Article in the Guardian on evolution and Muslims

by Salman Hameed

I have an oped in today's Guardian. It deals with the episode of Dr. Usama Hasan (please also see the list of related articles below):

Muslims Must be Free to Discuss Issues such as Evolution without Fear

The imam of a mosque in east London, Dr Usama Hasan, was earlier this year subjected to death threats over his support for the theory of evolution. Whatever the underlying reasons, and there are clearly other tensions within the mosque, we must categorically condemn tactics of intimidation and the suppression of diverse opinions within the Muslim community. Those in Europe who see Muslims as a threat to western values will see this episode as a further validation of their stereotypical viewpoint of Muslims. We should take care, however, not to let extreme positions on both sides define the issue.

The reality of Muslim attitudes to evolution is more complex. In this, Muslims are not alone. A survey in 2009 found that 60% of all British young adults – irrespective of religious belief – believe in intelligent design to a greater or lesser extent. But there is no "official" position of Islam on evolution. Many in the Muslim world reject evolution, while there are others who accept it. In places like Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, the fundamental concepts of evolution are included in high-school biology textbooks. Furthermore, in 2006, the national science foundations from several Muslim-majority countries endorsed a statement by the Inter-Academy Panel (IAP) supporting common descent and the evolution of humans from prior species.

That said, human evolution can pose a difficult challenge to the beliefs of many religious people. But a serious debate on this has yet to take place in most Muslim communities. For many, the conception of evolution is erroneously limited to a theory of "monkey-to-man" and it is often associated with atheism. There are others who have never really thought about the issue and are less concerned with it beyond the practical applications of evolutionary ideas to biotechnology and biomedicine. 

Read the full article here.

Other related posts on Irtiqa and some thoughtful articles by others on the issue of evolution and Dr. Usama Hasan:

Irtiqa (by Nidhal): Muslim Inquisition Today - the plight of Usama Hasan
Irtiqa (by Salman): Nuance needed regarding the issue of evolution and London imam Usama Hasan
Guardian (by Inayat Bunglawala): Islam must engage with science, and not deny it
Thoughts from Kansas (by Josh Rosenau): Imam gets death threats over pro-evolution comments
Gene Expression (by Razib Khan): Islam, creationism, and anti-modernism
Trans/Missions (by Salman): Fallen angels, risen apes - Covering Islam and evolution

And here is a collection of statements by various organizations and groups in support of Usama Hasan  and his right to think and speak freely:
Statements in Support of Usama Hasan