by Salman Hameed

Scientific American has an excellent article on how evolution is taught across the world: Evolution Abroad - Creationism Evolves in Science Classrooms around the Globe. Okay - so it doesn't cover the entire world, but it does talk about Europe, UK and the Muslim world. This is a timely topic, as we are just dealing with the controversy surrounding Usama Hasan - London Imam who is facing a strong reaction from his mosque after he defended the compatibility of evolution and Islam. In fact, he seem to have retracted some of his statements. Also see earlier posts here: Muslim Inquisition Today: The plight of Usama Hasan and Nuance needed regarding the issue of evolution and London Imam - Usama Hasan.

It may come as a surprise to many that evolution is included in the biology textbooks of most Muslim countries. Yes, teachers often present a creationist account as well - but that is not always the case. But the textbook styles vary from country to country. I know that Turkey has some trace elements of creationism in the textbooks, Iran has straight-up evolution, and Pakistan has evolution alongside Quranic verses that seem to support the fundamental idea of the change of species. I'm most familiar with the Pakistani case - and I know that they do a decent job presenting the basic evidence for biological evolution and natural selection. However, there is no mention of human evolution and the chapters following evolution are either go in the direction of ecology or biotechnology - but at no place it says that human evolution did not take place. There are couple of recent papers on this topic and I will highlight them in the coming weeks.

In the mean time here is the section of Scientific American article that talks about the teaching of evolution in the Muslim world. I don't have to add any comments as I'm already quoted in this part of the article. But please do read the full article:

Like any major faith, Islamic beliefs are incredibly varied across sects, regions and among individuals, and there is no single leader or doctrine to pronounce the official view on evolution. "The diversity that you find in Muslim thought around evolution is just as broad as you would expect to find in the West," says Jason Wiles, an assistant professor of biology at Syracuse University in New York State who has been studying attitudes and knowledge of Muslim students and teachers.

In many Muslim-majority countries Islam goes beyond providing a cultural force, shaping many of the foundational aspects of governance and societal decision-making. "We have to appreciate the central role that religion plays in Muslim societies," says Salman Hameed, an assistant professor of Integrated Science and Humanities at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, who has been researching the acceptance of evolution among Muslims.

In 2006 the InterAcademy Panel (IAP) in Trieste, Italy, which represents national science organizations across the globe, issued a statement on the teaching of evolution. The statement, which several Muslim-majority countries, including Egypt, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, signed, urged "decision-makers, teachers, and parents to educate all children about the methods and discoveries of science," asserting that there are "evidence-based facts about the origins and evolution of the Earth and of life on this planet."

But, as Hameed points out, the IAP statement "doesn't necessarily translate into anything because it's not a policy statement."

Nevertheless, evolution is included in the textbooks of most high school students in the Islamic world (with the notable exception of Saudi Arabia, where the national curriculum includes explicit statements rejecting evolution in favor of a creationist worldview). In classrooms and class materials it is often presented within a religious framework. In Pakistan—where the stated national curriculum goal for high school biology classes is "to enable the students to appreciate that Allah is Creator and Sustainer of the universe," according to a 2007 study—a textbook chapter on evolution from the Punjab district opens with a verse from the Koran. But, Wiles points out, the religious text is then "summarized and interpreted to support the idea of evolution" before moving into a more scientific presentation of the theory.

Wiles suggests that providing this religious touchstone might be productive in the cultural context, "giving students permission to learn about evolution and still be good Muslims." But that does not mean that a more clear separation of scientific reasoning and religious beliefs should not be attempted, he notes. "Just communicating in terms of the demarcation between science and nonscience is something that we need to come to an understanding about."

Compared with many fundamentalist Christians, Muslims with strong religious beliefs might be more likely to embrace at least organismal evolution because the Koran lacks a rigid time frame for the creation story. Christian "young Earth" creationists rule out evolution as a matter of course because, as Hameed points out, "if you start with the premise that the Earth is 6,000 or 10,000 years old, it would be logical to reject evolution." But for Muslims, "those kinds of problems don't exist," he says.

