I feel that Masood from Blackburn has made a really good point about our community not doing enough to improve the situation here in the UK.

Yes, there is a large tendency to get involved in discussions about the Middle East, but there is nothing wrong with that.

Muslims know that the Middle East is the geographical focal point of Islam and therefore the grave injustices suffered by the Muslims there should not be ignored.

However, in support of Masood's comments, I wholeheartedly believe that issues of our local communities are being neglected.

Racism towards Asians, particularly against Muslims, is rife and we need to proactively address this.

Not by protesting in the streets, but by actively working with other communities to bridge the huge gulf that still exists today.

There appears to be two extreme sides to our community, those who are very westernised and not really in touch with their traditional values, and those who are very traditional and wouldn't dream of mixing with non-Asian cultures. Why can't we have a balance?

And more importantly, why are Asians segregated from each other? For example, I know in a lot of cases Pakistanis don't want to mix with Bengalis and vice versa.

It's ridiculous as the two communities have absolutely everything in common!

A lot of these problems stem from the older generation, who are largely stuck in their ways. But someone needs to make a change, and I think we (the younger generation) need to take that initiative.

Rani, Rossendale

Via e-mail