A Change of Heart

Yossi Klein Halevi is an Israeli-American author who wrote the New York Times best-seller Letters to My Palestinian Neighbour. The son of a holocaust survivor, he grew up hating the world and being distrustful towards all non-Jews, joining the Jewish Defence League in his teens - a radical right-wing organisation which has since been designated a terrorist group by the FBI. He then re-examined his beliefs and has been involved in extensive interfaith outreach and is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem which explores Judaism in the modern world.

Presented byAtif Rashid

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(Name, voice and avatar have been changed to protect the anonymity of the guest. The story is real, in the same words written to us.)

Alex is an engineer originally from Texas, now living in California. He had little knowledge or experience with Muslims and whatever he knew about Islam was what he saw on TV… that was until he took a trip abroad and stayed with a Muslim family. 

Alex (not his real name) got in touch and messaged us his experiences on Instagram. He is played by an actor but the answers are all his.  

Presented bySabah Ahmedi 

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Drew Miller Hydman works at the BBC and was trained on one of its development schemes. But as a teenager he was sucked into a web of conspiracy theories and radical ideas. He describes how watching gaming videos led him to start believing in conspiracy theories and harbouring anti-feminist sentiment. This made him question Islam's role in the west and whether it was compatible with western values. A trip abroad opened his mind and what he saw there changed his life.  

Presented byAtif Rashid

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Kosta is a researcher and expert in preventing and countering violent extremism, working with the big tech giants like Google & Facebook to help them understand and deal with the things that lead to extremism. We spoke to him about the role of faith in radicalisation, how people with opposing beliefs can coexist in peace, and whether extremism really is on the rise. 

Presented byAtif Rashid 

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Sabah Ahmedi is one of Britain's youngest imams and has teamed up with BBC journalist Atif Rashid to launch this podcast. In this first episode you'll hear about their jobs, why they've started this podcast and a sneak peak of what's coming up, as well as some light banter!

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The podcast about people challenging their prejudices, turning back from hate, and making peace with people they once disagreed with. 

One of Britain's youngest imams Sabah Ahmedi and BBC journalist Atif Rashid have teamed up to find out why people turn to extremism, how they're finding freedom from hate and the people helping them to deradicalise. 

You'll hear from reformed extremists, teenagers influenced online, Jews and Muslims abandoning radical organisations, and other who've had a change of heart. 

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A Change of Heart is sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations as part of its Edin programme - Empowering Dialogue & Interfaith Networks.