This may be ok on the Moon, but definitely not here on Earth. Check out this absolutely insane custom of dropping babies from a 15-meter tower - for luck and health!! (tip from Nizam Arain)
Of course the organizers are going to claim that no accidents have taken place. But it is simply too hard to believe that there have been no accidents (even fractures? concussions?) over hundreds of years of this idiocy. This is certainly a case of bad memes taking over - and the result is this ritual gone wild.
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.
LABELS
- Arab Spring
- art
- Astronomy
- Astronomy Pictures from Pakistan
- atheism
- beliefs of scientists
- Catholic Church and science
- creationism
- education
- education in muslim world
- ethics morality and science
- evolution
- faith and medicine
- film theater and television
- Friday Journal Club
- general
- history
- humor
- intelligent design
- Irtiqa Conversations
- Islam and Modernity
- islam and science
- Islamic Calendar
- islamic creationism
- Judaism and science
- media
- Muslims in Europe
- off topic
- Pakistan
- politics of science and religion
- posts by Nidhal Guessoum
- primates
- pseudoscience
- religion and environmentalism
- Religion and Health
- Religion and Technology
- Saturday Video
- science and Native religions
- science and religion books
- science fiction
- science in muslim world
- science of belief
- science of morality
- science religion and terrorism
- UFO religions
Blog Archive
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2008
(241)
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May
(22)
- A Nuclear Pakistan - ten years after the tests
- Incense and Religion
- Earthquakes and their impact on human history
- Causes of hurricances, end of the world, and scary...
- How Creationism "evolved" into Intelligent Design
- Creationist science teachers in the US
- Chartres cathedral and the conception of God in th...
- Evaluating God
- Einstein's (lack of) religion letter goes for $404...
- Kenneth Miller on "Expelled"
- Einstein and Religion - A letter from 1954
- Science & Religion Lecture: Vatican Observatory as...
- Dissent from Darwin. Really?
- Book recommendation: Foreskin's Lament
- First God and now Karma killing people on Earth
- Muslim creationist Adnan Oktar sentenced to 3 year...
- Evangelical-Scientist collaboration on saving the ...
- The evolution of the eye
- Krauss and Dawkins on the purpose of the universe
- Chris Hedges and the New Atheists
- Gravity, superstition, and dropping babies from a ...
- Francisco Ayala on evolution, science, and religion
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May
(22)
1 comments:
I don't understand the reason to do this.
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