Podcasts from Questions Of Faith related to Politics

Marc Shoffman looks at the reports of hate crime in the aftermath of the EU Referendum. Rita Lobo speaks to Imam Qari Asim, Imam at Leeds Mosque and Editor of Imams Online, on the rise in Islamophobia in recent days and what should be done to tackle this issue. Marc Shoffman speaks to Dr Kirsten Johnson, of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum and supporter of Christians Stronger in Europe, about what this event means to her as a Christian. Christian author, Symon Hill, analyses the concept of the 'neighbour' in the Bible and how they apply to these difficult times.

Marc Shoffman speaks to Dr Keith Kahn Harris, Lecturer at Leo Baeck College and Director of the European Jewish Research Archive at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, about anti-Semitism and how it can be tackled. Jeremy Newmark, of Jewish Labour Movement, explains why there have been so many incidents of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.

How does religion fit in the EU Referendum? Lord William Wallace, from Christians for Europe, and Adrian Hilton, Co-chair of Christians for Britain, join Marc Shoffman to discuss what role faith should play throughout the campaign. How big a factor should Christianity play when people come to vote?

Marc Shoffman focuses on the ongoing issue of tax avoidance after it was revealed that the Church of England is investing in Google. The 2015 annual report from the Church Commissioners, which is the investment arm of the Church of England, revealed Alphabet Inc, parent company of the search engine, was among its top 20 holdings. Edward Mason, Head of Responsible Investment for the Church Commissioners, Toby Quantrill, Principal Adviser for Economic Justice at Christian Aid, and Mark Harper, Adviser for Trinity Wealth Management, join Marc to discuss this issue.

This week Marc discusses what are different religious communities looking for in a new mayor? In recent weeks’ candidates such as the Tory's Zac Goldsmith and Labour's Sadiq Khan, and others, have all been grilled on what they will do for the capital. Their actions and policies can also feed into the rest of the country in terms of wealth and prosperity created. But religious communities also have a stake in the vote and have their own concerns that they have been raising during the campaign period. Marc is joined by Danny Webster from the Evangelical Alliance, Justin Cohen from the Jewish News and Fiyaz Mughal from Faith Matters to discuss the religious angle in the campaign.

From Libya to Daesh, and the debate over the future of Trident, there always seems to be money for war. But are there better ways to spend it? Marc Shoffman speaks to Andrew Smith, from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, looks at whether action against military spending is necessary, while Shuaghan Dolan, from Conscience, explores how the government could deal with global issues such as Isis. Reverend Mark Woods, contributing editor of Christian Today, also explains whether you are pacifist if you are religious.

According to a recent research by the Pew Research Center being an atheist remains one of the biggest liabilities that a presidential candidate can have. Half of American adults say they would be less likely to vote for a hypothetical presidential candidate who does not believe in God. So how big an issue is religion when it comes to choosing a Presidential candidate? Marc Shoffman is joined in the studio by Christian author Steven Sylvester, Chartered Psychologist and Author of DETOX YOUR EGO, and Ben Ryan, from Christian think tank Theos, over the phone.

The Prime Minister has launched a £20m initiative aimed at helping female members of the Muslim community with their language skills in an attempt to integrate them into the community and help tackle extremism. The initiative urges an end to "passive tolerance" of practices which he says leave many Muslim women facing discrimination and isolation. Muslim women who fail to improve their English face being refused permission to stay in the UK. Muslim women have been fighting back following those comments on Twitter with the ironic hashtag #traditionallysubmissive. In this episode of Questions Of Faith we take a look at the positive contributions the Muslim Community make to the UK culture and economy.

Rita Lobo and Marc Shoffman are joined by Shanza Ali from the Muslim Climate Action campaign and Jean Leston from Christian environmental group Operation Noah, to discuss climate change and whether it is up to faith groups to lead on tackling the issue, only on Questions of Faith. With guest Imam Mansoor Ahmad Clark explaining the significance of change in Islam.