Sunday, December 28, 2014

A Wonderful Session with Lahore Astronomical Society (LAST)

by Salman Hameed LAST members after the meeting These are tough times in Pakistan. But there are positive things taking place as well. I have written on several occasions about the burgeoning astronomy scene in Pakistan - in particular in Lahore and Karachi (for example, see this post from...

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Celebrating human evolution and religion in Ethiopia

by Salman Hameed Biological evolution is a subject often at the center of science and religion debates. On the one hand, it seems logical that an idea that removes one aspect of human uniqueness may cause tension amongst some religions. On the other hand, such a tension is not necessary nor has always...

Mapping the damage to Syrian Archaeological sites

by Salman Hameed From Science: This map is based on satellite data and shows locates sites of damage The civil war in Syria and surrounding areas is also taking its toll on archeological sites. Last week's issue of Science has an article that used satellite imagery to assess some of the damage....

Sunday, December 07, 2014

Jail time for a Turkish astrophysicist for blocking headscarf students

by Salman Hameed Astrophysicist Pekünlü photographed while taking pictures of women wearing headscarfs This is a fascinating story that provides some insight into the changing political landscape in Turkey. An astronomy professor has been sent to jail for 25 months for repeatedly blocking...

Friday, December 05, 2014

A new book on atheism in the Middle East

by Salman Hameed About a year ago, I had a post about growing open atheism in Egypt where I pointed to a possible trend in increasing self-expression, including in the domain of religious beliefs. Among the various factors contributing to it, university education and the exposure of other...

Thursday, December 04, 2014

A new paper on Islamophobia and Islamic Creationism in Europe

by Salman Hameed I have a new paper out in Public Understanding of Science that looks at the context for Islamic creationism in Europe. In particular, the focus is on the way evolution-rejection may be becoming a marker of identity amongst Muslim minorities in Europe and how media coverage is...
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