The BBC’s Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen—first British journalist to interview Gaddafi since the start of the Libyan uprising—is speaking to university students in London’s East End tomorrow (Wed) about ‘Islam and the West’.

His lecture at Queen Mary’s University of London college campus at Mile End is the first in a series to mark the start of its Masters course in Islam, which covers everything from the Crusades to Islamic terrorism.

“Jeremy very much has his finger on the pulse of the Middle East,” said Dr Tom Asbridge from the college’s School of History.

“He offers a unique perspective through his well-honed journalistic expertise and background as a published author in the field.”

The MA course explores the fundamental issue of the relationship between Islam and the western world, charting a 1,400-year period from the birth of the Muslim faith in the seventh century to the present day, going beyond spheres of politics, warfare and religion. It involves shared knowledge in science, maths and astronomy.

“Students are taught by experts in specialist fields,” Dr Asbridge explained. “These cover migration, literature, the modern Middle East, the Crusades, Medieval Islam, Sharia Law and Islamic terrorism.”

Jeremy Bowen, who has been a war correspondent for much of his career reporting from 70 countries, mostly in the Middle East and in the Balkans, won the ‘News Story of the Year’ award on the arrest of Saddam Hussein two years ago and an International Emmy for his BBC coverage of the 2006 Lebanon War.