On air: The Crescent and the Cross

LISTEN TO OWEN’S PROGRAMME HERE.

The BBC is running a major documentary series called “The Crescent and the Cross”.

Here, the presenter, Owen Bennett Jones,  (who will co-host WHYS tonight) starts a conversation about some of the things he discovered while making the programmes.

On air: Is Sharia law a price worth paying for peace?

No peace, no Sharia. For many people outside Pakistan the idea of implementing Sharia law to bring peace to a once thriving tourist region was a controversial olive branch. But to others living in the Swat region it’s a welcome relief. As I write this the Pakistani President Asif Zardari has announced he will only sign such a deal, once peace there is fully restored.

Read more here from our talking points post. We’re planning on looking at this issue on Wednesday’s programme.

Should first cousins be allowed to have children together?

Change of plan. We’ve had a string of problems getting the guests we need to set this discussion up. Some people won’t come on air to talk about their experience, others are simply unable to make today’s show. We may return to it another day when more people are available. We’re definitely going to speak to people affected by the Chinese quake, and we may go for another subject. I’ll update here when we decide.

On air: Do Muslims treat women badly?

This is an issue that has come up many times during WHYS discussions but we’ve never looked at it head-on. Here are some examples of articles, events and discussions on the topic.

On air today: Can Muslims take a joke about Islam?

Ben Elton is a comedian and writer and he says the BBC is scared of letting comedians make jokes about Islam for fear of provoking Islamic extremists. The story has been picked up by hundreds of newspapers, blogs and radio stations around the world, and we’ll hear the discussion it’s provoked.

Do you welcome the rise of Islam?

According to the Vatican, 17.4 percent of us are Catholics and 19.2 percent are Muslims. Treat all Christians as one group and they would reach 33 per cent, but the figures are still significant. The number of Roman Catholics is static, the number of Muslims is going up. If this is happening in your country, do you care

Talking points for 26th March

It’s not exactly a quiet day – with more violence in Iraq, and warnings of an impending catastrophe in Somalia, where hostilities continue between government forces and Islamist insurgents – but in terms of talking points, the most interesting possibilities seem to lie around the edges of the main news agenda.

Is Pakistan misunderstood?

The two main opposition parties in Pakistan have a clear majority after yesterday’s parliamentary elections – and it looks like they’ll may be putting aside their differences to try and form a coalition.

What affects how Pakistanis vote?

Hello from Newshour. Those of you in Pakistan are poised to vote on Monday and Newshour’s Owen Bennett-Jones will be in Lahore on Saturday at 1230 GMT, discussing how you’ll be voting and why. We’d value your contributions, and, wherever you are, if you have a question about the elections, we’ll do our best to get you an answer.

From Baghdad to Jerusalem

We’re planning to talk today to WHYS regular Lubna, in Baghdad, and Rabbi David Rosen in Jerusalem. They struck up a friendship via email and have been corresponding over the last few months about issues such as Middle East politics and religion.

Already, a number of you have posted on the blog about this and you will have the chance to speak to them live in today’s programme.