Our columnist, Nick Cohen, interviewed Conservative MP Michael Gove this week, about his new book Celsius 7/7: How the West's Policy of Appeasement has Provoked Yet More Fundamentalist Terror - And What Has to be Done Now.
The book, as its title suggests, deals with Gove's belief that there exists in the west a widespread refusal to acknowledge the reality and scale of the threat we face from Islamist terrorism.
In this extract, Gove talks about what motivated him to write the book - including, among other things, an idea he asserts is prevalent amongst the Left, that 'my enemies' enemy is my friend'. Then there's his belief that the most politically radical Muslims have appointed themselves representatives of Muslim Britain, marginalising the majority - a peace loving, constructive and moderate community.
He claims journalists such as John Humphrys 'basically don't believe there is a threat', or think it is a consequence of specific national liberation struggles, which, if solved would result in 'peace on earth and good will to all infidels'. Gove believes it is folly to imagine 'Islamist totalitarianism' would go away as a result of solving the problems in Palestine or Chechnya.
You can listen to Nick Cohen's interview with Gove here and hear what our political correspondents had to say about it on the politics show, here.