Thus, students often receive instruction about—and are more willing to accept—plant and animal evolution. But problems arise when humans are discussed. As humans are presumed to be uniquely moral beings, a direct connection to the animal world can be problematic. And preliminary research by Hameed and his colleagues has shown that even among Pakistani-educated physicians living in the U.S., microbial evolution is more broadly accepted than human evolution.

But evolutionary theory can be—and in some places already has been—turned into a cultural marker. Even couching the subject in terms of Darwinism can be detrimental, especially in places such as Pakistan, where Darwin is associated with former colonizers. Evolution is also sometimes tied to atheism, which is particularly anathema to devout Muslims, Wiles says. Hameed suggests that one reason Islamic immigrants in the E.U., for example, have such high rates of creationist beliefs is because evolution has been associated with a more general Western identity from which many are seeking to distinguish themselves. And although ID is often disparaged by creationists in the Muslim world as not giving enough credit to the creator, some of the movement's materials are used to argue against the teaching—and validity–of evolution.

Many Muslim-majority countries adapt textbook materials from the U.K. or E.U. This move strips away the cultural relevance of examples, Hameed says. He suggests that rather than highlighting the infamous example of the British peppered moths, more local examples such as fossils from particular countries, be used instead.

Another way to advocate for including evolution in public education, Hameed says, is to highlight practical applications of having a well-trained citizenry that can compete globally for jobs in medicine, biotechnology and bioinformation.

The spread of mass education in many Muslim-majority countries starting in the 1980s and 1990s, along with the rise in exposure to outside sources of information through television and the Internet have made evolutionary biology and theory harder to ignore. Whether it is adopted as part of a purely scientific subject or co-opted as a politico-cultural instrument remains to be seen.

"Thought regarding evolution is developing right now," Hameed says. "It's unclear as to which way it's going to go."

Read the full article here.

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by Salman Hameed

This is a follow-up to Nidhal's post Muslim Inquisition Today: The Plight of Usama Hasan. There is absolutely no question about condemning those who have threatened Usama Hasan based on his views regarding evolution or hijab and I completely agree with Nidhal's view point.

But, as expected, this issue is also now being picked up by the British newspapers. The headlines scream "London imam subjected to death threats for supporting evolution" (from The Guardian) and "Scientist imam threatened over Darwinist views" (from The Independent). We have to be very careful here. Such headlines can provide fodder both to Islamophobic elements in Europe and to the conservative and fundamentalist elements of the Muslim society.

The reality - both on the issue of evolution and also on the specific case of Usama Hasan - is more complex and is unlikely to be captured by the headlines. For example, there is no "official" position of Islam on evolution. There are many who reject evolution and there are many who accept it. In addition, there are many who identify the word "evolution" or "Darwin" simply with atheism - and have not really thought about biological evolution nor are they aware of even the basics of the scientific idea.

Similarly, the campaign against Usama Hasan has lot of other elements. For example, there has been an insidious campaign against him (personally) for a while, and some have objected to his statements about hijab. Therefore, to reduce the whole episode to his views on evolution is misleading and too simplistic (but as Nidhal pointed out, even if evolution was the only issue, he should still have the right to state his ideas and freedom to say things that others may or may not agree with).

However, such a controversy allows the extreme elements from both sides (those who portray Muslims as a threat to Europe, and those who claim that rejection of evolution is the only Muslim position) to stake out a representational position on the issue.

Lets hope we all root for nuance over a black and white interpretation.

Even the acceptance/rejection of evolution is a complex topic. For example, it will be a mistake to take what is going on amongst Muslim immigrant population in Europe and generalize it to the larger Muslim community. The acceptance or rejection is deeply dependent on the local cultural and political contexts - and rarely do we see a nuanced discussion of religious and philosophical ideas. Europe is currently a battleground for the formation of Muslim identity for the immigrant population (Please note that even within Europe, Muslim immigrant issues are different for different countries - from Turkish immigrants to Germany, Pakistani immigrants to UK, and North-African immigrants to France). Such identity formation battles often take place in public schools and issues such as hijab and evolution then take a center stage and serve as identity markers for the immigrant community. It is easy to see how evolution can get associated with the values of the dominant culture - and thus, its rejection becomes the norm for the smaller, immigrant population. I should add that the immigrant experience of Muslims in the US is different (both economically and in terms of education level) - and so far - we do not see evolution playing the same role here.

