Weekend News Roundup - Prelude

CNN is hosting a debate for the Democratic Party Presidential Nominees and asking people to submit questions: Your voice wanted in historic election debates

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For the first time in presidential debate history, user-generated video will drive two unprecedented debates.

On July 23 at 7 p.m. ET, the Democratic candidates for president will face your questions. No journalists. No panelists. No filters.

Just the people's questions and the candidate's answers. The Democratic candidates will be confronted with the questions you send in via YouTube.

CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate the two-hour debates and pose follow-up questions.

You will be able to submit questions on YouTube until July 22. The site includes the questions sent so far along with some tips on how to help get your video chosen

Immediately after the debate, user questions and candidate answers will be featured on YouTube and the full debate video will be available for viewing on CNN.com. Also, on both sides, people will be able to engage in community features, extending the life of the debates, and participating in the ongoing political dialogue.

So, participate and add your voice to this historic event. Watch the debates live online or on air on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Radio and CNN Airport Network.

Here's a sample question which mimics the iPhone ads: CNN Debate Question


On Faith' Hosts Online Dialogue With Muslim Leaders About Terrorism and Human Rights
I linked to an "On Faith" video previously, in reference to why some Muslim women choose to wear the hijab. This coming week The Washington Post, Slate and Newsweek are coordinating efforts to host a discussion about Islam, called "Muslims Speak Out." For a short description, see quotes below. For the full article, go here.

Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive announced today that several leading Muslim clerics and thinkers from around the globe will participate in an unprecedented online dialogue about their religion, terrorism and human rights on the joint washingtonpost.com and Newsweek blog "On Faith," which explores the intersection of religion and culture. The event, "Muslims Speak Out," is being presented in conjunction with Georgetown University and will run from Sunday, July 22 through Friday, July 27. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/

The Washington Post Company will coordinate across its national media outlets to cover this critically important topic, each featuring unique stories and reporting. On Sunday, July 22, The Washington Post's Outlook section will run articles about Islam and its religious tenets; the issue of Newsweek on newsstands on Monday, July 23, will feature this in its news coverage; and the entire week of July 22 the online magazine Slate.com will cover the topic through text and photography features. Post/Newsweek television stations across the country will also participate in the event, and content from On Faith will also run in newspapers around the world that are part of The Independent Media Group.

All of the panel's participants will also be able to respond to comments and questions left by readers, creating a dialogue and a bridge to mutual understanding.

Scheduled to contribute pieces are President Jimmy Carter; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; former South African leader Nelson Mandela; Congressman Keith Ellison (the only Muslim member of Congress); University of Chicago professor Martin Marty; Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia; and John L. Esposito, Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Judea Pearl, and Bishop John Chane who will discuss together the relationship between Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Among the best-known prominent Muslim thinkers and religious leaders expected to take part in this event:

-- Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, one of the leading Shi'ite Muslim religious authorities in the Islamic world, and a former spiritual adviser to the Lebanese Shi'ite resistance movement, Hezbollah;
-- Tariq Ramadan, professor of Islamic Studies and senior research fellow at Oxford University. Selected by Time magazine as one of the world's top 100 thinkers and scientists in 2005, Ramadan relinquished his appointment to a tenured professorship at Notre Dame University in 2004 after the U.S. government revoked his visa;
-- Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt and a leading Sunni Muslim religious authority;
-- Dr. Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia; and
-- Sheikh Rashid Rashid al-Ghannoushi, the Muslim intellectual and exiled leader of Tunisia's Islamist opposition movement who is widely considered an Islamic radical in his native country.