05/08/2012

Syria - Faith in the future?

The news from Syria gets bleaker by the day. More than a hundred thousand have already fled as refugees, the killing continues, and Kofi Annan resigns as UN peace envoy, declaring the diplomatic task impossible in the present situation.
Syria has a rich mosaic of spiritual traditions, including some of the earliest of all Christian churches: but for how much longer? What future is there for religious minorities if the regime falls? And to what extent is religion a factor in this conflict?
Roy Jenkins is joined by four people with personal experience of Syria
Dr Harry Hagopian, international lawyer and consultant, and former Assistant General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches.
The Rev Nadim Nassar, the only Syrian priest in the Church of England, and director of the Awareness Foundation, an educational charity founded in response to religious conflict around the world.
British/Syrian journalist Robin Yassin-Kassab, author of The Road From Damascus and co-editor of the quarterly magazine The Critical Muslim.
The Rev Christopher Gilham, a Congregational minister in Pembrokeshire who has made many visits to Syria over the years, and retains strong links with the country.