Research - When the Quran Attacks Science
When the Quran Attacks Science Research ·
Muhammad's fans have problems with many things: sex, humor, music and cartoons ... religious texts. However, over the past few centuries, Muslim countries have contributed enormously to knowledge. The Tunisian physicist Faouzia Charfi takes stock of his latest book Islam and Science.
Last engagements (by Odile Jacob). From science to Islam, Faouzia Charfi speaks about it from within. He is professor of physics at the University of Tunis and has published several books on the subject. So, when you write that "in the countries of the Muslim world, including the most modern ... we are witnessing the decline of science education for religious reasons", we can trust you. Obviously, the living are the ones who conflict most with religion. It is unclear how the Taliban will apply the "biology of the Koran", but we can expect the theory of evolution to be almost commonplace there. In fact, "bearded men" don't like being assimilated by their baboon cousins when it would be good to take inspiration from other primates who are far superior to them in civilization, but not just in Afghanistan, Darwin is just as undesirable. . Faouzia Charfi recalled that the reform of the curriculum in Turkey in 2017 led to "a cut in biology classes in favor of religious education and the abolition of the theory of evolution". Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus even called it "scientifically obsolete and rotten". In Tunisia, too, the teaching of Darwin's theories was severely restricted "so as not to offend religious sentiments," explains Faouzia Charfi. In this case not in the name of a strict application of Sharia law, but rather insidiously to be seen as "the treacherous sign of the return of tradition", because "there is no narrow wall between the Islamic and the traditionalist vision". the vision of Islam. What is official Islam in many Muslim majority countries? “While some Muslims have absolute faith in tradition, there is no shortage of models that will dissuade them from obscurantism. You could be inspired by the golden age of so-called "Arab Science". (in terms of the scientific language of the time), between the 8th and 15th centuries, the epicentres of which were Damascus, then Baghdad and which enabled Muslim countries to become. He excelled for eight centuries in various disciplines such as mathematics, optics and astronomy collapsed only to receive the last blow with the advent of modern Islam. Faouzia Charfi distinguishes three views in Muslim countries today: "Islamic science, false science and useful science ". In the batch, for example, we find creationist pseudosciences (in reality, Islamists recognize the theory of evolution for microorganisms, but not for larger species: this is obviously not logical, but if religions were logical, they would not be religions). but don't worry, it's a "useful science" leading to applications that enable you to do consumer goods and do business. Even the Neanderthal Islamists who think of the Stone Age use the Internet and Halal cell phones, the theory of evolution ... After all, "compatible science" is one that is supposed to show that all scientific discoveries have been recorded in the Koran. was born in the 19th century when the Egyptian theologian Muhammad Abduh wanted to propose "a religion that must be reconciled with science". During the Iranian Revolution, with the rise of Islam, a new discourse about science emerged. During this time, the "idea of the Islamization of knowledge" spread throughout science. Even today, the general public is attacked next to the Internet by the propaganda of the so-called "scientific miracles of the Koran". According to his followers, the sacred text already foretold everything: the interplanetary journey (verse 55:33), as well as the atom (verse 34: 3) or the hydrogen bomb (verse 34: 3) ... certainly some verses. . Faouzia Charfi even cites the case of a physics teacher at a Tunisian institute who took his course on atmospheric pressure in March 2019 and quoted verse 125 of Sura 6 of the Koran: “If God wants to lead, open your chest to Islam. Whoever wants to deceive tightens his chest and torments him like someone who wants to ascend to heaven. We disagree with the scientific evidence presented by Blaise Pascal when he climbed the Puy de Dôme in 1647! Qur'anic pseudo-miracles may and do seem weird, but they continue to wreak havoc on the internet. Faouzia Charfi condemns this scourge "everything that can affect young people, that calms them down by narrowing the gap between modern science and religious tradition". “With this, darkness always penetrates the lights. ● • The Frémeaux CD publisher publishes valuable documents on cultural heritage in all areas. He has just released a box set of four CDs, Les Savants de l'Islam, in which Ahmed Djebbar - mathematician and historian of science: gives a fascinating overview of scientific activities (math, astronomy, chemistry, medicine, etc.) in Muslim-speaking countries from the 8th to the 15th century.