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This recipe is from the mother of my best friend Wendy from college.  We swaped recipes one day.  I gave her the salted toffee chocolate squares and she gave me this one.  It is an easy recipe to follow and makes a nice big amount for a dinner party. Not to mention how delicious it is!!! 

 



Ingredients:

1 cup ( 2 sticks ) butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 can cherry pie filling 

Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar add the eggs beat until light and fluffy, add the almond extract stir in the flour and baking powder . mix until smooth.

Grease a 13x9 pan and turn mixture into the pan.  Spoon the cherry filling into the cake mixture in 16 spots and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until cake is golden and the filling sinks into the cake while baking. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes 16 generous pieces.

 

Linked to Sweets for Saturday on Sweet As Sugar Cookies

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Love, love, love split pea soup.   I made this without the hamock that was in the original recipe and if you want to make it vegetarian then use vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock.  I also used yellow split peas instead of green because I loved the color.  This recipe makes a large amount of soup.  I already have a container packed up for lunch at work. YUM!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, sliced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

Salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

8 cups chicken stock (or combination water and stock)

2 cups dried yellow split peas

Preparation:

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large stockpot or Dutch Oven. Cook onion, celery and carrots with salt and pepper until onion is soft, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the tumeric, stock and peas, and simmer, covered, about 1 hour.  Puree soup in a blender, food processor or directly in pot with an immersion blender  until smooth. Return to clean pot, and adjust the seasonings.  Cook over simmer for an additional 30 minutes - 1 hr until the are soft and the soup is thickened.  Serve immediately.

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by Salman Hameed

I just came back from seeing The Adjustment Bureau. It is based on a story by Philip K. Dick and is actually quite good and entertaining. Plus it follows Mad Men in making another strong case for the use of fedora (right). It centers on the issue of free-will - and does a reasonable job of keeping consistencies within the plot of the film (though the story is not air-tight). The main idea is that there is a plan that is running the world but it requires some adjustments from time to time. Perhaps, chance/coincidences - though small - are to blame for the deviations. But a number of "adjusters" are there to get the plan back on track. The problem is that David Norris (Matt Damon), purely by accident, gets a glimpse 'behind the curtain' - and his now has to be 'adjusted' to get back on the plan. The movie indeed centers around a romance but still some how manages to survive through it (probably because Emily Blunt and Matt Damon have good chemistry and can pull it off). I wish the movie had captured a bit more of the darkness and paranoia that is usually present in Philip K Dick's novels. Nevertheless, you should check out the film.

Here is the trailer, and below it, I have a couple of points with some very mild spoilers.



The movie does not completely short-shrift free-will. In fact, it presents humans as possessing total free-will at least for some time. But the horrors of the world wars of the 20th century and the nuclear age revoked the privilege. We may get it again - but for the time, we have to deal with the plan of the Chairman (probably not Mao). A side note here: I did cringe, when at one time, the history of the world is presented in the following order: Hunter-gatherers, the Roman empire, the dark-ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the cold war. Hmm...well. I mean this may be a tad too narrow - and really, the "dark ages" concept has been out-of-use for some decades now. But this is a minor quibble.

But what is the problem with human free-will? Well, the problem it seems is with human nature - more specifically, with emotions. In fact, the 'adjusters', in some sense, resembled the Vulcans. All reason and (mostly) no emotion. In fact, they can correct only the logical parts of the plan, and cannot directly influence individual emotions or personalities. Do they have free-will? Well, it is not exactly clear - and the movie could have have gone deeper in this particular direction (it does hint in faint affirmation, but does not go far enough). This is also an issue that Islamic and Christian theologies raise about the status of angels, and the 'adjusters' can indeed be thought of as angels of, perhaps, a work-in-progress world.

