This is not about turning the other cheek, it is about looking to a brighter future which sees equality for the oppressed — whether the downtrodden woman in Afghanistan or the downtrodden Catholic schoolgirl in north Belfast.

Any targeted campaigns we involve ourselves in, now or in the future, should be combined with real diplomatic efforts in the Middle East to resolve the problems that initiated the September 11th attacks, and humanitarian aid to the ordinary people of Afghanistan and others in order that they do not grow up into the next generation of international terrorists.

We cannot turn the other cheek to terrorism but we must also recognise that most of those who we are hurting by this war are not and never have been terrorists.

We seem to have perfected the art of turning the other cheek to terrorism when it involves the name of Christianity in its perpetration. Maybe we should look towards our own attitudes to Northern Ireland before launching seemingly endless attacks against Afghanistan.

Mahatma Gandhi said of the great Christian tenet, “If every person followed the idea of ‘an eye for an eye’ then very soon everyone would be blind”. The message for a lenient response comes from many quarters and religions.

We can resist the temptation of rising to the bait set before us, by offering support both to the victims of terrorist attacks and to the Muslim communities who are suffering the effects of people's hatred and misunderstanding.

Jesus commanded us to because he knew that to retaliate to terrorism with anything else would not make any impact on them. However, if we respond with love God can use that to show them his glory. The ‘Christian’ West has missed a huge opportunity.