There can be little doubt that the conservative think tank, Policy Exchange timed the release of its report, The Hijacking of British Islam with exacting precision. With those perennial bad boys of international politics, the Saudis in town, tea cups were already clattering in the cosseted world of Middle England as over-zealous fears of Islamic Extremism reared their ugly heads again.

This report, from the authors of such memorable publications as Living Apart Together: British Muslims and the paradox of multiculturalism, documents the discovery of extremist literature in mosques across the nation, not least our very own Edinburgh Central Mosque on Potterow. And so, while a gathering storm of Islamophobia brewed last week following John Simpson’s tetchy interview with King Abdullah, the report was certain to set Fleet Street hearts fluttering with dreams of sensational headlines. But as integrationists who explicitly aim for a British society in which social and cultural differences are neatly ironed out, has the report done anything to further the think tank’s cause?

Prior to the report, few in Edinburgh would have had cause to suspect or fear the worshippers at our Central Mosque. With regular open doors days, tours of the Mosque, exhibitions on Islamic history and art and a daily open-air curry kitchen there could hardly be a more pleasant example of a community seeking to positively interact with the city at large. Look no further than August this year, when our Muslim neighbours served food nightly in a beer-sodden Festival bar for an example of just how far they are prepared to run with the idea of social cohesion.

So what has this report achieved? For many Muslims in Edinburgh, it has probably sparked doubts about developing a relationship with the city any further; for the less enlightened non-Muslim, it has probably contributed a little more to an irrational fear of Islam and its followers. But for the average citizen of Edinburgh – for us as students – this report has only served to leave a bad taste in the mouth. There is no extra anxiety about the goings on in a building so familiar to many of us, but a relationship with those seeking inclusion, togetherness and community in Edinburgh has been affected by the work of a group who have never contributed anything to the life of this city.