In January 2010, Mohsin Naqvi, Religious Scholar and Member of the Council of Islamic Ideology, Pakistan. was invited to lead a discussion on “Development of Muslim Jurisprudence (Fiqh)." The audience comprised Masters and Postgraduate Diploma students of CBEC, and a few others specially invited for the session. Dr. Naqvi discussed the different influences that have shaped the development of Muslim jurisprudence.

Asif Aslam Farrukhi, renowned Urdu Scholar, was invited to the Socratic Hour on 7th August, 2009. He led a discussion with an audience of 40 people on Allama Iqbal’s "Shikwa aur Jawab-e-Shikwa". He began his talk with a historical background of the two poems, mentioning similar efforts by other poets as well. He went on to link the contents of the two poems written almost a century ago with the issues that the Muslim world faces today, highlighting the striking similarity. There was a lively question-answer session at the end of the talk.

Asif Aslam Farrukhi, was the CBEC guest for the Socratic Hour on 5th June, 2009. Dr. Farrukhi is a Public Health Physician working for several years with UNICEF, but also has a long history of involvement with Urdu literature as a writer and a critic. He led a discussion entitled "Lahoo aur Phool", and gave an account of contemporary Urdu prose as well as poetry. Despite the fact that there was a noticeable dearth of readers of Urdu literature, he noted that Urdu was still thriving and producing good writers. As usual, his talk was followed by a lively question and answer session in which the audience members probed him about the reasons for diminishing interest in Urdu literature. The session seemed to kindle a new flame for the national language, at least among the audience members.

Manzoor Ahmed, renowned Philosopher and member of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and Mohsin Naqvi, renowned Religious Scholar and member of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), were invited to the Socratic Hour in April, 2009. They gave an overview on the recent recommendations of the CII on divorce. The discussion also involved issues like the contents of the proposed new Nikkah Nama and matters concerning guardianship of children. The event was attended by a small group of professionals.

Muzzafar Iqbal, founder-president of Centre for Islam and Science, Canada, was invited to the Socratic Hour in March, 2009. He led a discussion with a select audience after giving a talk entitled "Islam and the Question of Biomedical Ethics".

Nomanul Haq, from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Lahore University of Management Sciences led the discussion in February, 2009 on "Science or Scientism? Distinguishing between Science and Technology Masquerading as Science." This session was attended by a select group of scientists, physicians, journalists, and a few ethics students. He spoke about the current trend of science education focusing only towards feeding technological fields and education becoming confined to a result-oriented endeavour.

2008

Amar Jesani, from the Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights (CEHAT), Mumbai, India, led the discussion in October on "Ethics and Law: When is it ethical to respect or violate law?" This session was attended by a select group consisting of physicians, journalists, and a few students. Dr. Jesani constructed his discussion around the issue of sex selection and its impact on society in the aftermath of ultrasound examination becoming widely available.

Sharmeen Khan, advocate of the Sindh High Court was invited in May, 2008 to talk about "Law and Medical Matters". She initiated the meeting with a comprehensive overview on the legal aspects of various medical matters in Pakistan. In her far ranging talk, she spoke on abortion, euthanasia and the right to die including suicide, legal definition of death and its implications with organ transplantation. She also discussed the recently promulgated Human Organ Transplant Ordinance and spoke about the legal loopholes that remain. Another area she discussed was informed consent, and the level of mental incapacity that is required for courts to intervene. She also discussed the hospital's liability after consent has been obtained. The discussion was a very lively one and members of her audience, which included the PGD students and some graduates, raised several issues that they considered important.

Henry L. Ruf, adjunct professor of English and Philosophy at Florida Atlantic University and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at West Virginia University, was invited to lead our Socratic Hour in August, 2007. He spoke on "Sameness and Differences in World Religions: A Discussion."

Farid Esack, scholar in contemporary Islam from Harvard Divinity School, spoke on "Quranic Hermeneutics" in July, 2007.

Ebrahim Moosa, a renowned Muslim scholar from the Duke University was our guest for the Socratic Hour in June, 2007. He has done a significant amount of work on Imam Al Ghazali and led a discussion on the "Ethics of Imam Al Ghazali", based on a chapter of his book.

Retired Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, renowned legal expert and now Dean of the Faculty of Law, Hamdard University, was invited to lead the Socratic Hour in April, 2007. He spoke at length about the judiciary and the part it should play in society.

Akhtar Saeed Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic Studies, led the Socratic Hour in February, 2007 in which he discussed "Quranic Hermeneutics as Propounded by Fazlur Rahman." The discussions revolved around the importance of understanding the moral message contained within the Quran.

Manzoor Ahmad, led the April, 2006 session on "The Medicalisation of Life", drawn from a chapter from Ivan Illitch's book Limits to Medicine.

Ghazi Salahuddin, Newspaper editor and human rights activist, led the Socratic Hour in December, 2005 on the topic of "Ethics through Literature," and explored the important connections between the two disciplines.

Manzoor Ahmed, led the session in July, 2005, in which the group reviewed and discussed historical tensions that have existed between Islam and democracy. The discussion was based on a paper on the same topic by Ahmed.

Manzoor Ahmed, a prominent philosopher,  inaugurated the Socratic Hour in May, 2005. The session focused on "The Life and Philosophy of Imam Al-Ghazali."