I can't help feeling that the ugly scenes in the Greek capital yesterday, when a mob descended on Muslims gathering for Eid prayers, are going to become more common in Europe. Just as Al-Qaeda scapegoats Christians in Iraq, so Muslims are becoming convenient whipping-boys for rising European anxieties over jobs and immigration. We have been here before.
Two points in this Reuters story are worth picking out. One is that the 1m Muslims in Athens lack a mosque, so must always be "occupying" spaces such as public squares which the Greek Orthodox Christians would consider "theirs". The second is that the Archbishop of Athens supports Muslims being given land to build one on; this is not, in other words, an interreligious dispute.
