Most Muslims will know of the endemic tension that exists in some mosques between ethnic groups and which even three generations on from immigration is still deep enough to become violent. To be a Muslim, on the other hand, is to have a racially and religiously inclusive outlook, one which does not seek to efface ethnicity but which is not imprisoned by it either. The crisis of identity is exacerbated by a leadership vacuum. One conspicuous change in the aftermath of the Bradford riot was that there was no knee-jerk recourse to the Council of Mosques. Not that these bushy old men who speak Bradistani were ever held in any esteem, but their absence did expose a gaping void.
Deprivation is another factor.
I was in Bradford Three earlier this year and could not but be astonished by its Dickensian poverty and squalor. Parts of east Lancashire such as Burnley and Nelson, and the north Manchester satellite towns of Rochdale and Oldham are just as neglected. The conditions breed crime, much of it drug-related. This, despite the million-pound regeneration grants showered like confetti over Bradford. One is entitled to ask where this money is being spent.