The supporters of defensive jihad practise the same policies when they seize power in "occupied Muslim lands". The absurdity of calling them anti-imperialists or comparing them to the anti-colonial nationalists of the 20th century ought to be evident.

Nor is the phrase "Muslim lands", which I hear Western broadcasters use too often, as neutral as it seems. Are they the lands controlled by Turkey during the widest extent of the Ottoman Empire, which would include most of the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus Emirate and large parts of Eastern Europe? Spain or India? What about Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines? What about Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia? What about Western countries with substantial Muslim populations? Not all Salafi-jihadis have the same definition of the territory they plan to liberate. The Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiyah, for instance, has in mind an Asian version of the Caliphate stretching from southern Thailand through Malaysia across Indonesia and into the Philippines, which would link with other branches established by al-Qaeda. But whichever way you cut it, fanatics who wish to establish a global caliphate are pro- rather than anti-imperialist. This is hardly a secret. But for far too many Westerners it is a secret in plain view, which is not talked about — or, more importantly, not thought about.

To Meredith Tax and Gita Sahgal the sight of people who call themselves human rights defenders going along with the omerta is close to unbearable. I heard them speak at the launch of the Centre for Secular Space in Toynbee Hall, east London, and understood their anger. For Tax and Sahgal, the UN Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most optimistic documents in history, the benchmark against which governments, corporations and, indeed, defensive jihadis must be judged. To see it ignored by the very people who claim to defend human rights has forced them to change their assumptions. As they point out, a state or pan-Islamic empire ruled by a hardline version of Sharia law directly contravenes just about every clause in the declaration. Article 7 states "all are equal before the law", not that Muslims are more equal than non-Muslims, or that Shia Muslims in Iran are more equal than Sunni Muslims, or that Sunni Muslims in Pakistan are more equal than Shia Muslims, or that men everywhere are more equal than women anywhere. Article 18 states "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion", not that the punishment for blasphemy or apostasy is death.

As for "Islamophobia", feminists have had that charge thrown at them so often that they have come to doubt the motives of their accusers. Obviously fascist groups and some nationalist politicians do their best to whip up prejudice against immigrants and are currently focusing on Muslims for that purpose. But is discrimination against Muslims worse than, say, racism against people of Caribbean descent in the UK or Latinos and African-Americans in the US? If police harassment is a criterion, young Caribbean men are the group that suffers the most.