She added: "Why are people hung up about the length of my veil and how many times a day I pray?"

The answer, I think, is that her religion is an essential part of her political identity.

A 'personal thing' becomes a public thing when you exploit it for political ends.

Lady Warsi stood unsuccessfully against Mr Malik in the General Election in Dewsbury, but her defeat did not prevent Michael Howard and his successor David Cameron recognising her potential.

Cameron appointed her Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and she has become a baroness.

I'm not saying that Lady Warsi has only got where she is because she's a Muslim. She undoubtedly has many qualities – as her background in criminal law and her charity work suggest.

But whether she likes it or not, her faith is fundamental to her political identity.

There is no reason why politicians should not use their faith for political ends; it's when they try to have their cake and eat it that people get riled.

When Alistair Campbell famously batted away questions about Tony Blair's faith by saying: 'We don't do God,' that was the PR man speaking, trying to protect his boss from straying into controversial territory.

Campbell knew, as Sayeeda Warsi surely knows, that to specifically state one's level of orthodoxy is to risk alienating those who don't share it.

But we all know Blair's religion influenced his politics. His tendency to see the world in terms of good and evil was crucial to much of what he did – whatever you might think of the results.

And Gordon Brown has sought to make a virtue of his religious background, crediting it with providing him a 'moral compass.'

There is potential for politics to take inspiration from religion, Islam included, to benefit us all.

Islam's resistance to intoxication, greed and sexual license could surely have a role to play in tackling some of the sicknesses of the world – binge drinking, the credit crisis and the ubiquity of porn.

Lady Warsi herself has identified the need for greater understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

In a well-argued piece in the Yorkshire Post last year she wrote: "Politicians who want to engage with our minority faith or race communities have to do a lot more than the photocall outside the mosque or church or temple. You've got to go inside, sit down, talk and listen."

But this cuts both ways. If there's a lot of poisonous ignorance concerning Islam sloshing about, it is surely down to Muslims in the public sphere to do their bit to clear it up, and that means lifting the veil on their faith.

If politicians wants to keep their faith private, fine. But when that faith is an integral part of what they do they can expect to be asked about it, and should have the answers ready.
l awolstenholme
@ywng.co.uk