Islam and Science

I must admit, one thing I genuinely love about Islam is its embrace of science. Even when you look at the early fundamentalists, Sayyid Qutb and Pakistan’s Mawdudi, for example, you see their positive views of scientific undertakings. Muslim discourse, by and large, sees no disconnect between evolution and faith, a disjuncture that seems to derail many Christians in the United States. Muslims have the same story of Adam and Eve as the basis of their religious history, and yet, when it comes to Creationism, Muslims are rarely the ones waving the banners and throwing rocks at science teachers (there are a few isolated examples, but then, there are always exceptions). For many Muslims whose works I have read, the theory of evolution is just one of a million examples applied by science that only supports the existence of god. For them, the intricacies of evolution, the very means by which a proto-ape became a human being, the very means by which a single-celled organism became a salamander, the very means by which each of our organs and every minute process within our biological selves work together so precisely as a result of a very long and involved evolutionary process… these are all just additional teleological reasons bolstering the existence of a god more powerful and wonderful than anything known in the Universe. Islam embraces science as a means to understand the greatness of Allah. Science flows directly and smoothly into religion, as if saying, “OF COURSE god exists and is wonderful; just look at how amazing evolution is!” Muslims, as well as many Jews (and others, I am sure, but this is addressing specifically those of a certain public disposition within the US), encourage the study of science and the world, indeed hold such studies as essential for the social and religious well-being of all adherents; how can you truly know god without understanding all of the miraculous things he’s done?

Where is the disconnect in that line of thinking? Where is the controversy the religious right in America is so fond of touting? Why does “intelligent design” automatically lead to Adam and Eve? Could not the intelligence behind the design have merely put his plan into motion billions of years ago, and allowed the universe to evolve accordingly? Charles Darwin was a devout Christian, and he saw no disconnect between evolution and Christianity. The Vatican has accepted evolution as a testament of God’s greatness. The Jewish faith has embraced science as a path of devotion to God. So, too, have the Muslims, even the “fundamentalists” so feared by Americans. Teleologically speaking, what could be a greater proof of the existence of god than the fact that we humans exist at all after billions of years of evolution? Life started out as a single-celled organism and evolved into us; all the chemicals that make up the planet are in almost complete harmony with one another, despite the fact that, for example, sodium and water will explode when mixed and yet the planet is covered in salt (sodium chloride) water. Everything fits perfectly together in such complex ways. I find it amazing that a religion that is considered so “backward” and “violent” by so many in America can recognize the beauty in the world as such and will continue to perpetuate the importance and awesomeness of science in the name of pure, unadulterated faith.