After the July 7 bombings there has been an inevitable increase in race-hate incidents because of a lack of understanding by many people of the difference between fundamentalists or those who twist religious texts to suit their political agenda and genuine believers in a peaceful, civilised faith which has brought great benefits to the wider world.

Yet these incidents would be avoidable if people took the time to learn about the different cultures that make up our modern society and started from the moderate standpoint that the vast majority of people of all communities were horrified by the activities of a tiny number of extremists.

A sad outcome of our intolerance is that the police, Bradford Council, primary health care trusts and the fire service have now felt it necessary to launch a new campaign to combat the growth of race and homophobic hate crime in Bradford. This latest move follows the opening of 40 centres which have been set up where such crimes can be reported without going to a police station.

Although the fact that these centres make it easier to report such crimes has contributed to the apparent growth of them, there is no doubt that Asians of all faiths and nationalities have felt increasingly isolated by the response of some members of public to the London bombings.

This campaign and these new measures shouldn't be necessary because everyone in Bradford should be striving to make the city a safe place to live for all its citizens.