BBC 'The Big Questions'

screenshot of 'The Big Questions'
On Sunday the 27th of April, I was honoured to be a guest on the BBC's 'The Big Questions'. All I knew is that it would be my UK television debut and my television debut in rabbinic capacity... and addressing a controversial topic ('Is Islam a threat to the West?') to boot. 

The discussion was spirited with a broad panel of disparate opinions ranging from Muslim activists to a member of a Sharia watchdog organisation. My role, as far as I was concerned, was to be a reasonable voice for Progressive religion. 

I wanted to show that the majority of people of all faiths (and no faith) in the world desire peace and that moderate religion should fulfil a crucial role in building those roads to peace. If religion is a force for evil in the world, than surely it can be a force for good. I also set myself the goal of trying to speak on the importance of gender equality and gay rights in religious traditions, citing Progressive Judaism as a real-life model of acceptance. 

The studio experience was exciting and gave me insight into some aspects of the inner workings of the media: including what questions are explored and what questions are not. All in all, it was a good experience and it was an honour to try and represent my community as best as I could.

The episode can be watched (for a week) on iPlayer here. My contributions are about 15, 30 and 57 minutes into the programme. If you want to comment on the episode or get in touch with me, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.

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