I was a guest on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Good Morning With Cathy Macdonald’ along with Martin Palmer, broadcaster and Secretary General of Alliance of Religions and Conservation, Islamic scholar Shaykh Hassan Rabbani, and Shagufta Anwar.

Part 1

(click on the above player to play the discussion or download it here: part 1  )

In the first part of the discussion, Martin, Shaykh Rabbani and I discussed:

• The aftermath of the Paris terrorist attacks
• The Scottish Muslim community’s strong condemnation of terrorism
• Interfaith response and discernment
• The ‘war on terror’ and the Middle East
• The refugee crisis and the agenda of ISIS
• Boko Haram and media attention on terrorism in Europe vs rest of the world
• Alternatives to radicalisation of young people
• Saudi Arabia’s funding of Islamic extremism
• Education for children and young people
• Scotland’s success story of diverse peaceful communities
• The history of migration into Scotland and the welcoming of refugees
• Anti-Irish racism in Scotland and fear-based rhetoric
• Islam as a way of life, not a faith
• Post-Christian culture
• Faith as commitment of heart and mind
• The decline in alcoholism among teenagers
• Inter-religious sharing
• Social media as a conversation of solidarity
• Religion as ‘re-ligio’: binding together of community

Part 2 

(click on the above player to play the discussion or download it here: part 2 )

In part 2 of the discussion, Martin Palmer, Shagufta and I discuss:

• The connection between faith and action on climate change
• What Islam has to say about caring for creation
• The risk of hypocrisy in religious leadership
• Climate change as a symptom of consumerism and breakdown of community
• The papal encyclical Laudato Si’ and Pope Francis’ personal example
• COP 21 climate change negotiations in Paris
• Climate change and conservation as a matter of values
• Inner peace as essential for outer peace
• Sharia law as future care
• Anthropocentric worldviews and how they impact on the planet
• Communities and individuals’ capacities for leadership
• Changing the whole system, not just changing lightbulbs
• Government’s failure to take effective action
• What the future holds
• Behaviour change vs touching hearts
• Optimism vs hope

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06psy74

Full credit for the material is attributed to the copyright owner, BBC Scotland. I host it here as fair use for archival and educational purposes as the broadcast is no longer hosted on the BBC iPlayer.