The terror attacks in London on 7 and 21 July resulted in 52 people murdered, four suicide bombers dead and Britain's biggest ever police operation to track down the individuals and organisations behind them. Now we face the challenge of understanding what drives people to such appalling acts against civilians and what can be done to prevent them. Channel 4's wide-ranging season of programmes investigates the history and evolution of suicide bombing, and its impact on Muslims and non-Muslims in Britain and internationally.

Thursday 4 August, 9pm

The Cult of the Suicide Bomber – part 1
Ex-CIA field officer Bob Baer explores the roots of suicide bombing use of martyrdom in the battlefield by Shia armed forces in Iran and Lebanon. Read more about the history and politics of suicide bombing and find out about the people who organise and carry it out.

Thursday 4 August, 11.55pm

Shariah TV Special
In the studio, young British Muslims discuss how the recent bombings in London are affecting their communities, and put challenging questions to a panel of Muslim scholars. Read about the issues.

Monday 8 August, 8pm

Dispatches: Why Bomb London?
This programme examines the forces and influences that may have combined to make the recent attacks on London more likely and analyses whether a series of foreign policy decisions and social and political errors in Britain made the transport bombings not so much a surprise as an inevitability. Read more.

Monday 8 August, 11.50pm

Inside the Mind of the Suicide Bomber (Repeat)
Are the Palestinian suicide bombers fanatics without a conscience or ordinary young people, driven to despair by decades of military occupation? Director Tom Roberts is given unprecedented access to Palestinians who have attempted to blow up Israeli civilians along with themselves. Follow up the debate.

Thursday 11 August, 9pm

The Cult of the Suicide Bomber – part 2
Bob Baer's journey continues to Israel/Palestine to track the evolution of suicide bombing from its use against soldiers in the battlefield to its use against civilians by Palestinians fighting against the occupation of their country. He asks whether this is now the weapon of choice for any group with a grudge. Read more about the history and politics of suicide bombing and find out about the people who organise and carry it out.

Thursday 11 August, 10.50pm

Yasmin (Repeat)
Simon Beaufoy's compelling film explores what it means to be Asian, Muslim and British in the 21st century. Set against a backdrop of poverty, high unemployment and racism, Yasmin's story deals with the universal themes of guilt, transgression and the search for identity. Read more.

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