I'm a woman of colour. I am the daughter of immigrants. I am a Muslim. I am a feminist. I am a lefty liberal.
Like Theresa May, I regularly find myself infuriated by the rantings of Anjem Choudary and other hate preachers.
Extremist movements are driven by their inability to tolerate the basic human fact of pluralism. They refuse to accept the natural cultural and religious diversity of our world, seeking to impose their own beliefs and behaviours as a universal pattern for humanity.
Left to the mercies of their communities, Muslim women and children remain in abusive households and face losing their financial security over issues like child maintenance and inheritance through the judgments of 'sharia' courts.
Rather than shutting down free speech, we need to broaden it, to make it possible for young people to say even the things we dislike so we can talk them down. And we need politicians to articulate a picture of the future that includes all of us. Not British values but shared human values.
A hedonistic lifestyle contrary to all the rules and expectations of Islam is not an unusual precursor to radicalisation: in fact, some young radicals see joining in the jihad as a way of achieving redemption for past sins.
