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National education aims to produce dedicated, religious, moral individuals and cognitive intelligence. Applying students’ Islamic values through integrating Islam and science in science learning is one of the strategies that can be used to achieve these goals. Integrating Islam and science in science learning can direct the formation of knowledge about science concepts and improve students’ attitudes and spiritual skills. This study aims to analyze the effect of integrating Islam and science in science learning. This study explores the effect of integrating Islam and science in science learning with meta-analysis research by calculating effect size (ES). Research data were obtained from 38 studies from national and international journals. The results showed that integrating Islam and science in science learning has a significant impact, as seen from the ES of 0.658. It is explained that science learning integrating Islam and science can be an alternative learning method. Integrating Islam and science into science learning is an alternative educational method to achieve national education goals that can increase students’ intellectual and spiritual values. The results of this study can be utilized as a reference in the learning process and the development of teaching materials in science learning in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam and Science have a long and complex relationship, with both fields influencing each other in different ways. While there are many areas of overlap and compatibility, there are also several grey areas where tensions and disagreements exist. The relationship between the Quran and Science has been a topic of much discussion and debate over the years. While some argue that the Quran contains scientific knowledge that was only discovered by modern science, others believe that the Quran should be interpreted metaphorically and not as a scientific text. This analytical study aims to identify and analyze the grey areas that exist in the relationship between the Quran and Science through a review of relevant literature and analysis of Quranic verses. The study found that while there are areas of overlap and compatibility, there are also several grey areas where tensions and disagreements exist, particularly in the interpretation of Quranic verses related to science. There are also several areas of tension such as the role of women in scientific pursuits, and the relationship between Islam and modern scientific theories. The study concludes that there is a need for a deeper understanding and dialogue between the two fields to address these grey areas and promote a more harmonious relationship between Islam and Science. The study concludes that there is a need for a more nuanced and contextual understanding of these verses to promote a harmonious relationship between the Quran and Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the doctrine of the miraculousness or inimitability (ijaz) of the Quran. It mentions that ijaz resides not in the Quran's Arabic text but rather in its ability to divine or predict the findings of modern science. It also mentions that Muslims of the modern age, which they associate with a widespread mobilization of science against religion.

One of the most important types of scholarly literature to highlight the contentious debate on the relationship between Islam and modern science has been modern commentary on the Qur'an (tafsīr). This paper examines how modern commentators have conceptualised the relationship between religion and science and how, in turn, this modern concern with science has led to the emergence of a new genre within tafsīr literature. The article explores the extent to which this new genre represents an extension to earlier forms of tafsīr and how authors of this genre relate their work to the extended exegetical tradition. Special attention is devoted to Tafsīr al-manār by Muḥammad ʿAbduh and Rashīd Riḍā and its impact on subsequent works of tafsīr, with a particular focus on Tafsīr al-jawāhir by Ṭanṭāwī Jawharī. The article aims to analyse the epistemic authority of science in these works and explore how this authority has been used for the construction of the divine text in light of modern knowledge and sensibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout Islamic history, various arguments have been raised by Muslim scholars concerning how the Quran and scientific knowledge are related to one another. This paper seeks to examine how contemporary Iranian religious intellectuals (rowshanfekrān-e-dīnī) have dealt with the question of the compatibility or incompatibility between Islam and science. In particular, the paper focuses on the writings of two of the most significant reformers of the post-revolutionary era, namely Abdolkarim Soroush and Muhammad Mujtahed Shabestari, concerning the relation between science and religion. The paper also examines the extent to which the ideas of these two thinkers about the relation between Islam and science reflect those of pre-modern and modern Muslim scholars. To do so, I first examine various pre-modern and modern discourses within the Islamic tradition about Islam-science relation as well as the scientific exegesis of the Quran, and then investigate the extent to which Soroush's and Shabestari's perspectives are related to such discourses. The central argument of the paper is that the theories proposed by Soroush and Shabestari significantly differ from the views of those modern and pre-modern Muslim scholars who attempt to argue in favour of the dichotomous view that Islam is either compatible or incompatible with scientific knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam's positioning in relation to Western ideals of individuality, freedom, women's rights and democracy has been an abiding theme of sociological analysis and cultural criticism, especially since September 11 2001. Less attention has been paid, however, to another concept that has been central to the image of Western modernity: science. This article analyses comments about Islam gathered over the course of 117 interviews and 13 focus groups with non-Muslim members of the public and scientists in the UK and Canada on the theme of the relationship between science and religion. The article shows how participants' accounts of Islam and science contrasted starkly with their accounts of other religious traditions, with a notable minority of predominantly non-religious interviewees describing Islam as uniquely, and uniformly, hostile to science and rational thought. It highlights how such descriptions of Islam were used to justify the cultural othering of Muslims in the West and anxieties about educational segregation, demographic 'colonization' and Islamist extremism. Using these data, the article argues for: (1) wider recognition of how popular understandings of science remain bound up with conceptions of Western cultural superiority; and (2) greater attentiveness to how prejudices concerning Islamic beliefs help make respectable the idea that Muslims pose a threat to the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamization of Knowledge process is considered as one of the most important and intellectual movements of the 20ih century. It is also one of the most credible and long-standing contemporary Muslim intellectual responses towards modernism. The un-defined structure and framework of the Islamization process makes it a challenging task and recognized more as a theory rather than effective methodology plan. This paper focuses on the Islamization of Knowledge in general, comprising with its history, definition and pioneers. Moreover, Islamization of science subjects in specific with the objective of introducing a framework for this phenomenon, based on Al-Farouqi’s 12-step work-plan and Berghout’s framework using a descriptive theoretical theory.

