Islam or Secular Humanism - Which Makes More Sense? ( Hamza's Opening Statement - 1 of 4 )
  • 12 years ago
Does Secular state limit religion? What is Islamic State? Representing the Muslim perspective was Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, Brother Hamza is an international public speaker on Islam. He is a writer with articles, essays and commentaries on political philosophy, the philosophy of religion and society. Hamza is an intellectual activist actively engaging on issues pertaining to religion, social cohesion and politics. Hamza is also a researcher with a recent publication on non-Muslim perceptions on Islam and Muslims. Hamza regularly participates in debates and symposiums with leading intellectuals, public speakers and academics on topics concerning western and Islamic philosophy, politics and current affairs. For example he participated in a debate with the president of American Atheists, Dr. Ed Buckner on "Islam or Atheism?", he also debated the editor of the Philosophy Now magazine Rick Lewis, entitled God: Delusion or Truth? and he participated in a debate with the best selling author, philosophy lecturer and chair of the British Humanist Association's Philosophers Group Peter Cave on Can We Live Better Lives Without Religion? More recently Hamza debated the highly acclaimed professor, Simon Blackburn, who is one of the leading atheist and humanist academics in the world. The debate was held in the historic Cambridge University debating chambers. Hamza regularly appears in the media explaining and demystifying Islam and providing unique perspectives on current affairs. He has appeared on the BBC, BBC Arabic, BBC Radio 4, Press TV, Islam Channel, Nile TV, Ummah TV, Iqra TV, TV3 (Malaysia) and National Public Radio of America. Hamza lectures all around the world on topics related to Islam, philosophy and politics. He is a regular speaker at universities across the UK and he is one of the main initiators of the contemporary emergence of Muslim public speakers using Islamic and Western philosophy to shed light on Islam and demystify its way of life. Representing the Humanist side was Dr. Khalid Sohail; Dr Sohail is a former Muslim, an author, a humanist and a psychotherapist has been sharing his humanist philosophy in his writings and his lectures for the last three decades. He has been working towards integrating the wisdom of the East and the West. He hopes that one day we can all grow to the next stage of human evolution and create a peaceful world together. He has delivered his professional and literary creations to a vast number of audiences at local, provincial, national and international workshops, seminars and conferences for a number of years. He has a wide range of interests and passions. He received his degree in medicine from Khyber Medical College, Pakistan in 1974, and completed his residency in Psychiatry at Memorial University, Newfoundland in 1982. From 1983 to 1995 he worked in psychiatric hospitals in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Ontario. In 1995 he left the hospital to open the Creative Psychotherapy Clinic in Whitby, Ontario. Books by Dr. Sohail: From Islam to Secular Humanism (2001) The Myth of The Chosen One: Serial Killers (2002) The Art of Living in Your Green Zone (October 2002) The Topic of Debate: Islam or Secular Humanism - Which Makes More Sense? Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (www.hamzatzortzis.com) vs. Dr. Khalid Sohail ( www.drsohail.com ) (University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada, March 9th, 2011) 
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