12/09/2011

When the hijackers directed their planes into the Twin Towers in New York, it was religion as well as terrorism which hit the headlines. The hijackers had the name of their God on their lips. For many it was a sign that the Clash of Civilisations, the conflict between the Muslim and Christian worlds, had become a dreadful reality. But the events led to an upsurge of interest in Islam and in the question of how religious zealots could justify the wholesale destruction of civilians by reference to its God? What sort of God could that be? Is the God that Muslims worship the same as the Christian God? Wherein lie the differences.? 10 years on the questions remain.Joining Ernie to discuss these questions are Miroslav Wolf, Henry B Q Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School; Mona Siddiqi Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Glasgow; and Father Damien Howard, lecturer in Muslim-Christian Relations at Heythrop College in the University of London.