IQ Debates
We should not be reluctant to assert the superiority of Western values
9th October, 2007Intelligence² audience confirms 465 to 264 votes in favour of the motion.
Speakers for the motion
Douglas Murray
Bestselling writer and commentator in Britain and abroad. Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion. Author of 'Neoconservatism: Why We Need It' (2005). A trustee of the newly founded European Freedom Fund and a member of the Advisory Board of the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Anti-semitism. In January 2007 he debated with the Mayor of London at the 'Clash of Civilisations' event in London.
David AaronovitchAward-winning writer and broadcaster on international politics and the media. He is the author of ‘Paddling to Jerusalem’ (a trip round England in a canoe) and the presenter of various TV and radio programmes.
Ibn WarraqAn independent researcher at the humanist Centre for Enquiry in the USA. Author of ‘Why I am Not a Muslim’ (1995) and editor of anthologies of Koranic criticism and an anthology of testimonies of ex-Muslims ‘Leaving Islam’ (2003). A contributor to the Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, and has addressed distinguished governing bodies all over the world, including the United Nations in Geneva on the subject of apostasy. Current projects include a critical study, entitled ‘Defending the West: a Critique of Edward Said’s “Orientalism” ’ to be released 2007.
Speakers against the motion
Tariq Ramadan
Tariq Ramadan MA in Philosophy and French literature and PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva. In Cairo, Egypt, he received one-on-one intensive training in classic Islamic scholarship from Al-Azhar University scholars. He is Professor of Islamic Studies and currently Senior Research Fellow St Antony’s College (Oxford), Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and at the Lokahi Foundation (London).
William Dalrymple
Prize-winning writer and historian who divides his time between London and Delhi. His latest book ‘The Last Mughal’ won the Duff Cooper Prize for History and Biography. 'White Mughals' (2002) won the Wolfson Prize for History, and is being adapted by Christopher Hampton to be staged at the National Theatre in 2008. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Charles GlassAward-winning freelance writer and broadcaster. Has covered wars in Eritrea, Rhodesia, Somalia, Iraq and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and has frequently broken the news on major international events. Made the news himself in 1987 when he was taken hostage in Lebanon for two months before escaping his Shiite captors. Has written for TIME magazine, Newsweek, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times Literary Supplement and The New Statesman. His books include "The Tribes Triumphant: Return Journey to the Middle East" (2006). His film "Edward Said: The Last Interview" was shown in cinemas around the world. The debate will be chaired by Edward Lucas Foreign correspondent in Eastern Europe from 1988-2002 and most recently Moscow bureau chief for the Economist.
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