Linked with France and its ban for the face veil – A Debate, with Burqa versus Human Rights, with picture of the year, with I wonder if all Muslim know this – Islam a la Taliban, with the Burqa,prison or protection, with Swissness and Islamic fundamentalism, and with Swissness in danger – the minarets and we.
- The Doha Debates are chaired by the award-winning former BBC correspondent and interviewer Tim Sebastian, who founded them in 2004 and secured their editorial independence.
- Although the Debates are financed by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, no government, official body or broadcaster has any control over what is said at the sessions or who is invited … (about the debates 1/2).
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About the debates 2/2: … Televised eight times a year by BBC World News, the Debates are based on a centuries-old format, refined by the famous Oxford Union.
They focus on a single, controversial motion, with two speakers for and against. Once they have outlined their arguments, each speaker is questioned by the chairman and the discussion is then opened up to the audience for argument and a final electronic vote.
The 350-strong audiences are drawn mainly from Qatar’s student body and come from all over the Arab and Islamic worlds. In several debates they have adopted radical and unexpected positions.
Clear majorities have stated that Muslims are failing to combat extremism and that the Palestinians risk becoming their own worst enemy. A student at Texas A&M Qatar says the Doha Debates have taught her things of great importance. “I have learned not to judge, but to think with maturity and logic, and not to accept things straight away; instead I require proof and evidence.”
Internationally, the Doha Debates have attracted wide attention. BBC World News is seen by nearly 300 million viewers across 200 countries.