David Hayes (London, oD): The instant reaction of John Smeaton, a baggage-handler at Glasgow airport, to a stramash involving one of the would-be perpetrators of mass murder at his place of work on Saturday 30 June has made him - in a by-now familiar and very modern process - an almost-as-instant internet hero, with at least one website dedicated to his act of bravery.
After catching a brief TV interview with John Smeaton on Sunday, what stayed in my mind (apart from the Glasgow patriotism) were the words "civic duty".
Three days later, on 3 July, the Muslim Council of Britain released a statement in the name of its secretary-general, Muhammad Abdul Bari. In denouncing the attempted attacks, and expressing thanks to political leaders for their response, it declared that "(it) is our Islamic duty not only to utterly and totally condemn such evil actions, but to provide all the necessary support to prevent such atrocities from taking place."
Words contain worlds. The choice embodied in these two phrases, "civic duty" and "Islamic duty" - and the relationship between them - will help shape the future of Britain for the next decade and beyond.
