Its current role deserves serious assessment within a world context, says Kerry Murphy . Fundamentalists range across the spectrum of public discussion - from religion to politics.
Simplicity accounts for the popularity of their views.
But the immigration debate, like life, is full of compexities. It is easy to say that migrants bring jobs, or that immigration raises unemployment levels. The truth will not fit within such simple slogans. Immigration is about people, and is a complex matter affecting our history, culture, religious beliefs and political views. It is about more than the 'ethnic' restaurants.