Science and Religion in Islam Taner Edis Department of Physics, Truman State University www2.truman.edu/ ~edis/

2007Science and Religion in Islam2 Why Islam? Science and religion debate –Complicated. –Dominated by Christian background. Islam is a close cousin of Christianity and Judaism, but is also different enough in theology and history to be interesting.

2007Science and Religion in Islam3 Science and the supernatural Our sciences have converged on naturalistic explanations of the world – physics, biology, neuroscience… Casts doubt on supernatural realities.

2007Science and Religion in Islam4 Worrying about materialism Mustafa Akyol, (liberal Muslim, ID proponent): “ID is indeed a wedge that can split the foundations of scientific materialism… For the first time, the West appears to be the antidote to, not the source of, the materialist plague.” Symbolic enemy.

2007Science and Religion in Islam5 Responding to materialism Technology is attractive to modern religious people. Linked to science. So can’t ignore science. Need to appropriate science, and correct science if it disagrees with revealed truths.

2007Science and Religion in Islam6 Conservative, popular options Science either –Supports traditional beliefs, such as those derived from taking scriptures at face value; –Or if it does not, “True Science” done by the devout shows the errors of the materialists.

2007Science and Religion in Islam7 Creationism Christian version: often young-earth. Muslim version: Quranic; often old-earth. –Widespread belief in special creation, linked to scriptural literalism; –Popular pseudoscience.

2007Science and Religion in Islam8 Islamic Creationism Turkish origin, but internationally popular. Deny common descent. Borrows from Christian creationists. Sees “Darwinism” as a materialist conspiracy.

2007Science and Religion in Islam9 Science-in-scripture Christian version: Electricity, laws of physics in Bible; Behemoth = dinosaur. Muslim version: Modern science and technology anticipated in Quran. Very popular legends. 55:19-20 about barrier between two bodies of water. Mediterranean-Atlantic salinity barrier; Jacques Cousteau conversion legend.

2007Science and Religion in Islam10 Quranic Embryology Scattered verses such as 39:6 “God creates you inside your mothers, in successive formations, in three darknesses.” Authority of Western MDs: Bucaille, Moore. Fragments of ancient Greek medicine.

2007Science and Religion in Islam11 Quranic astrophysics Seven layers of skies/heavens in Quran. H. Nurbaki: 1.Solar system 2.Our galaxy 3.Local group of galaxies 4.“radio magnetic sphere” 5.Quasars 6.Expanding universe 7.“remaining boundless infinities”

2007Science and Religion in Islam12 Why so popular? Miracle: Proves divine source of Quran. Like Biblical prophecy for conservative Christians. Intellectually worthless.

2007Science and Religion in Islam13 Not defending medieval ideas! Turkey: much pseudoscience tied to Nur movement. Said Nursi: respected religious leader. Orthodox. Nur adherents noted for modern outlook; pro- capitalism, pro-technology enthusiasm. Do pseudoscience because they value science!

2007Science and Religion in Islam14 Reconstructing science Christian version: “theistic science” ideas in ID movement. Muslim version: Islamizing science. –Design-centered biology and physics; –Social science shaped by Islamic social ideals, Islamic law. Serious ideas much debated by Muslim intellectuals. Affects policy.

2007Science and Religion in Islam15 Sophisticated creationism ID in Turkey. Seyyed Hossein Nasr –Common descent OK; –No natural creativity; –Reconstruct God- centered science; –Revive medieval Islamic views.

2007Science and Religion in Islam16 Moderate options Moderate, liberal Christians seek compromise with science, interpret Bible less literally. –Example: guided evolution (ID-lite). Muslim case: there is some openness to metaphorical interpretation. –Some theologians adopt guided evolution, accepting much common descent.

2007Science and Religion in Islam17 Guided evolution Even guided, non- Darwinian evolution is controversial. Naturalistic process, particularly random element unacceptable. Human evolution particularly unacceptable.

2007Science and Religion in Islam18 More liberal options Christianity: the supernatural retreats to ultimate, metaphysical domain. Science deals with mere details, is autonomous. Islam: much rarer. Science should be subordinate to revelation and moral concerns. (Even liberals think so.) Exceptions: some defend autonomy of science. Abdolkarim Soroush in Iran.

2007Science and Religion in Islam19 What is different in Islam? The religious and intellectual options Muslims face are similar to those for Christians. But among Muslims, science is weaker and religiously-colored pseudoscience is stronger. Among intellectuals as well as the popular realm. Why?

2007Science and Religion in Islam20 History Past few centuries dominated by need to catch up to modern, especially Western world. West has technological advantage  military and commercial power. Need science!

2007Science and Religion in Islam21 “Golden Age” exaggerated Muslim science did not greatly decline. Europe surged ahead with a new way of learning about nature. Medieval Muslim science embedded in religious, occult ways of thinking. Different from modern science!

2007Science and Religion in Islam22 Defending Islam Borrow technology but guard against outside cultural influences. Materialist aspects of science undesirable. External imposition, not indigenous heresy as in Europe. Retain primacy of revelation; supernatural-centered view of nature.

2007Science and Religion in Islam23 Awareness of Christianity European secularization seen as a disaster for religion; an example to avoid. Separating science from religion is dangerous. Even liberals are reluctant to go this way. Islam need not repeat Western history of science-religion accommodation.

2007Science and Religion in Islam24 Strong doctrinal conservatism Liberal Muslim views much weaker than their Christian counterparts. Reinterpretation, seeing religion as human strongly opposed. Even violence. Even modernists, democrats can be cultural conservatives.

2007Science and Religion in Islam25 Creationism example In education, commonly no evolution, or official support for creationism. International popular, media-based creationism such as Harun Yahya. Supported in intellectual circles, by academic theologians, by some science faculty in universities. ID default in Muslim intellectual culture.

2007Science and Religion in Islam26 Weakness of science Muslim lands very weak in science. –Applied science OK; –Lack of creativity. Ineffective opposing creationism –Endorse pseudoscience –Tagged as secularist.

2007Science and Religion in Islam27 Secularism is discredited Ideas with secularist associations suffer. Secularism = despotic, elite imposition on pious populations. Democracy  religious populism. Islam central to political legitimation.

2007Science and Religion in Islam28 No separate spheres? Science and religion in West: intellectual friction, institutional accommodation. Separate spheres. Science independent of religion. Not in Islamic world? How much of a practical problem is scientific backwardness? Religion Science

2007Science and Religion in Islam29 Plug Taner Edis, An Illusion of Harmony: Science and Religion in Islam (Prometheus Books, 2007).

2007Science and Religion in Islam30 Web site www2.truman.edu/~edis/ Contains many articles on science and religion, and science and Islam topics.

2007Science and Religion in Islam31 Thanks for listening! Any questions?