The ultimate point of the film is that a strong will can indeed re-write (or perhaps even dictate) the plans. This reminded me of Iqbal's famous couplet: (in Urdu first - and then a translation below)

"Khudi ko kar buland itna, ke har takdeer se pehlay
Khuda bande se khud puche, bata teri raza kiya hai. "

Here is a rough translation:

"Raise your 'self' to such heights, that before writing out each destiny,
God Himself would have to ask each individual, 'Tell me what should I write for you'".

Go see the film. If you are looking to explore the topic of free-will via recent films, please check out Knowing (see this earlier post: Science & Religion in Knowing) and the absolutely fantastic A Serious Man (see these earlier posts: "A Serious Man" and Physics and Accept the mystery - go see "A Serious Man").

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Chicken pot pie is one of those amazing comfort foods that I would eat all the time if it wasn't so fattening. I found a good super easy low fat way to make it at home. Reducing from a top and bottom crust to just one top crust and omitting the potatoes, really reduced the calories and did not change the flavor at all. I also used 98% fat free cream of chicken soup as well. The kids loved it. The whole pie was devoured in a matter of minutes.

Ingredients:

1 package of Perdue short cuts carved chicken breast strips (original roasted)
1 10 oz package of mixed frozen vegetables
1 can of condensed 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 refrigerated pie crust
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Season vegetables lightly with salt and pepper and microwave for 3-4 minutes. Pull chicken strips into shreds or small chunks and place in a medium sized bowl. Add vegetables and the can of condensed soup to chicken. Mix to combine. Pour into pie plate or small casserole dish. Place pie crust on top and crimp the edges to seal the pie crust to the top of the pie plate or casserole dish. Place on a cookie sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown (place foil over the edges for the second half of the baking time to prevent burning).

Linked to Everyday Mom's Meals
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Hello from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. We’re keeping warm in central Illinois with high hopes that spring will come once again as it always does, but we are hoping it will come earlier!
We are David & Sheri Burns and it’s our pleasure to share with you about honey bees. Today, I want to share a lesson on just how fun, easy and simple keeping honey bees really is. It’s about time someone simplified the whole honey bee thing, right!
Before I get into today’s lesson, I want to share what we’ve been up to.
We are still in winter! Even after spring arrives, we will still have cool weather for some time, making it difficult to work bee as much as we’d like. I push the envelope with my nuc and queen rearing operation! I have to work bees with a coat on to get a head start. I could move my operation south, but then I would have other issues. Cold is easy to deal with. While bees are out flying in our southern states, Midwest and northern bees are still in their winter cluster, gradually coming out more and more each week. This gives us time to continue to prepare for when spring finally arrives. We are getting hundreds of frames prepared for the spring along with boxes for splits, swarms and mating nuc boxes.

This is the time of the year, when there is a h
We have a special we are offering on our single hives.






