The question of science is a charged and problematic nexus in contemporary discourse on Islam. Buttressed by the “lack” of science in the contemporary Muslim world and absent a scientific revolution of the kind that emerged in early modern Europe, Islam is sometimes even framed as a religion that opposes scientific inquiry and rationality. This one-day course explores some of the fundamental premises and facets of Islam and science discourse by recalling its proper historical context.
The participants of this one-day course will gain a better understanding of the primary questions addressed by the Islam and science nexus:
- What the Qur’an says about the created order of the cosmos, and about how to study it
- How premodern Muslim scholars and scientists understood the relationship between the Qur’anic worldview and the study of the natural world; and what propelled the scientific enterprise in Islamic civilization between the 8th and 15th centuries CE
- How the Islam and science discourse has been problematically framed (e.g., the so-called golden age approach), by whom, and why; and how Muslims have apologetically responded
- How might we reframe the Islam and science nexus to consider the Qur’anic worldview itself?
Session 1: Discourse on Method
How to study the relationship between Islam and science, given the fact of existence of a long scientific tradition in Islam prior to the rise of modern science; Muslims’ “missing out” on modern science; and having none of the so-called warfare history; and an almost total absence of scientific thinking/culture/practice in the contemporary Muslim world. This historical background is sine qua non for a proper understanding of the methods which can be applied to the subject.
Session 2: A Brief History of the Islam and Science Discourse Over the Last 50 Years
Session 3: Building Models for Islam and Science Nexus—Part 1
The Divine and the Created Cosmic Order: What does the Qur’an say about the physical world studied and explored by various sciences. What are some of the key concepts in the vast commentary literature. Was there a T zero? Temporality and eternity of the world debates in the pre-modern era and their consequences for cosmology today.
Session 4: Building Models for Islam and Science Nexus—Part 2
Modern science and Muslims: the history of the encounter between modern science and Muslims (distinct from Islam and modern science discussion)
Session 5: Specific Issues in Cosmology, Evolution and Biomedical Issues
How to study the relationship between Islam and science, given the fact of existence of a long scientific tradition in Islam prior to the rise of modern science; Muslims’ “missing out” on modern science; and having none of the so-called warfare history; and an almost total absence of scientific thinking/culture/practice in the contemporary Muslim world. This historical background is sine qua non for a proper understanding of the methods which can be applied to the subject.
Session 2: A Brief History of the Islam and Science Discourse Over the Last 50 Years
Session 3: Building Models for Islam and Science Nexus—Part 1
The Divine and the Created Cosmic Order: What does the Qur’an say about the physical world studied and explored by various sciences. What are some of the key concepts in the vast commentary literature. Was there a T zero? Temporality and eternity of the world debates in the pre-modern era and their consequences for cosmology today.
Session 4: Building Models for Islam and Science Nexus—Part 2
Modern science and Muslims: the history of the encounter between modern science and Muslims (distinct from Islam and modern science discussion)
Session 5: Specific Issues in Cosmology, Evolution and Biomedical Issues
About the Instructor:
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Dr. Muzaffar IqbalDr. Muzaffar Iqbal is the founder-president of Center for Islamic Sciences, (previously, Center for Islam and Science); editor of Islamic Sciences, a semi-annual journal of Islamic perspectives on science and civilization, and General Editor of the seven-volume Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur'an. the first English-language reference work on the Qur'an based on fourteen centuries of Muslim reflection and scholarship. The first volume was published in January 2013.
Dr. Iqbal received his Ph.D. in chemistry (University of Saskatchewan, Canada), and then left the field of experimental science to fully devote himself to study Islam, its spiritual, intellectual and scientific traditions. Born in Lahore, Pakistan, he has lived in Canada since 1979. He has held academic and research positions at University of Saskatchewan (1979-1984), University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984-85), and McGill University (1986). During 1990-1999, he pursued his research and study on various aspects of Islam in Pakistan, where he also worked as Director, Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) between 1991-96 and as Director, Pakistan Academy of Sciences (1998-99). During 1999-2001, Dr. Iqbal was Program Director (for the Muslim World) for the Science-Religion Course Program of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), Berkeley, USA. Dr. Iqbal has written, translated, and edited twenty-one books and published nearly one hundred papers on various aspects of Islam, its spiritual and intellectual traditions and on the relationship between Islam and science, Islam and the West, the contemporary situation of Muslims, and the history of Islamic science. He co-translated volume VII of Tafhim al-Qur’an, an influential twentieth century tafsir (Islamic Foundation, 2001). He contributed, as consultant, to Concentric Circles—Nurturing Awe and Wonder in Early Childhood and is one of the founders of Muslim Education Foundation (Canada), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and services to educators, students and parents for a process of learning built on the Qur’anic worldview. He is also the Series Editor for Ashgate's Islam and Science: Historic and Contemporary Perspectives (2012), a four volume work that brings together the most important and influential articles dealing with various aspects of the relationship between Islam and science. His publications include:
For a more detailed list of publications, see publications. |