Sunday - 19/12/2010

As Christmas approaches concrete walls are being erected around Churches in Baghdad and Mosul in response to escalating threats of violent attack. On this week's Sunday Jane Little talks to the Vicar of Baghdad, Canon Andrew White, about the current situation for Christians in the city and how they hope to celebrate Christmas. We hear about the significance of the European Court of Human Rights ruling on Ireland's abortion law. Last week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, criticised politically correct officials for downplaying the religious message of Christmas and said that people of other faiths loved the story of Jesus' birth. Our reporter, Kevin Bocquet, visited the homes of a Muslim and Hindu family to hear how they mark the festive season. We hear about a pioneering archive in Rwanda which it is hoped will enable the world to learn the lessons of genocide, what leads countries there and how it can be prevented in the future. The response to our request for listeners to send in their Religious Limericks for 2011 has been so great we thought we'd read a couple out on this weekend's Sunday. You can email your 'Sundayricks' on any religious or spiritual theme you like, to us at [email protected]. We hear from a British rabbi who, like nine hundred from around the world, has signed a letter criticising a ruling backed by dozens of Israeli rabbis forbidding Jews from renting or selling property to non-Jews. In the first of three special features from Sudan, Matt Wells reports from a camp where victims of conflict are being overwhelmed by a mystery illness that is having a devastating impact on the young. Former market trader and Eastenders script writer, Tony Jordan, talks to Jane about his adaptation of the Nativity, which starts on BBC One this Monday 20 December, and his journey from sceptic to believer in the ultimate Christmas drama. Having learnt that the Stockholm suicide bomber, Taimour al-Abdaly, had walked out of a Luton mosque after he was confronted about his extremist tendencies, we hear about a project at a Brixton mosque which seeks to work with young Muslims with radical views and steer them away from extremism. E-mail: [email protected] Series producer: Amanda Hancox.