Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science
Ebook
In secular Europe the veracity of modern science is almost always taken for granted. Whether they think of the evolutionary proofs of Darwin or of spectacular investigation into the boundaries of physics conducted by CERN's Large Hadron Collider, most people assume that scientific enquiry goes to the heart of fundamental truths about the universe. Yet elsewhere, science is under siege. In the USA, Christian fundamentalists contest whether evolution should be taught in schools at all. And in Muslim countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Pakistan and Malaysia, a mere 15 per cent of those recently surveyed believed Darwin's theory to be 'true' or 'probably true'. This thoughtful and passionately argued book contends absolutely to the contrary: not only that evolutionary theory does not contradict core Muslim beliefs, but that many scholars, from Islam's golden age to the present, adopted a worldview that accepted evolution as a given. Guessoum suggests that the Islamic world, just like the Christian, needs to take scientific questions - 'quantum questions' - with the utmost seriousness if it is to recover its true heritage and integrity.
In its application of a specifically Muslim perspective to important topics like cosmology, divine action and evolution, the book makes a vital contribution to debate in the disputed field of 'science and religion'.
In secular Europe the veracity of modern science is almost always taken for granted. This book states that evolutionary theory does not contradict core Muslim beliefs, but that many scholars, from Islam's golden age to the present, adopted a worldview that accepted evolution as a given.
Prologue: Averroes and I
Introduction: Islam and Science Today
PART I: Fundamentals (First things first): God, the Qur'an, and Science
Chapter 1: Allah, the Creator and Sustainer
Chapter 2: The Qur'an and its Philosophy of Knowledge/Science
Chapter 3: Science and Its Critics
Chapter 4: Can One Develop an “Islamic Science”?
Chapter 5: I`jaz - Modern Science in the Qur'an?
Summary and Conclusions of Part I
PART II: Islam and Contemporary Science Issues
Chapter 6: Islam and Cosmology
Chapter 7: Islam and Design
Chapter 8: Islam and the Anthropic Principle
Chapter 9: Islam and Evolution (Human and Biological)
PART III: Outlook
Chapter 10: Islam and Science tomorrow
Epilogue - A conversation with my students
Appendix A: Towards an Open-Minded Science (Collective Article)
Appendix B: The Flaws in 'A New Astronomical Quranic Method for The Determination Of The Greatest Speed C' by Dr. Mansour Hassab-Elnaby
Appendix C: Survey of 'Science and Religion' Views at the American University of Sharjah, UAE
Bibliography
Index
- Title: Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science
- Author: Nidhal Guessoum
- Publisher: I.B. Tauris
- Print Publication Date: 2010
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780857730756, 0857730754
- Resource ID: LLS:9780857730756
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-04T09:26:31Z
Nidhal Guessoum is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He has published widely on the mutual compatibility of science and the Islamic tradition. His book Reconcilier L'Islam et la Science Moderne was published in France in 2009.