In Depth:  Lisbet Diers

British Muslim reactions to the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11 have been diverse, reflecting the variety of views within the community.

We quickly became familiar with the various Muslim voices raised in support of the attacks and of prime suspect Osama bin Laden, especially since the British media saw fit to give extensive coverage to them initially.

While calm and reasoned dialogue is always the preferred mode of debate, some on both sides have a tendency to throw out unsubstantiated, even incorrect claims in their efforts to discredit the other side.

One such claim being made by certain sectors of the Islamic community is that the Bible is a collection of distortions and that 'Christians do not possess any authentic records or acceptable arguments for the authenticity of the books of either the Old Testament or the New Testament'. This view is currently being expressed openly by Muslim speakers at a range of venues such as Speakers Corner and Trafalgar Square, and was to have been the subject for a debate organised by the radical Muslim group Al-Muhajiroun at the Royal Albert Hall a few weeks ago. As evangelical Chris-tians, we need to know how to respond to such claims. We may not all be involved in active polemic, but certainly anyone trying to talk with Muslims about the Christian faith will be better equipped for the task if they can respond calmly and authoritatively to attacks on the authenticity and accuracy of the Bible.