Islamic views on evolution

Islamic creationism is the belief that the universe (including humanity) was directly created by God as explained in the Qur'an. Although there is little consensus on how many Muslims believe in Evolution Theory, Islamic Creationism is not incompatible with the idea. The only exception to this would be the assertion that God is the creator of everything that exists and that the creation of the universe was a planned series of events, unlike the theory of natural selection presented by evolution theory. Several Islamic scholars generally accept the scientific positions on the age of the earth, the age of the universe and evolution.

Prevalence

Little is known about general views of evolution in Muslim countries. A 2007 study of religious patterns found that only 8% of Egyptians, 11% of Malaysians, 14% of Pakistanis, 16% of Indonesians, and 22% of Turks agree that Darwin's theory is probably or most certainly true, and a 2006 survey reported that about a quarter of Turkish adults agreed that human beings evolved from earlier animal species. In contrast, the 2007 study found that only 28% of Kazakhs thought that evolution is false; this fraction is much lower than the roughly 40% of U.S. adults with the same opinion (though this could be due to the fact that Kazakhstan is a former republic of the USSR, where Atheism was explicitly endorsed and promoted).

In Turkey, polemics against the theory of evolution have been waged by the Nurculuk movement of Said Nursi since the late 1970s. At present, its main exponent is the writer Harun Yahya (pseudonym of Adnan Oktar) who uses the Internet as one of the main methods for the propagation of his ideas. His BAV (Bilim Araştırma Vakfı/ Science Research Foundation) organizes conferences with leading American creationists. Another leading Turkish advocate of Islamic creationism is Fethullah Gülen. The Director of Gülen's Journalists and Writers Foundation, Mustafa Akyol has been active in this context. As in the Christian context, the theory of evolution is typically held to be responsible for a materialistic and atheistic world-view. Due to the lack of a detailed account of creation in the Qur'an, other aspects than the literal truth of the scripture are emphasized in the Islamic debate. The most important concept is the idea that there is no such thing as a random event, and that everything happens according to God's will. Hence the ideas of Islamic creationists are closer to Intelligent design than to Young Earth Creationism.

According to Guardian some British Muslim students quote the Qu'ran in scientific exams and fail as a result. At a conference in the UK in January, 2004, entitled Creationism: Science and Faith in Schools, Dr Khalid Anees, president of the Islamic Society of Britain stated that "Muslims interpret the world through both the Koran and what is tangible and seen. There is no contradiction between what is revealed in the Quran and natural selection and survival of the fittest." However, over 1,505 people opposed the creationist movement and the Brown government has recently published new standards removing creationism from the schools.

Theology

See also: Qur'an and science

The Qur'an lacks a complete set of time markers in its references to creation, other than declaring that it took six days, and that "days" have been interpreted not just as literal twenty-four hour periods but as stages or other periods of time to complete, and therefore is not subject to the same level of debate as some interpretators of the Bible regarding scientific evidence and chronology. Skeptics point out there is no explicit mention of the extinction of whole species long before the creation of man in the Qur'an, whilst its inspiration is defended on the grounds that it is not a book of science. The Bible is held by Muslims to contain errors and therefore has not presented the same level of difficulty in the Islamic world as in some sections of Christianity outlined above. However, in recent years, a movement has begun to emerge in some Muslim countries promoting themes that have been characteristic of Christian creationists and Bible literalists in the past. A few oppose this citing the lack of compatibility between the two and that the Quran contradicts the Bible in numerous passages. Khalid Anees, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, at a conference, Creationism: Science and Faith in Schools, made points including the following: There is no contradiction between what is revealed in the Koran and natural selection and survival of the fittest. However, some Muslims do not agree that one species can develop from another despite the lack of Quranic evidence for this belief.

Islam also has its own school of Evolutionary creationism/Theistic evolutionism, which holds that mainstream scientific analysis of the origin of the universe is supported by the Qur'an. Many Muslims believe in evolutionary creationism, especially among Sunni and Shia Muslims and the Liberal movements within Islam. However, even amongst Muslims who accept evolution, many believe that humanity was a special creation by God. For example, Shaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller, an American Muslim and specialist in Islamic law has argued in Islam and Evolution that a belief in macroevolution among non-human species is not incompatible with Islam, as long as it is accepted that "God is the Creator of everything" (Qur'an 13:16) and that God specifically created humanity (in the person of Adam; Qur'an 38:71-76).

Universal creation

There are several verses in the Qur'an which some modern writers have interpreted as being compatible with the expansion of the universe, Big Bang and Big Crunch theories:

"Do not the Unbelievers see that the skies (space) and the earth were joined together, then We clove them asunder and We created every living thing out of the water. Will they not then believe?"^{[Quran 21:30]}

"Then turned He to the sky (space) when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient."^{[Quran 41:11]}

"And it is We Who have constructed the sky (space) with might, and it is We Who are steadily expanding it."^{[Quran 51:47]}

"On the day when We will roll up the sky (space) like the rolling up of the scroll for writings, as We originated the first creation, (so) We shall reproduce it; a promise (binding on Us); surely We will bring it about."^{[Quran 21:104]}

See also

• Islamic views of evolution

External links

• Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, by Mirza Tahir Ahmad
• Science in the Quran, by Ashraf Salmawi
• The Muslim Responses to Evolution by Abdul Majid
• Quran Evolution and Intelligent Design, by Iyad Hijazi & Sylvia Nemmers