COMING from a large cosmopolitan family with connections in many different countries, I grew up fascinated by the world’s rich diversity of language, cuisine, art, philosophy and religion.

I inherited the belief that there is much we have to learn from each other, and that more unites us as human beings than divides us according to race or nationality.

That is the basis of my letters to HAS. If BNP prospective parliamentary candidate Adam Walker (HAS, Nov 5) wants to call it “political correctness”, that’s up to him.

His fears of an “Islamised Britain” are unfounded. Muslims constitute between three and four per cent of Europe’s population, and their birth rates are falling in line with national averages.

High birth rates are associated with poverty and illiteracy, not religion. Burundi, East Timor and Congo, which are mainly Christian, have among the world’s highest birth rates.

Tunisia, which is 99 per cent Muslim, has a similar birth rate to France – slightly above Britain, slightly below Ireland.

Furthermore, for many Muslim thinkers, Western ideals of democracy and pluralism are in line with Islamic principles, and the very notion of an “Islamic state” is anathema.

Most Turkish people are Muslim and also opposed to an Islamic state.

Pete Winstanley, Durham.

RE Adam Walker’s letter headed “Islamised Britain” (HAS, Nov 5). I recently attended a church meeting where the preacher addressed the congregation on the subject of Islam. He stated, that with Muslims establishing their own schools, one wonders how their kids will acquire our values and be able to integrate into our society, and concluded by giving a warning that the congregation should stay vigilant, because Muslims were trying to take over.

I was shocked by this and sent the preacher the following email: “With living in a multiracial and multi-religious society, I would like to know what you mean by our values and our society. I take it, you do not mind Christians establishing their own schools. It is the responsibility of a preacher, when addressing a public meeting, not to say anything which can be interpreted as inducing either religious or racial hatred, such as expressing Islamophobia.”

I have yet to receive a reply.

If Christians truly believe that Christ died on the Cross for all mankind, they should be extremely careful over what they say about people of other faiths.

Keith Dewison, Billingham.