Terry Gross

Imam Sayed Hassan Qazwini is the religious leader of the Islamic Center of America in Detroit, the biggest such center in the United States. It includes a Mosque in which he preaches.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. He covered the Middle East for many years, work that won him two Pulitzer Prizes. He's also the author of the book, From Beirut to Jerusalem. The book looked at the inside of Arab and Israeli power circles, and examined the intefadeh and the perceptions American and Israeli Jews have of each other.

Religion scholar and former nun Karen Armstrong. She is the author of many books, including, A History of God, an examination of the fundamentalist movement in Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths and Islam: A Short History. She's also the author of the bestsellers Jerusalem, and The History of God.

American Muslim Asma Gull Hasan. She the author of the book, now in paperback, –American Muslims: The New Generation— (Continuum press). ASMA was born in Chicago and is the daughter of Pakistani immigrants.

Journalist Ralph Blumenthal writes for The New York Times. He covered the trial following the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He’ll discuss the information about the workings of Osama Bin Laden’s organization that came to light during the trial.

Journalist Benjamin Weiser (“WHY-zir”) writes for The New York Times. He covered the trial of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Biblical theologian Rabbi Burton Visotzky teaches at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He's best known for his Genesis seminars, attended by novelists, poets, editors, filmmakers, CEOs, and attorneys to understand the relevance of Genesis to modern life. It became the basis of a 10-part PBS series in 1996. He is also the author of The Road To Redemption: Lessons from Exodus on Leadership and Community.

Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Omaha, Thomas E. Gouttierre. He also served on the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Afghanistan, and is the American specialist on Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and South Asia at the meetings of the US-Russian Task Force on Regional Conflicts.

Investigative reporter Lowell Bergman is the correspondent on the Frontline documentary about Osama Bin Laden. Previously, Bergman's work exposing the tobacco industry became the hit film The Insider. He was portrayed by Al Pacino. Bergman is a contributor to The New York Times.

Nigerian-born journalist Ken Wiwa writes for the Toronto Globe and Mail. He is the son of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, one of Nigerias best-loved writers and vocal critics of the military rule. Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian military regime in 1995. Ken Wiwa has written the new memoir, In the Shadow of a Saint: A Sons Journey to Understand His Fathers Legacy.