OVER the years there have been regular attempts by the far right to find a niche in Scottish politics.

Racist and fascist political parties have coalesced, splintered, reformed.

They have never managed to gain a serious foothold, but they have never gone away either.

The politics of hate still exist in our society, even if often staying under the radar.

More recently these movements have spent less energy on electoral politics, but have placed a new priority on street activism, going under names like the Scottish Defence League and its equivalent in England.

Their marches and demonstrations have often been met by far bigger anti-fascist counter-demonstrations, but they can still exploit the atmosphere of hostility and anger which they bring to the streets, allowing them to set an agenda to some extent.

Now this kind of intolerance is finding a new voice across Europe. Adopting the name "Pegida" - which means, in German, Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West - they have held huge anti-Muslim demonstrations in a number of German cities, giving a platform for prejudice and hatred, and leaving many Muslims feeling even more marginalised than before.

It has just been reported that such a demonstration is to be attempted in Scotland.

I have no doubt that once again the anti-fascist and anti-racist presence on the streets will be the larger.

That's important, but in itself it will not defeat the goals of those who seek to divide society along religious lines.

They will thrive on conflict, hostility and controversy, and they will know that this atmosphere will leave many Muslims feeling all the more vulnerable and threatened in Scotland.

If we oppose the politics of hate, we must not allow them to achieve that goal.

Of course the right to protest is an important one, and I have exercised that right on many occasions.

But when the explicit objective of a protest is to "rid these islands of Islam," it's clear that we're taking about a direct threat being made by the organisers against their fellow citizens.

This is by no means a peaceful political protest and the threat to public safety is very real.

Any such event must be met by a strong show of opposition, a peaceful demonstration of the inclusive multicultural Scotland that most of us want to live in.

It must be met by careful and responsible policing.

It must be met by political leadership which does not give ground to extremism, but which directly challenges it.

But most importantly it must be met by a consistent programme of inclusive education, so that everyone in Scotland can value their fellow citizens on the basis of respect, regardless of cultural or religious differences, instead of expecting one another to hide or apologise for those differences.