy being dominated by London.

Jon Hawksley
London EC1R

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A dog’s Brexit

The Government is “making it up as they go along” writes Ben Chu… making a dog’s Brexit of it?

Bernard Cross
Hemel Hempstead

Is there a moral equivalence between Trump and Corbyn?

No doubt there is a case against President Trump suggesting moral equivalence between the white supremacists and the anti-racists in Charlottesville. I cannot be the first though to have noticed this is precisely the approach adopted by Jeremy Corbyn regarding Venezuela. So far from condemning President Maduro, he has contented himself with a statement of opposition towards “violence on all sides”.

Edward Thomas
Eastbourne

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Don’t demonise cyclists

Let’s pray the case of the teenage cyclist accused of killing a pedestrian doesn’t make for more hate campaigns against cyclists.

Might I remind the nation of the 2012 editorial by Richard Nye, editor of The Richmond Magazine: “The only good cyclist is a dead one”.

In 1896, Bridget Driscoll was the first UK pedestrian to be killed in an automobile collision. As she crossed Dolphin Terrace in the grounds of the Crystal Palace, she was struck by – in the words of one witness – a car travelling at “a reckless pace, in fact, like a fire engine”.

In 2015, 100 cyclists were killed or seriously injured.

In 1991, aged 43, I was left for dead with serious head/brain injuries by a negligent driver. Since then I’ve been hit 12 times by careless and lawless drivers, once by a loose dog, and five of my cycling pals have been killed.

When “time is money”, few drivers want to slow down for anything. When drivers have been held-up by traffic lights and congestion, they don’t want to be held up by cyclists. We need to act now to improve road safety, or vulnerable road-user deaths will only increase.

Allan Ramsay
Radcliffe