LESSON 98: Beekeeping is Fun, Easy  Simple!
In all walks of life you have some people who see the glass as half full and others who see it as half empty. It’s that way with beekeeping, some will complain, pout and talk about how the “bees are all dying”. But others love keeping bees, take off honey and enjoy it. While some hives die, others flourish.
So let me tell you how good it really is. Okay, sure, bees can die because they are livestock. But, dogs die, chickens die and all livestock can die from nearly anything. Yes, bees have mites but dogs have fleas. I’m trying to be honest but also let you know that it isn’t gloom and doom as some make it out to be. It is my opinion that around 50% of bee problems are management issues. With more knowledge and skill the beekeeper could have saved the hive.
Bees certainly have more challenges now than they’ve probably ever had. But, there are so  many management practices that can overcome many of these potential setbacks.
Okay, now let talk fun! When my wife first started keeping chickens she read everything she could on raising chickens. We were alittle worried that it would be hard, that our chickens would contract some respiratory disease, mites or be eaten up by predators. We’ve raised free range chickens for several years now and those things never happened---not to any large degree. Every time we lost a chicken it was because we forgot to close the fence or something else to do with our mismanagement. We were told that we had to heat our chicken coop in the winter or else the chickens would freeze. We didn’t and they were fine. That’s not to say something bad can’t happen, but after all the scare we’ve had so much fun raising chickens.
Often new beekeepers become so attached to their bees that the thought of the bees being unhealthy or dying is reason enough not to even start at all. WRONG! Think what life would be like if we took this approach toward apple trees or even a married couple not having children because something could happen to their child.
The fact that it is more challenging to keep bees now than it was 30 years ago is all the more reason we need more beekeepers. We are making significant advances in keeping healthier bees.
Come on, and jump into beekeeping with the idea of having fun. Don’t worry about what might happen and be always in a fret over every mite or problem. Relax already and have fun keeping bees. Let me give 3 tips on how to have fun with your bees:
1) Acknowledge that your hive is pollinating crops, yards, gardens and fruit trees within 3 miles of your home.  Pull up a lawn chair and watch the bees fly in and out, knowing that these gals are working hard to pollinate your valuable plant life. Take comfort in the fact that you are doing your part to help save the bees.
2) Have fun learning about bees and keeping your mind sharp through reading about bees and planning your apiary. Sometimes if we have too much time to think on things, we can become depressed and sad. Having a hobby that really interests us can really improve our overall mental health.
3) Have fun running your own bee lab and beekeeping experiments. I’m serious!  You might be the next Langstroth. Certainly university studies can shed more light on beekeeping success, but let’s face it, sometimes our own discoveries work inspite of what the studies show. Run your own trials and keep track of your results. Incorporate your discoveries into your approach to successful beekeeping.
HOW TO COPE WITH PROBLEMS
Don’t take everything so seriously. If your bees develop a problem, deal with it. If they die out in the winter, do not despair. Chalk it up as experience and order more bees next year and make the last hive that you lost worth something by applying what you learned from them to your next successful colony.
Now go out here and be excited about beekeeping. Bees are still thriving in our country. Beekeeping is rebounding with more and more new beekeepers.
One Last Pep Talk
Still not sure if you want to keep bees this year? Maybe you can remember helping out a family member years ago when they had bees. Perhaps it was Grandpa or an Aunt. Or maybe you’ve been reading about how we need more bees to make up for the shortage of pollination and you’ve decided to do your part, so do it!
Sheri and I receive calls all week from people who have finally decided to jump in and keep bees!  Come on and do it. Stop putting it off another year. You are not getting any younger, so let this year be the year you become a beekeeper.
I know, I know, people complicate it and make it sound so complex. Baloney!  It is easy. Buy a hive, shake the bees in and let them do their thing. If you don’t want to feed the bees, don’t!  If you don’t want to use medication in the hive, don’t!  If you don’t want to harvest the honey, leave it for the bees. If you don’t want to mow around your hive, don’t! Keep it simple.



Next Lesson: Top Bar Hives
Here’s Our Free Beekeeping Newsletter & Podcast Info:
STUDIO BEE LIVE  BEEKEEPING PODCAST BEEKEEPING LESSONS FOR KINDLE ON AMAZON.COM BEE SMART NEWSLETTER
Here’s Our Contact Information Phone: 217-427-2678
Website: www.honeybeesonline.com
Email: david@honeybeesonline.com
Twitter:twitter.com/longlanehoney
Mailing Address: Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
14556 N. 1020 E. Rd
Fairmount, IL 61841
See you next time!
David & Sheri Burns
Long Lane Honey Bee Farms
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This is a Giada DeLaurentis recipe.  Such an easy quick dinner which is really tastey.  The only change I made to the recipe is to add a little chopped parsley for color. 

Ingredients:

1 pound rigatoni pasta

3 cups purchased garlic-flavored croutons, (about 5 ounces)

1/4 cup slivered almonds (about 1 ounce), toasted

1 cup julienned roasted red bell peppers

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley 

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta into a large bowl.
Place the croutons and the almonds in a food processor. Pulse until it becomes the texture of bread crumbs. Add the crouton and almond mixture to the hot pasta. Add the peppers, olive oil and parsley. Toss to combine and serve.

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Ava (nearly five) and I were reading "Woolly Stops the Train" the other day. This particular book is great for a lot of reasons but it's particularly handy right now because there are simple sentences on top, and more involved sentences on the bottom.