Internet videos are one form of "new media" that enable us to study the movement of narratives. Lectures addressing both Islam and science appear often in these videos. One of the most popular speakers in this material is Dr. Zakir Naik, a Muslim preacher from India. Naik's lectures often interpret select modern scientific discoveries to "prove" the divine origin of the Qurān, a pseudo-scientific endeavor known as ijāzilmī. This paper contextualizes Naik's branding and how he draws upon the authority of science and Western scientists. Naik has been able to trade on both his medical training and his South Asian roots by combining formulaic presentations from famous pro-Islamic Westerners such as Dr. Maurice Bucaille with stylings learned from preachers such as Ahmad Deedat. Garnering both devoted fans and vociferous critics, Naik has developed into a recognizable cultural symbol with his own transnational authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study examines Indonesian students' constructed knowledge of solar eclipse. It investigated the embraced myths, religious view--particularly that of Islam, and science concept that build students' comprehension of the solar eclipse. A survey was done in Bandung (Indonesia), where the solar eclipse took place on March 9, 2016, to 529 students (categorized on age and educational level) and 67 lecturers, and interviews with college students. Results showed that students' belief on mystical stories decreased along with the older of the age and the higher of their educational level. Furthermore, most lecturers have good understanding about the solar-eclipse rituals and myths, in which this supports the student understanding. The interviews revealed that while some myth-based practices were still embraced, students' understanding of the solar eclipse is still dominated by the science concept and the Islamic religious views that they have learned since their elementary education. The literature showed that two of eleven solar-eclipse rituals and myths in Indonesia are relevant to the science and Islamic views. Therefore, the myth, science concept, and Islamic view on the solar eclipse phenomena should be delivered since the elementary education. This study recommends teachers to integrate science with real-life context to enrich students' understanding while clarifying false information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a general survey of the contributions made by women to science, knowledge and welfare in Islamic civilisation. The paper determines that early Muslims approached Islam and science in a holistic fashion, after adopting an epistemology which maintained a unity between science, technology and spiritual knowledge. The paper also suggests that, in the early age of Islam, women were given positions of trust and high responsibility in the spheres of leadership, education, and science. But, this empowerment of women in early Islam bears little relation to the conditions of women in modern-day Muslim societies, where women often suffer the most in conflict-ridden regions, whether from insecurity, domestic abuse, low education levels or poor medical care. The paper accordingly establishes a direct link between the absence of good governance and issues like gender inequality, the violation of the rights of women, and the current weakness of Muslims in science and technology. Without good governance, the status of women is unlikely to improve. If women’s rights to both a proper education and an occupation continue to be neglected, the equilibrium of Muslim society will be damaged, hindering its ability to produce innovative and passionate minds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Orthodoxy and science invites contrasts with other religious traditions. In contradistinction to the Latin West, for example, Eastern Orthodoxy throughout its history embraced the "pagan" scientific achievements of ancient Greece. Also unlike in the West, where ecclesiastical institutions often supported scientific activities, scholars in the East--in both the Byzantine and Ottoman periods--relied primarily on temporal sources to sustain their investigations of nature. Islam, with its strenuous resistance to any assimilation of the human to the divine, provides another contrasting example, as does the later Protestant justification for science grounded in the need to restore a fallen world through the application of experimental research. Not surprisingly, Eastern Orthodox believers seem to have paid little attention to non-Christian faiths, with the exception of Islam and Judaism, until well into the twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Science and Orthodox Christianity: An Overview" is an ambitious survey that reminds scholars of science in Islamic societies that the conversation between Islam and science is really a conversation between Islam and science in different con texts and that conversations between Islam and science can be found with less renowned scientific developments such as prophetic medicine. This response points out parallels in how Greek Orthodox and Ottoman Muslim scholars mediated new developments in Western European science and in how both Greek Orthodox and some Ottoman Muslim scholars propounded a mathematical humanism. Finally, it argues that the account of post-1453 scientific exchange is more complex than "Science and Orthodox Christianity" intimates. At the least, if there was no scholarly exchange between Greek Orthodox Christians, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, Muslims and Jews--who, in turn, enjoyed scholarly exchange with the West well after 1453--there are clearly two