I BELIEVE that, at long last, I am seeing signs that Western civilisation might not die of political correctness after all.

People are beginning to wake up to the fact that the West is under a dire and murderous threat from militant Islam. Now, of course, I shall have to begin with a disclaimer, for the simple reason that the collectivists, the multi-culturalists and all those in our own country who actually hate the traditional English way of life - and there are an awful lot of them - will read my words and immediately dismiss me as a "racist". Or rather they will misread my words. In fact I have not said that all Muslims are bad: indeed some of them are very good.

But it is a matter of truth. And let us hope to God that truth still counts for something: against the politically-correct brigade who will do anything to advance their vile cause and disparage our civilisation, even when this means siding with the Islamofascists who want to destroy us all. Here then are some truths about militant Islam and the general mentality of the Arab world.

Most of the Muslim states do not allow free speech or a free press. But that's only the start of it: Islamic leaders inhabit a rich and privileged existence while oppressing their own people. Much Islamism results in appalling terror and the abuse of freedom - indeed the abuse of ordinary humane conventions of decency. Those bleeding heart lefties and do-gooders who complain about standards of British justice ought to attend to the fact that in most Muslim countries there is no justice, only a vengeful application of ancient and murderous taboos. The blasphemy laws in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia decree the death penalty for the most minor infringements of Muslim traditions and beliefs.

There are cruel and inhumane punishments for the most minor crimes of theft and sexual misdemeanour. While these same bleeding heart liberals in Britain bleat about the conditions in our prisons, they ought to visit the jails in Saudi Arabia where prisoners are incarcerated without trial and often brutalised and raped.

In Sudan and Indonesia, Christians and members of other non-Muslim faiths are constantly persecuted and displaced. In Britain, Muslims have freedom of religion and their mosques have been constructed all over the place. And with what result? That these same mosques are used by the firebrand mullahs to preach the virtue of suicide bombings against us.

But in Saudi Arabia, Christianity is outlawed completely. As a Christian priest caught saying Mass in Riyadh, I would likely be imprisoned. It is not even permissible under that totalitarian regime to wear a crucifix openly. Those who protest that there are not full gay rights in England should consider the attitude towards homosexuals in most of the Muslim countries: there homosexuals are regarded as less than human. And the punishment for adultery is stoning or whipping to death.

As Ian Philip wrote in one of the Sunday papers: "We do not need to get into whether one society is superior to another. All we need to say is that Islam is incompatible with our society". Please do not let us die of our political correctness.

* Peter Mullen is Rector of St Michael's, Cornhill, in the City of London, and Chaplain to the Stock Exchange.