Sir Jonathan Phillips of Keble College, Oxford, chairs a debate between Professor Nigel Biggar, Theology Faculty, University of Oxford, and Islamic Studies lecturer, Tim Winter, University of Cambridge; on the topic : Can the West Live with Islam?
The debate was held on 2nd July 2012
This debate was not hosted by MDI.
Categories: Liberalism & Secular Democracy, Spotlight
The Muslim Debate Initiative 
there was a question about suicide bombers and drones—The research (sometime back)by Robert Pape suggests that suicide “terrorism” is about political aims. The Drones are also used for political aims—both types of warfare “justify” civilian casualties either as “collateral damage” or as being accountable because they are “participants in the activities of their governments” —neither argument is morally justifiable. Since “terrorism” is an undefined term—the claim that drones are used to attack “terrorists”—is morally meaningless.
As to the comment about the Taliban and Afghan civilians looking the same…..consider this,….If in our country a group took another group of people hostages—and the rescuers could not tell the difference between the hostages and the hostage takers—would it be ok to kill all of them? Could the rescuers shrug it off as “collateral damage”?—Yet when one group of armed people go off to another country—“collateral damage” becomes acceptable justification?
………..Perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong with the Wests understanding of “War”/”Just War”?