different Easts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamization of Knowledge process is considered as one of the most important and intellectual movements of the 20ih century. It is also one of the most credible and longstanding contemporary Muslim intellectual responses towards modernism. The undefined structure and framework of the Islamization process makes it a challenging task and recognized more as a theory rather than effective methodology plan. This paper focuses on the Islamization of Knowledge in general, comprising with its history, definition and pioneers. Moreover, Islamization of science subjects in specific with the objective of introducing a framework for this phenomenon, based on Al-Farouqi's 12-step work-plan and Berghout's framework using a descriptive theoretical theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of an international conference, hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), as part of the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 (IYL-2015), held in Paris, France on September 14-15, 2015. Topics covered include the Islamic golden age of science during the mid-eighth to thirteenth centuries, and the numerous anniversaries in the field of optics in 2015.

Following a brief discussion on the differences between science and technology as well as engineering's main characteristics, I explore fiqh's epistemological features. The upshot of my discussion is that although Muslim scholars like Farabi and Ghazzali consciously placed fiqh in the category of "applied sciences," it seems that many of the fuqahā' and other Muslim (or even non-Muslim) scholars have not fully appreciated the significance of this point. The result, as I argue, has been epistemic confusion on the part of many fuqahā' and perhaps other Muslim scholars. It has generally been assumed that fiqh has the (immediate) aim of acquiring knowledge and discovering objective truth about reality, and that by doing so it can fulfill its other purpose: dealing with practical issues. I shall argue that this misconception has contributed to some unfortunate consequences. Equating a faqīh, who is a practical problem-solver par excellence (i.e., an engineer), with an 'ālim (a man of knowledge) has helped the fuqahā' further consolidate their dominant position in the ecosystem of Islamic culture. In turn, this has paved the way for the dominance of instrumentalistic/ pragmatic approaches, in contrast to truth-oriented activities, in traditional centers of learning in Muslim societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a longstanding debate on whether Muslims can be modern. Some argue that they can only be so if they forsake their traditions and embrace rationalism. In this article I argue that the Gülen Movement, a transnational Turkish Muslim educational activist network has found a middle ground by blending religious traditions with modern day realities. Drawing on interviews from the movement's teachers and graduates of its schools, from Turkey, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, I explore, through the prism of al-riḥla fī ṭalab al-ʿilm (travel in search of knowledge), their maintenance of the longstanding Islamic ritual of travel as a means of excelling both professionally and religiously. In turn, I demonstrate how the movement, on a number of levels, effectively reconciles the spiritual and the everyday through updating Islamic practices to better integrate themselves and other Muslims into a globalised world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Scientific productivity has been in decline in the Muslim world since as early as the 15th century and is only now reviving. Many factors have been attributed to the rise and decline, falling under two broad categories: external and internal influences. The popular understanding of scientific decline in the Muslim world, known as the 'classical narrative' promulgated by orientalists, suggests that only external influences - mainly the synthesis of Persian and Greek elements of civilisation into the Arab imperialist project - were the reasons for the sharp rise of the sciences within Islamic civilisation. Simultaneously, this narrative also suggests that internal influences, exemplified in the impact of Al-Ghazālī's thought towards a more conservative religious approach, as opposed to the more 'rationalist' elements of the Mutazilite School of theology - played the most significant role in decline. This paper shows that the classical narrative is invalid, that there were more legitimate factors at play in both the rise and decline of science in the Muslim world, and that the contemporary stagnation in scientific productivity is a result of this misunderstanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Darwin's theory of evolution has been the cause of great distress and the subject of intense and constant debates among Jews, Christians and Muslims. The article analyzes why and how Sunni Muslim-Arab modernist-apologetic scholars, whose approach emphasizes the compatibility of Islam with empirical sciences, shifted from reluctantly reconciling the theory of evolution with the Qur'an in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to rejecting Darwin as a fabricator and describing his theory as a Christian aberration in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Through a comparative survey that focuses on the works of Ḥusayn al-Jisr (d. 1909), Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā (d. 1935), Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (d. 1996), Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī (b. 1926) and Muḥammad ʿImāra (b. 1931), the article