London

Tower Hamlets residents attend the question time-style debate about extremism in London.

Do we live in a mature democratic society, capable of reflecting honestly and intelligently about some of the most difficult issues of the day?

Or are we afraid to air our views, particularly if they're outside the mainstream and liable to be subjected to public criticism?

These were some of the questions Rabina Khan asked herself when she reflected on how to engage young Londoners in a discussion about extremism and the current position of Muslims.

After all, these are difficult times for the capital's young Muslims, who often feel their religion is misunderstood, their community is inaccurately stereotyped and their own personal rights are under attack.

In the end Rabina acted on her gut feeling, that debate is healthy and an important way for a community to foster confidence in itself, so she pressed ahead with her plans.

Rabina is from a Bangladeshi background and lives in East London with her husband and two daughters.

She is a writer and also runs a company called Silsila Productions and it was through its Challenging Extremism Project that she approached the Tower Hamlets Partnership to fund a question-time style event, for a young audience who would put questions to a panel of high-profile speakers.

Rabina pulled no punches with the title of the event, 'A Time To Question: Challenging Extremism'.

She also took the debate to the heart of her community, by choosing the London Muslim Centre, attached to the East London Mosque, as the venue.

Recognising how marginalised many young Muslim Londoners currently feel, she was expecting difficult questions, but she argued, 'it's important that these questions come up, so that they can be answered'.

With funding and location in place, she next had to recruit her panel and she asked Rizwan Hussein, a barrister and TV presenter to take the chair.

The five panellists were:

Ken Livingstone - Former Mayor of London with a wealth of experience and insights into what goes on behind the scenes of government.

Jonathan Freedland - A journalist and broadcaster with a Jewish East London heritage who is very thoughtful on the use of language used in public discussion of extremism.

Moazim Begg - A former Guantanamo Bay detainee and spokesperson for Caged Prisoners, who has his own experience of extreme behaviour.

Father Alan Green - A Church of England clergyman, who apart from bringing a Christian perspective, has interesting things to say about links between religion and the State.

Baroness Pola Uddin - The only woman peer from a Bangladeshi background, who provided a feminine perspective.

The event was full to capacity, but Rabina wanted to maximise the audience for the debate, so she invited BBC London to use it as the basis for a radio programme.

'Peaceful - To The Extreme', presented by Eddie Nestor, was broadcast on BBC London 94.9 in June 2009.

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