God Delusion or Truth? Was Dawkins Right? ( Hamza's Opening Statement - 1 of 3 )

Does God exist? What evidence supports the existence of God? Why are we here? What is life all about? These questions are as old as the human race. So how are we to answer them? Can they be answered at all? Might God be part of the answer? The Big Debate 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 Atheist side was Mr Rick Lewis; Mr Lewis is the founder and editor of Philosophy Now, and thereby one of the main initiators of the popular philosophy movement in the English speaking world. He launched the magazine in 1991, the first ever popular philosophy magazine worldwide. Lewis lives in Tooting,South London and has been a guest on philosophy-related programmes on BBC Radio 4 and elsewhere. The Topic of Debate: God Delusion or Truth? Was Dawkins Right? Hamza Andreas Tzortzis (www.hamzatzortzis.com) vs. Rick Lewis (www.philosophynow.org) (University College London, London, UK 15th October 2009)