suggests that this shift corresponded with changes in the American anti-evolutionist discourse, and that, while contemporary modernist-apologetic literature casts Darwin as illegitimate, it does not close the door to a future acceptance of the theory of evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Muslims today employ various and often conflicting strategies to mitigate contradictions between traditional Islamic teachings and modern science, especially in matters related to the age of the universe and the origin of humans. On the one hand, any scientific theory deemed problematic might be rejected outright; on the other, Islamic texts may be reinterpreted to fully support a novel scientific theory. There is, however, an alternative hermeneutical approach that uses intra-textual analysis to acknowledge "interpretative latitude" in the Qur'ān and other Islamic texts - the possibility that these texts allow for ambiguity and multiple interpretations that may or may not agree with modem science. In this paper, human evolution will serve as a case study of the implementation of this approach via a structured discussion of common Muslim objections to the theory. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the implications of this approach on defining the role of the Qur'an and on the boundaries of religion and science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article gives an overview of Islamic ethical thought and its relationship to bioethical issues. It argues that Islamic bioethics can be viewed both as a cumulative tradition building on the Islamic ethical resources and as an ongoing discourse that captures the effort to understand and implement Islamic moral precepts pertaining to a wide range of issues including the beginning and end of human life, treatment of the human body, and proper attitudes towards the environment. After a brief introduction on the term 'bioethics' and its history, the article is divided into three main sections exploring the foundations of Islamic (bio)ethics, the evolution and development of medical ethics in the Islamic tradition, and the main challenges confronting contemporary Islamic bioethical discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information discussed at a symposium held August 22-31, 2014 in Paris, France organized by professors Nidhal Guessoum and Jean Staune on Islam and science is presented. Topics include understanding schools of thoughts namely the Sacred Islamic Science by Syyed Hossein Nasr, Ethical Islamic Science by Ziauddin Sardar, and Universal Science by Mohammad Abdus-Salam.

That Islam and science enjoy a harmonious relationship is frequently endorsed in learned as well in popular debates. Amongst the first scholars who have studied such ideas and their diffusion from an external perspective are Leif Stenberg and contributors to the special issue of Social Epistemology, both published in 1996. Drawing on Stenberg’s study, I argue that we can identify the emergence of a “new generation” of authors considering conceptual shifts at work in some contemporary authors. In the first section, I recall the ideas commonly evoked in order to substantiate the claim that Islam and science are in harmony, and their entanglement. In the second section, I reconstruct Stenberg’s analysis. In the third section, I trace a picture of the contemporary landscape; I linger on the two most systematic criticisms so far levelled at the advocates of the harmony between Islam and science, those of Hoodbhoy and Edis. In the fourth section, I narrow the expression “new generation” by referring to four specific authors, here taken as paradigmatic. Their works share substantial traits. I regard each one of these traits as a necessary but not sufficient condition to belong to the “new generation”, and their possession as demarcating the “new generation” both from older contributions and those that presently just extend them. In the fifth section, I touch upon challenges for and of the new generation: three sets of intertwined difficulties faced by the authors belonging to the “new generation” itself and by the scholars interested in studying the debate from a neutral point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the work of four Muslim authors (al-Faruqi, Nasr, Golshani, and Guessoum) who debate the interaction of Islam and science in light of Stenmark's multidimensional model for religion and science. He argues that Stenmark's model enlightens their respective theories once some slight corrections are applied to it, and he develops an agenda for further work in the same direction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the extent to which reliance on DNA analysis for paternity verification conflicts with the Islamic law of paternity. More particularly, it seeks to examine the extent to which DNA testing can be equated with the classical method of physiognomy (qiyāfa) as its modern equivalent. Depending on whether such a relationship can be drawn, Sharīʿa ruling on the former will be no different from its ruling on the latter. Although the majority opinion of modern Muslim jurists recognizes DNA testing as a reliable scientific method that can be used, to varying degrees, for paternity verification, such recognition is made by appeal to Islamic legal methodology and within the boundaries defined by it. The paper thus illustrates not only the extent to which DNA analysis is legitimized but also the efforts of Muslim jurists to enable the Islamic law of paternity to cope with modern scientific challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper places 'Islam and bioethics' within the framework of 'religion