She takes the top and I take the bottom and it doesn't seem like all of the pressure to read is hers. In fact, she usually takes on the encouraging role "Wow, mommy. You have exclamation points in yours! Great job."

Sweet.

Anyway,  at one point when we came across the word "they" in the book (and she paused) I cued her with, "This is a word we've seen on earlier pages" and proceeded to show her.

To which she replied, "Wow, 'they' really gets around. Quite an adventurer that word is."

I never thought of it that way, but I like it! Adventures aren't IN the words, they ARE the words!
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by Salman Hameed

In the aftermath of the north-Africa uprisings, there are many eyes on Turkey as a potential democratic model for a majority-Muslim country. It has its own share of complicated history of military dictatorships and authoritarianism. With the Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) in power, the debate over the place of religion in politics and society has heated up. But science has also been folded into these debates - and AKP is looked upon with suspicion, especially with regards to science and evolution. The news that the government may have pressured to change the cover of popular-science magazine, Bilim ve Teknik, on Darwin's bicentennial did not really help (see earlier posts here and here).  At the same time, it would be too simplistic to simply lump AKP with other Islamists (see Is 'Islamic Fundamentalism' on the Rise in Turkey?).

Nevertheless, it is disturbing to hear about Turkish academics being held up in jail - potentially for their opposition to AKP. I do not know the details of the cases, but their detention is a serious issue even if their views are less than palatable for an open society. If the Turkish readers know more about it and shed some light on it, that would be great! Last week's Nature brought up the plight of some of the academic in the editorial, and I think they did a good job of striking the right balance:

A less-scrutinized and less-supported cause are the dozen or so Turkish academics arrested — among hundreds of others — as part of a government crackdown on 'deep-state networks'. In the past, these are said to have violently targeted those whom they consider to be Turkey's enemies, including Kurdish separatists. Turkish police say that they have uncovered a tightly controlled, hierarchical organization — called Ergenekon — that conspires to destabilize the government through political violence and pave the way for a military coup.

The government frames its Ergenekon investigation as a step towards democratic reform, but detractors say it has also been used as an excuse to round up and silence government critics, particularly vociferous defenders of secularism in politics and education.

An independent analysis of the investigation by the Istanbul-based analyst Gareth Jenkins says that many of those arrested seem to be linked to one another by little more than their opposition to Islamic conservatism and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). That certainly describes the arrested academics — most of whom hailed from the conservative secular elite — including several university rectors who had decried attempts to lift the headscarf ban in Turkish universities, and criticized, for example, the appointment of AKP supporters to key academic positions, such as in the government's science-funding agency TÜBİTAK.

Most of the arrested academics have been released on bail, but two are still being held: Mehmet Haberal, the US-trained rector of Baskent University in Ankara, who pioneered transplant surgery in Turkey, and physician Fatih Hilmioğlu, former rector of İnönü University in Malatya.

The two have now been detained for almost two years, and there is no sign that they will be released, or have their trials heard, any time soon. Turkish law allows indicted individuals to be kept in long-term detention only if there is a danger that they might either destroy evidence or flee. Supporters say that both scientists are being treated for poor health and neither danger applies.

But Nature laments the silence of various groups who would otherwise be quite vocal:

Mostly, however, silence rules. The huge Ergenekon trial is moving very slowly, and those out on bail have been warned not to prejudice its outcome by discussing their cases publicly. The investigation has engendered an atmosphere of fear in universities. Academics are keeping their heads down and trying to enjoy the genuine attempts that Turkey is making to raise its science base towards EU norms. TÜBİTAK is also keeping quiet, afraid of further charges of political interference in scientific matters, such as it attracted in 2009, when it pulled the Darwin-celebratory cover of its popular-science magazine Bilim ve Teknik and demoted its editor (see Nature 458, 259; 2009).

Meanwhile, most human-rights groups have proved less keen to jump to the defence of those on the political right than those on the left, including Selek. Jenkins' report did stress that the Ergenekon investigation successfully identified some deep-state operatives, probably involved in political violence. And phone-tap transcripts have exposed unpleasant and antidemocratic right-wing sentiment among some of the indicted individuals.

