For this episode I am joined by Tharik Hussain, an author, travel writer and journalist specialising in Muslim heritage and culture. His new bestselling book, Minarets in the Mountains; A Journey into Muslim Europe ,is the first by a travel writer to explore indigenous Muslim Europe and the first to do so through the eyes of a Muslim writer. Encountering blonde-haired, blue-eyed Muslims, visiting ancient mosques and discovering rich and vibrant cultures, all the while exploring the historical roots of European Islamophobia. Tharik really does remind us that Europe is as Muslim as it is Christian, Jewish or pagan. I am thrilled to say that the book has been nominated for the UK’s most prestigious non-fiction award, the Baillie Gifford Prize. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Speaking with me is Robbie King who studied Mathematics for his undergraduate degree at Cambridge. He is now going on to do a PHD in quantum mechanics at Caltech. Robbie, with his scientific background, is fascinated by religion and so he is the perfect guest with whom to discuss religion, science, and their relationship. Can they be friends or are they irreconcilable? What are the points of tension, or, are there actually none? 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jayne Ozanne is a gay evangelical Christian who has been heavily involved in campaigning for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community. Jayne has been a key advocate in campaigning for a ban on conversion therapy, as a christian leader and survivor herself of conversion therapy. In March, Jayne resigned her position on the government’s LGBTQ+ advisory panel over the lack of movement to a full ban on these practices.

Trigger warning: conversion therapy is a difficult topic and there are references of rape and abuse within this discussion. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Dr Amal Marogy is an affiliated lecturer at the University of Cambridge and is an intercultural and Middle East specialist. Amal grew up in Iraq, as a Christian, and moved to Belgium with her family in her late teens. Amal gives a first hand account of what it is like to grow up as part of a religious minority. She has since founded two charities to promote minority languages and intercultural exchange between students from different countries. 

Rector of St Matthew’s Church in Bethnal Green, Erin first came to my attention when she was mentioned in the press for the work she is doing in tackling food poverty during the pandemic. We discuss the Church’s place in society, whether it has a role to play in picking up the slack where governments are failing, and how she believes that bridges can be built through Mercy, Justice and the Arts. Erin also answers some more personal questions, giving us a real insight into her varied life. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Social anthropologist Marlene Schäfers, of Ghent and Cambridge Universities, joins me in discussing a fascinating area of her work – the politics of Kurdish martyrdom. She has carried out extensive fieldwork in Turkey, gaining what I would describe as a unique and important insight into the complexities of martyrdom in the Middle East.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download