Here is the second part of the Reasonable Doubts interview with Taner Edis. The first part dealt with Islamic pseudoscience and the differences between Islam & Christianity. This looks at the complexity of treating Muslims and Islam as a monolithic entity. Then there is an excellent discussion over Sam Harris and his severe criticism of Islam. Edis here is spot on in pointing out some sloppy scholarship in Harris' chapter on Islam in his book, The End of Faith, and other problems with his approach. Check out the full podcast here - the interview starts a few minutes into the podcast (also wait till the end for a hilarious news story dealing with a statue of Jesus).
Update: On the topic of Islamic Creationism, here is an article by Taner Edis in the January 2008 newsletter of The History of Science Society: Islamic Creationism: A Short History
(thanks to Don)
What is Irtiqa?
Irtiqa is Salman Hameed's blog. A few years ago (before Facebook killed many of the blogs), it used to track stories of science & religion, especially those related to Muslim societies. That is still one of its foci, but now it dovetails more of Salman's interests including film, astronomy, science fiction, and science outreach in both Pakistan and the US.
Irtiqa literally means evolution in Urdu. But it does not imply only biological evolution. Instead, it is an all encompassing word used for evolution of the universe, biological evolution, and also for biological/human development. While it has created confusion in debates over biological evolution in South Asia, it provides a nice integrative name for this blog. For further information, contact Salman Hameed.
The blog banner is designed by Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad. You can find all his creative endeavors at Orangie.
Salman Hameed
Salman is an astronomer and Associate Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. Currently, he is working on understanding the rise of creationism in contemporary Islamic world and how Muslims view the relationship between science & religion. He is also working with historian Tracy Leavelle at Creighton University to analyze reconciliation efforts between astronomers and Native Hawaiians over telescopes on top of sacred Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He teaches “History and Philosophy of Science & Religion” with philosopher Laura Sizer, and “Science in the Islamic World”, both at Hampshire College. Salman and Laura Sizer are also responsible for the ongoing Hampshire College Lecture Series on Science & Religion, and you can find videos of all these lectures below. Contact information here.
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Blog Archive
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2008
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February
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- Maya blue - the color of some old fashioned human ...
- Islamic Reformation from Turkey?
- High competition at US religious bazaar
- Taner Edis on Islam, modernity and science - part 2
- See, evil can sometimes be funny
- Secularism, wealth and religiosity
- Of lizards and whales
- Belief in God: Nature or Nurture?
- Execution expected after a witch-trial in Saudi Ar...
- Knowledge-Schmowledge: Proud anti-intellectualism ...
- Taner Edis on Islam, modernity and science
- Grace: A faith and atheism dialogue on stage
- A Scientology round up: Cruise, spoof and hackers
- A new book on the Muslim conquest of Spain and Al-...
- Another damning report on poor Arab education stan...
- Henry Rollins on evolution and Intelligent Design
- Gods before Zeus
- Communicating evolution through animation - old an...
- Pope on the offensive again - this time on stem ce...
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February
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2 comments:
Hi Salman,
I thought it would be good to include a link to Edis' essay in the latest History of Science Newsletter for those who haven't yet got a copy of his book. The title is "Islamic Creationism: A Short History".
http://www.hssonline.org/publications/Newsletter2008/NewsletterJanuary2008Creationism.html
Which reminds me: are you going to be pursuing that research direction, astronomy, or something completely different over the summer? I'll probably be in Massachusetts somewhere, and I'm looking for projects. Send an email if you think I could be helpful.
Thanks for the link - its up on the blog.
I'm on Sabbatical leave for next year so I will have plenty of time for research (hmm...can't wait for the end of this semester). There are two science & religion projects that I will be pursuing: The work on Islamic Creationism, and on the controversy over telescopes on Mauna Kea, HI. Your help regarding Islamic stuff would be tremendous! Lets chat more over e-mail.
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