and science' discourse. It thus may be seen as a complement to the paper by Henk ten Have () with which this thematic section in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science opens, which places 'Islam and bioethics' in the context of contemporary bioethics. It turns out that in Zygon there have been more submitted articles on Islam and bioethics than on any other Islam-related topic. This may be a consequence of the global nature of the bioethical issues, driven by advancement in science and technology, which allows for conversation across cultural and religious boundaries even when the normative references and argumentative methods are tradition-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the affect of the degree of religiosity of student teachers, and their nationalism and scientific background on their perception of the nature of science (NOS). First year Arab and Jewish religiously observant, traditional and secular students in Israel (101 in number) with different scientific backgrounds participated in the study. The students completed a closed questionnaire with 35 statements that explored diverse aspects of the perception of the NOS. The findings show that previous scientific knowledge or belonging to the Jewish or Arab nation barely impacts the perceptions of the NOS. In contrast, religious belief, whether Jewish or Muslim, had significant impact. The more religious the students the greater weight they afforded culture and society versus science, and their support of the freedom of inquiry and of the tentativeness of science declined. The educational implications of the findings are discussed in view of the social increase in dogmatic religious belief alongside the unreserved exacerbated skepticism of every truth. Emphasis is placed on reinforcing the liberal dialogue approach that does not fear criticizing tradition, according to which it is possible to educate to critical thought without negating religious belief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various articles published within the issue including one on an analysis of contemporary ideas on Islam and science, another on a dispute on Hinduism and science and another one on the understanding of Christ.

Despite various criticisms, Ian Barbour's fourfold classification of the possible relationships between religion and science remains influential. I compare Barbour's taxonomy with the theories of four authors who, in the last four decades, have addressed the relationship between science and religion from a Muslim perspective. The aim of my analysis is twofold. First, I offer a comparative perspective to the debate on science and Islam. Second, following Barbour's suggestion, I test the general applicability of his categories by comparing them with a discourse on science and religion that is not focused on Christianity. In the first section, I reconstruct Barbour's typologies, recalling some major objections to them, and arguing why despite the latter, Barbour's model is employed for the present analysis. I also reconstruct Barbour's parallel model for the relationships between different religions. In the second section, I reconstruct the discourse on science and religion developed by the Palestinian-American scholar Ismail Raji al-Faruqi. The third section is devoted to the ideas of the Persian-American scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr. In the fourth section, I examine the views of the Iranian author Mehdi Golshani. The fifth section reconstructs the theories of the Algerian author Nidhal Guessoum. In the final section, I argue that a generalized use of the 'integration' concept to refer to the entire debate on Islam and science is unhelpful. While these positions do not appear to instantiate Barbourian integration of science and religion, they do move toward what Barbour (skeptically) describes as integration between religions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When speaking about Islam and contemporary issues in science, Guessoum's Islam's Quantum Question shares many characterizations with Barbourian science and religion discourse. The focus is on theological responses to particular scientific theories. In this article I suggest an expansion of the discourse by looking at how science meets religion (as well as other local system of knowledge) in practice, in particular events such as natural disaster, when they are called upon as sources of meaning making. The encounter takes place not only at the cognitive level, but may take the form of competition, collaboration, or negotiation over the authority to provide explanation. In practice the authority is supported not only by objective knowledge but involves many other factors, including politics. Thus, part of my proposal for expansion suggests the broadening of how we understand science and religion to include how assertions of authority are made in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this essay is to review Nidhal Guessoum's Islam's Quantum Question from a perspective outside Muslim tradition. Having outlined the main contours and contentions of the book, general issues are raised concerning the reconciliation of religious belief with the sciences. Comparisons are drawn between the resources available to Christian and Muslim cultures for achieving reconciliation, with particular reference to scriptural exegesis and natural theology. Speculative questions are then raised concerning possible differences between the Christian and Islamic experience and whether these may shed any light on the facilitation in Europe of an enduring scientific movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The