Glad as I am that Gillian Gibbons has made it back to the UK in one piece, without the medieval fringe getting hold of her, I think much of the coverage has missed the point. It dwells heavily on how she didn't intend to insult Islam. Surely we should aspire to a world in which we can criticize on another's beliefs without being threatened - or indeed being referred to as "hateful"?

Not, you understand, that I'l trying to draw parallels between a bit of closed-mind commenting and genuine threats to life and liberty.