One act of violence often leads to another, and another, and another. The killing of the British Army soldier, Drummer Lee Rigby, in Woolwich this month has fuelled a wave of retaliatory attacks in the UK - 200 Islamophobic incidents, and counting.
But the action of a group of patrons at a mosque in Bull Lane, York, offers some hope the cycle can be broken. With biscuits.
After reports emerged that the mosque was going to be the centre of a protest by the English Defence League, a far-right group, mosque supporters invited those taking part in the demonstration for tea and snacks. The gesture, followed by a football friendly, helped to quickly quell tensions.
"There is the possibility of having dialogue," Mohammed El Gomati, of the University of York, told the Guardian newspaper. "Even the EDL, who were having a shouting match, started talking and we found out that we share and are prepared to agree that violent extremism is wrong."
The easiest way to react to hate is more of the same; it takes courage to respond in the way supporters of the Bull Lane mosque did on Sunday. With so much animosity - in the UK and elsewhere - the world needs more tea, and less shouting.