But according to the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to a fair trial in a reasonable time. The Turkish government needs to feel the world's eyes on the actions of its judiciary. And the international scientific community should spread the word on the indicted and detained academics, and monitor how fairly their cases are handled. The last thing Turkish scientists need right now — as research investment is growing but the legal and administrative framework is not always keeping up — is to be afraid to criticize how their promising scientific landscape is developing.

Here is an effort to spread the word on their right to have a fair trial. Read the full editorial here (you may need subscription to the journal).

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Protest in reaction to the killing of Shahbaz Bhatti

by Salman Hameed

Another top official gunned down today in Pakistan for his support to reform the Blasphemy law. Shahbaz Bhatti was the federal minister for minority affairs. The only Christian in the Cabinet.

Science breathes in open societies. It thrives in regions that allow multiple voices to be heard. There are exceptions - but over all, the pattern is there. The pre-Socratics encountered a variety of sea-farers docking on the ports and islands off the Aegean coast. Samos. Miletus. Ephesus. The Abassids brought the world to their courts in Baghdad. The translation movement brought scholars from the world over. Christians. Jews. Nestorians. If there was no Hunayn Ibn Ishaq - there would be no Ibn Sina.

Then we have Pakistan in the 21st century (at least temporally it is the 21st century).

Pakistan is setting up an example of counter-culture. At a time when numerous Arab countries are standing up to demand their individual rights and a democratic system, Pakistan is seeing rallies for the defense of an assassin. Whereas Egypt saw Muslims come together to defend their Coptic citizens, Pakistan is spiraling into an abyss of intolerance. Salman Taseer was killed in January - because he had proposed reforms to the much abused Blasphemy Law and had stood up for Aasia Bibi - a Christian mother of four - who has been sentenced to death under the law. Shahbaz Bhatti also supported the cause and was killed today. And then we have Sherry Rehman - the brave former minister and one of last voices in the government still advocating reform. She has received death threats and has been living under heavy protection. The only religious scholar to speak up against the blasphemy law and the assassination was Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. He left the country last year, after threats to his life and family. I disagree with him about evolution, but I'm so glad he is speaking out.

There is definite uncertainty in the Middle East at the fast-turning events. Libya has turned bloody. But there is also hope in the relatively peaceful and secular uprisings of Tunisia and Egypt. The Egyptian cabinet is already seeking focus on science and education. How can science be a focus in Pakistan - when officials are being gunned down because of their views and, some times, their religious background? Science values difference of opinions. It thrives in environments where people can speak their minds and can think freely. There are no ideal places - but some places are better than others.
It pains me to say that, but Pakistan of today is not such a place. In fact, Pakistan has the world's largest out-of-school population, but it spends 7 times more on arms than on primary schools.

This is not an indictment of the whole Pakistan - which I'm sure is going to be interpreted in the comments. Sherry Rehman is also a Pakistani. So are some of the bravest women I know of: Human rights activists, Asma Jahangir, Hina Jilani (Asma's sister), and Mukhtaran Bibi. There were also brave people protesting today's killings - a few hundred people showed up. But there has to be a visceral reaction against religious intolerance. No ifs or buts, or the reliance in the mythic 'silent majority'. People have to speak up against religious intolerance. That is, if they are indeed against religious intolerance. The rallies in favor of Mumtaz Qadri - the assassin of Salman Taseer - makes me wonder about the views of the 'silent majority'.

So science? Yes. First speak up against religious intolerance!

Please also see Nidhal's post on Monday, that  recounted the treatment of Usman Hasan in a Muslim community in UK for speaking out in favor of biological evolution.

Also read George ka Khuda Hafiz - I (tip Saleem H. Ali). George Fulton was unlikely hero of a unique and poignant reality show in Pakistan. British by nationality, he ended up staying in Pakistan and became a Pakistani citizen. After nine years, he is leaving Pakistan. Here are some of his final thoughts. Talking about Pakistan, he says:

She embraced me like no other gora post-9/11. I appeared in a documentary/reality series titled “George Ka Pakistan”. It allowed me to explore the country. I ploughed fields in the Punjab, built Kalashnikovs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (probably couldn’t do that now), and mended fishing boats in Balochistan. The culmination of the series saw the then prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, confer Pakistani citizenship upon me, after the viewing public voted overwhelmingly to make me one of them. I was their George. Fame and affection followed.