apparent contradictory relationship between Islam and evolution is important because it has been cited as an example of contradiction between religion and science by both thinkers in the West and Muslims. Muslim scholars and scientists mainly disagree with evolution's legitimacy. Islam's Quantum Question by Nidhal Guessoum is a unique narrative providing in one of its first chapters an overview of evolution from neo-Darwinists to creationists, including the views of scholars throughout Islamic history. Guessoum then proceeds to advocate for evolution. Drawing from Nidhal Guessoum's work, I highlight the reasons why there is an apparent contradiction between Islam and science-and, in particular, Islam and evolution-which include lack of freedom of thought and misinterpretation of the Qur'an. In doing so, I suggest setting the stage for a new Einsteinian theory of evolution, which involves the dimension of time and human cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publication of Islam's Quantum Question coincided with a burst of interest in the subject of Islam and science. This article first places the book in context (academic and cultural); in particular, an update is given on the two strong current trends of I'jaz, the 'miraculous scientific content in the Qur'an' and Muslim creationism, and a note is made of the 'Arab Spring' and its potential effect on science in the Arab-Muslim world. The second part is devoted to a discussion of the views presented by the four reviewers (Brooke, Hameed, Dajani, and Bagir): my 'theistic science' approach, the similarities and contrasts between Christian and Islamic approaches to the scientific exploration of the world, the importance of relating religion and science in practice, not just in theory, the need for a theology of nature versus natural theology in Islam, and so on. The article concludes with an outlook on the issues that still need to be addressed in the field of Islam and Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islam's Quantum Question by Nidhal Guessoum offers a sophisticated approach to reconciling the results of modern science with Islamic tradition. The book provides a valuable critique of existing literature on Islam and science and advocates the promotion of good science and science education in the Muslim world. A central tension in the book revolves around Guessoum's efforts to promote a version of theistic science, while at the same establishing a clear boundary for science and scientific methodology. Although the latter works very well, the project of theistic science presented in the book is, at the very least, contentious. However, Islam's Quantum Question is a milestone in the literature on Islam and science and should be valuable for anyone interested in the search for meaning in both science and religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines several fatwās by the important Muslim reformer Muḥammad Rashīd Riḍā. It treats these fatwās as part of a broader Arabic debate on “materialism” at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. In this context, Riḍā's fatwās on materialism illustrate the changing nature of Islamic religious authority in this period, as new kinds of knowledge became available to new kinds of readers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented on evolution of modern science. The author poses a question whether the scientific revolution is a product of the west. He concludes that the Arabic knowledge along with the Islamic and the Chinese civilization have also contributed in the growth of science.

Acquiring and possessing knowledge is highly recommended in Islam as God encourages people to seek knowledge as seen in the Qur'an and hadith. Educators and scholars hold a revered position because of their efforts of pursuing knowledge and using it to influence their actions. This article introduces the most important Islamic sciences that have long been studied in Islamic seminaries. A brief definition as well as the nature and history of each of the widely studied disciplines by Islamic scholars will be offered, namely theology (kalam), philosophy, mysticism (irfan), and jurisprudence (fiqh). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present essay focuses on the figure of Maurice Bucaille and on his contribution to the discourse on Islam and science. Its purpose is twofold. First of all, it aims to provide the reader with a concise map of the ideas of the French author, reconstructing their core and their interrelations. Furthermore, it aims to question what I define as 'the apparent naivety' of Bucaille's work, a reason why he can sometimes be too easily dismissed, by pinpointing a number of original features of his intellectual activity. My argument is that Bucaille deserves more attention for two good reasons: firstly, because of the influence that he de facto exerts on Muslim societies, secondly, because of some highly specific characteristics of his discourse. Such features not only distinguish his contribution from analogous ones, but also give rise to interpretative questions, which have as yet been either overlooked or unsatisfactorily addressed. Closely connected to this thesis is the idea that Bucaille's work constitutes a good starting point for a discussion amongst scholars of different disciplines and from different cultural backgrounds. The first section reconstructs Bucaille's life and works. The second section focuses on his method and ideas regarding science. The third section is devoted to Bucaille's conclusions following his study of the Bible and the Qur'an, and therefore deals more closely with the core of his ideas. The fourth section