14/08/2022

The stabbing of author Salman Rushdie has again ignited the debate around freedom of speech and religious sensibilities. At this stage it's not known why the 75-year-old was attacked. The broadcaster and journalist Mobeen Azhar, who produced the podcast Fatwa, joins us to talk about the background to the threats made against Salman Rushdie after the publication of his book "The Satanic Verses" in 1988.It is already a whole year since the Taliban took over again in Afghanistan. Thousands of refugees were able to come to the UK - but a year on, up to 10,000 are still living in cramped hotels, while for those left in Afghanistan, life is even more precarious. Marzia Babakarkhail, who was a judge in Kabul, came to the UK in 2008 after the Taliban tried to assassinate her twice. She arrived with no English, but joins us to explain how now she works for the Oldham MP Debbie Abrahams on immigration and asylum seeker cases - and earlier this year ran to be a local councillor.We've talked before about the cost of living crisis, but as prices continue to rise, now religious buildings are also facing huge bills. One Methodist minister tells us that in the last year, his monthly electricity bill has risen from £70 to £1000 a month. New research from the Theos think tank finds many religious organisations are having to make difficult decisions about the services they will still be able to offer.And with many of us overwhelmed by constant stories of environmental or economic crisis, not to mention worries about physical or mental health, the Medicine Festival in Berkshire next weekend sounds like the perfect antidote. Its aim is to envision a more enlightened, peaceful and sustainable world and provides a platform for so called 'indigenous wisdom keepers' to share their teachings, ceremonies and traditional technologies.Presented by Emily Buchanan. Produced by Amanda Hancox and Julia Paul.