Why did I choose Islam? Why I'm not a Christian or Jew? Why should anybody choose to be a Christian? Why I'm not a Buddhist or Hindu? Representing the Muslim perspective was attorney Yusuf Ismail; Mr Ismail is presently full-time in the legal profession and is additionally affiliated to the IPCI where he engages in primarily inter-faith discussions and debates with individuals from varying persuasions and religious and political backgrounds. He earned a Bcom law law degree from University of Durban in Westville and a bachelors of law from University Natal He is a part time lecturer in law at Unisa SBL He is heading the interfaith department of the islamic propagation center international on a part time basis. He is primarily involved in discussions focusing on the relevancy of Christianity and Islam in the modern world, discussions on Christian Muslim relations in postmodern society and the challenges of secularism in the 21st century. Mr. Ismail has engaged in regular debates on theological issues with a number of leading christian figures in South Africa such as Dr. Seecombe, Pastor Glenn Schentke and Pastor Bob Benjamin Last year he was instrumental in setting up and coordinating a series of debates between Shabir Ally from Toronto and leading christian apologist from South Africa John Gilchrist. Representing the Christian side was Dr. John Azumah; Dr. Azumah is the director of the Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations and Lecturer of Islamic Studies at London School of Theology, Middlesex, United Kingdom Originally from Northern Ghana in West Africa, John is an ordained Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and, until his appointment, a Senior Research Fellow with the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Ghana. He was an Evangelist with the Presbyterian Church in northern Ghana and then went on to complete his theological studies at Trinity Theological Seminary in Accra between 1986 and 1989. One of two ministers who pioneered the work of the Northern Outreach Programme of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, John planted eighteen churches in three years in what is known as the Asante Presbytery. He completed his postgraduate studies (MA and PhD) in Islamics and Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Birmingham, UK. Upon completion in 1998 John joined the Northern Outreach Programme before leaving to India as CMS-Australia missionary to the Henry Martyn Institute in Hyderabad and the Union Biblical Seminary in Pune. His return to Ghana placed him as the Acting Director of the Tamale Lay Training Centre in the North before joining Akrofi-Christaller Institute in September 2004. John is also the founding Director of the Interfaith Research and Resource Centre of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. John has taught in a number of Seminaries in Ghana and South Africa and served on the Interfaith Advisory Board of the World Council of Churches. He is also a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury Building-Bridges study group. Dr. Azumah's publications include: The Legacy of Arab-Islam in Islam: A Quest for inter-Religious Dialogue (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2001) and My Neighbour's Faith: Islam Explained for Christians (Nairobi: Hippo Books/Zondervan, 2008) plus several other articles and Book Chapters. John is married to Grace and they have three children, Benjamin, Nathaniel and Elizabeth. The Topic: Why Muslim? Why Christian? Attorney Yusuf Ismail (www.Ahmed-deedat.co.za) vs. Dr. John Azumah (www.lst.ac.uk) ( Islamic Propagation Center, South Africa 17th Oct 2010 )
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