covers Bucaille's complementary criticism of the theory of evolution. In the fifth section I examine the possible reasons behind the scant scholarly attention concerning Bucaille. In the final section I propose an interpretative model of Bucaille's figure conceived as a system of concentric spheres and I raise, for each one of them, several questions, which have so far been, in my view, insufficiently investigated, thus setting an agenda for further scholarly work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 1985, about 80 Muslim religious scholars and biomedical scientists gathered in a symposium held in Kuwait to discuss the broad question 'When does human life begin?' This article argues that this symposium is one of the milestones in the field of contemporary Islamic bioethics and independent legal reasoning (Ijtihād). The proceedings of the symposium, however, escaped the attention of academic researchers. This article is meant to fill in this research lacuna by analyzing the proceedings of this symposium, the relevant subsequent developments, and finally the interplay of Islam and the West as a significant dimension in these discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of DNA paternity tests has stirred a debate concerning the definition of paternity and whether the grounds for such a definition are legal or biological. According to the classical rules of Islamic law, paternity is established and negated on the basis of a valid marriage. Modern biomedical technology raises the question of whether paternity tests can be the sole basis for paternity, even independently of marriage. Although on the surface this technology seems to challenge the authority of Islamic law in this area, the paper argues that classical Islamic rulings pertaining to paternity issues continue to hold higher authority even in cases of conflict with modern technology-based alternatives. Through closer analysis, the paper traces the emergence of a differentiation in the function of DNA tests between identity and paternity verification. While the former is accepted without reservation, the latter is approved only when it does not violate the rulings of Islamic law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to attain a philosophical evaluation of the ideas of the French author Maurice Bucaille. Bucaille formulated an influential discourse regarding the divinity of the Qur'an, which he tried to demonstrate through a comparison of some of its verses with what he defined as scientific data. With his works, which encompass a criticism of the Bible and a defense of creationism, Bucaille furthered the idea that Islam is in harmony with natural sciences, and ensured himself long-lasting fame in the Muslim world. Such ideas have found numerous followers and the description of the 'scientific miracles' of the Qur'an has turned into a popular genre. Several attempts have been made to criticize Bucaille about specific positions he holds. The thesis I develop here is that, even if Bucaille's work cannot be easily dismissed, a severe methodological shortcoming emerges through the analysis of the logic behind his claims regarding miraculous and supernatural events. Current attempts at defending the harmony between Islam and science should therefore credit Bucaille, but at the same time, be aware of the risk of inheriting his methodological flaws. In the first section, I briefly recall the works of Bucaille and his contribution to the debate on the harmony between Islam and science. In the second section, I reconstruct Bucaille's view of science and his analysis of the sacred scriptures. In the third section, I investigate how Bucaille characterizes the concept of supernatural. In the fourth section, I put forth a general evaluation of his reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dr. Detlev Quintern, Director for Development and Training of the History of Science and Technology in Islam and Lecturer at Bremen University Department of Cultural Studies, shared his opinions on the issues such as; the underlying reasons of the Arab Revolutions and the civil commotions, the development process, the point of views of the West towards the Middle East, and Turkey's opinions related to the Middle East policy. In the interview, the ORSAM Middle East Research Assistant carried out, Dr. Quintern mentioned that the current despotisms in the North Africa and the Middle East are only temporary situation resulted from the European Imperialism. Stating that the civil commotions in the region are based on the tradition of justice movements dating back to very ancient times, Dr. Quintern also added that; \"The revolutions in the Arab World took place not with the assistance of the U.S. and Europe, but despite their efforts to prevent it. These movements will lead to longer-term movements and to the destruction of all the governments having greed and egocentrism\". Dr. Quintern indicated that Turkey sets a good example with her understanding of justice the country argued for, not only in verbal but also in actual terms, in order to realize both regional and global union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literary criticism is presented of the Islamic text "al-Munqidh min al-ḍalāl" by Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, in which the author compares the text to al-Ghazālī's letters in order to situate his autobiographical writings within his historical context. Topics include an intellectual campaign against al-Ghazālī over the role of science in Islam after his return to Nishapur, Iran in 1106, and Islamic philosophy in the book "Revival of the Religious Sciences," or "Iḥyā' 'ulūm al-dīn."