Dan Barker vs Hassanain Rajabali

January 5th, 2003 at Islamic Institute of New York.

First Edition

Tawheed Institute http://www.tawheed1.org

Read the transcript at http://www.madressa.org

Length: 2 hours 45 minutes

A historic debate between Hassanain Rajabali [Muslim] and Dan Barker [Atheist].

Moderated by Mohamed Athar Lila.

This is a series of events organized by the Tawheed Institute after the September 11 crisis with the aim to foster better understanding between people of different denominations.

Some Quotes:

"Another argument, against the existence of god of course, is the problem of evil: All you have to do is walk into any children's hospital - and you know there is no god. Children are in pain, they are suffering, their parents are desperately praying for god to protect them." - Dan Barker

"We're relative creatures, and that is how we understand things, and we can never have a conception of something that is bad, until we understand what is good. That reality, that co-existence is necessary in this world. If one wants to say that evil should not exist then the earth should not exist. You and I should not exist, trial should not exist, and exam should not exist. Rather we are in a system where we understand that evil is there." - Hassanain Rajabali

"Yes, I am under trial, if I could have stopped September 11, I would have but "God is not under trial." So it is irrelevent to for Him." - Hassanain Rajabali

"No matter what they [the Atheists] thought of Hassanain's arguments, they all agree that he was pleasant and articulate. He shows a good face of Islam." -Dan Barker, after the debate