Sunday - 05/12/2010

William Crawley with the religious and ethical news of the week. Moral arguments and perspectives on stories, familiar and unfamiliar. Six months ago nine Turkish activists were killed attempting to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza when their ship was boarded in international waters by Israeli commandos. The wave of international condemnation which followed led Israel to announce an easing of the blockade, but this week 22 aid and development agencies issued a report saying this had made little difference on the ground. William speaks to Hanan Elmasu from Christian Aid and Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev who says the reports findings are politically biased. A new campaign in Australia is hoping to make Euthanasia legal. Phil Mercer reports from Sydney. It's the story of the Birth of Jesus in 140 characters - we look at the Natwivity and ask if it will catch on. Huw Tyler of Share Creative joins William in the studio. This week saw the launch of the I'm Not Ashamed campaign which said that Christians were being marginalised in the UK. Some members of the campign even said they were being persecuted. But is this really the case. Bishop Nick Baines gives us his views. 40 years on from the first Disability Act have attitudes changed for the better towards people with disabilities ? Are there still big improvements to be made ? William talks to the Chairman of Leonard Cheshire Disability, Ilyas Khan. This week sees the launch of the centenary year for East London Mosque. It started of as a prayer room for Muslim citizens of the British Empire who were visiting the capital. Now it has a purpose built centre which does lots of interfaith work. But it's not without controversy and critics say that there are hardline elements within. Trevor Barnes reports. Calls for Pakistan's blasphemy law to be abolished have been renewed after a Christian woman was sentenced to death following a squabble with villagers. Campaigners say that the law is used to target minority faiths in Pakistan. William speaks to Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali. E-mail: [email protected] Series producer: Amanda Hancox.