I have long had time for Damon Hill, he has struck me as being not only intelligent (all top drivers are) but also grounded and you cannot say that of all of them.

I was delighted when Damon landed a gig with Sky even though I have no intention of fixing a dustbin lid to my home. What disturbed me was that the very next day Damon rushed to tell us that Bahrain had reformed and it was now okay to race there.

Clearly, Damon is at one with Bernie in not noticing what has been happening. He also has not latched on to the Iranian problem.

Let me spell it out. There is deep trouble between the Shia and Sunni elements of Islam, just as there is between the Catholic and Protestant elements of Christianity.

All priesthood is about power and authority, it always has been. Priests of whatever style always manage to persuade their followers that they possess some magic answer to life's glitches. When Zeus was all the rage, the top job, if you lacked the talent to do anything else, was being his High Priest. The priesthood has always been a pathway to power. Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish priests are as fake as those of Zeus.

Actually, under Zeus we got philosophy, democracy of a sort, drama, comedy, epic poetry, medicine, architecture, pottery, sculpture, everything that makes life worthwhile. Under the god of Jews, Christians and Muslims (a middle-grade Caananite thunder god with good PR) we have had bugger all except hatred and division.

Most of Iran is Shia. Iran is set on a nuclear weapons programme, or so some countries think, which is why there are warships in the Gulf of Hormuz. There are two countries where most of the population is Shia and the ruling minority is Sunni. One is Iraq and the other is Bahrain.

Iraq has been pushed to the rear of the news agenda, but the death toll continues to be horrendous and it is all down to religion. You tell some moron, of which there is no shortage, that he will enjoy 72 virgins in paradise (speaking only for myself, I'd prefer sexually experienced women) and once you have convinced said moron, you have a powerful weapon which can be targeted closer than a smart bomb.

Iraq claimed Kuwait and the West went to war when Iraq invaded. Iran claims Bahrain as a province. The two situations are not the same: Kuwait is oil rich, Bahrain has used most of its oil, but has invested its revenue. What interests Iran is religion and Iran is run by priests.

The thing about priests is that they are always right. They alone possess the magic pill which is the answer to every ill. It is not a coincidence that every fascist regime has sprung from a Catholic country. The Catholic church persecuted heretics, people guilty of thought-crime. Some Islamic clerics are the same. Religious fanatics are all cast from one mould.

There are Islamic countries where it is a capital offence to dare to differ. A while back it was a capital offence in England to be atheist, but we have grown up.

After Damon visited Bahrain, in the company of Jean Todt. a school was the subject of an arson attack. Every country has arson attacks on schools, I have felt like doing it myself, especially when I was a teacher, but this was the 24th attack on a school in five months.

According to Damon, this is normality.

On 27th January, CNN reports that the Bahrain Center for Human Rights claims that four anti-government protesters were killed the previous day, though the Health Ministry insists that one of them, Mohammed Ibrahim Yacoub, died from natural causes.

Damon is the latest in a long line of people who have believed a host nation. On 24th January, 25 Molotov cocktails were thrown in Bahrain. My source is the Gulf Daily News, it is not an underground publication, it is the local newspaper.

Then there is the matter of iron bars being hurled and demonstrations being banned. Damon must surely know about these things. If he doesn't know, then the best thing that he can do is to shut up.

Damon, you travelled to Bahrain with Jean Todt. You got the red carpet treatment and you really should have noticed that you got the special tour. If you really wanted to know what is going on, you could have booked a private visit. Hotels in Bahrain now operate at bargain rates because nobody wants to go there.

You have given a mealy-mouthed account of Bahrain and did not notice that the American Embassy has moved all of its people out of the capital because it is considered too dangerous for them. The USA is an ally of Bahrain, its navy has a major base there.