But that love was conditional. Conditional upon me playing the role cast — the naïve gora. The moment I abandoned the Uncle Tom persona and questioned the defined establishment narratives — whether through my television work or columns — excommunication began. No longer a Pakistani in the eyes of others, my citizenship evidently was not equitable to others.

So, as I depart, I could go with my reputation tarnished, but still largely intact. Or I could leave you with some final words of honesty. Well, true love values honesty far more than a feel-good legacy. So here goes.

Pakistan, you are on a precipice. A wafer-thin sliver is all that stands between you and becoming a failed state. A state that was the culmination of a search for a ‘Muslim space’ by the wealthy Muslims of Northern India has ended up, as MJ Akbar recently pointed out, becoming “one of the most violent nations on earth, not because Hindus were killing Muslims but because Muslims were killings Muslims”.

The assassination of Salmaan Taseer saw not only the death of a man but also represented for me the death of hope in Pakistan. I did not mourn Taseer’s death. I did not know the man. But I mourned what he represented — the death of liberal Pakistan. The governor’s murder reminded us how far the extremist cancer has spread in our society. A cancer in which I saw colleagues and friends on Facebook celebrate his murder. A man murdered for standing up for the most vulnerable in our society — a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. He committed no crime. Instead, he questioned the validity of a man-made law — a law created by the British — that was being used as a tool of repression.

In death, the governor was shunned, unlike his killer, who was praised, garlanded and lionised for shooting Taseer in the back. Mumtaz Qadri became a hero overnight. But Qadri is not just a man — he’s a mindset, as eloquently put by Fifi Haroon. Fascism with an Islamic face is no longer a political or an economic problem in Pakistan, it’s now become a cultural issue. Extremism permeates all strata and socio-economic groups within society. Violent extremists may still make up a minority but extremism now enjoys popular support. As for the dwindling moderates and liberals, they are scared.

Pakistan does not require a secret police, we are in the process of turning upon ourselves. But then what do you expect when your military/intelligence nexus — and their jihadi proxies — have used religious bigotry as a tool of both foreign and domestic policy. It is ironic that the one institution that was designed to protect the idea of Pakistan is the catalyst for its cannibalisation. Christians, Ahmadis, Shias and Barelvis have all been attacked in the past year. Who will be next? Groups once funded and supported by the state have carried out many of these attacks. And many jihadi groups still remain in cahoots with the agencies.

So as I leave Pakistan, I leave her with a sense of melancholy. Personally, for all my early wide-eyed excitement and love for the country and its people, Pakistan has made me cynical, disillusioned and bitter over time. I came here with high hopes, adopting the country, its people and the language. I did find redemption here — but no longer.

Read the full article here.

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I wanted to make a quick and easy meal that I would be able to make in the afternoon and then reheat in the oven for dinner. This recipe was perfect for that. The coconut panko mixture gives the chicken a great crunch.

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Place flour in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Combine coconut and panko bread crumbs in a third bowl. Dredge chicken tenders in flour then coat in egg. Then coat in coconut panko mixture and place on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat (If you don't have a silpat lined with foil and spray with cooking spray). Bake at 350 for approx. 25 minutes or until golden brown and chicken is cooked through.
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My husband wanted meatloaf for dinner but I wanted to have something different.  I settled on making a different type of meatloaf and it was really delicious.  This is my Italian interpretation of our family meatloaf.

Ingredients:

1 lb meatloaf mix (or ground beef)

1 egg

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup italian flavored bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese

2 tablespoons italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup pasta sauce

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix all the ingredient until combined (do not over mix).  Shape meat mixture with your hands into a loaf and place in a loaf pan.  Spread pasta sauce over the top of the meatloaf and bake for 45 - 1 hr.  Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. 

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by Salman Hameed

For the past couple of years we have been following the controversy over telescopes on Mauna Kea. This dispute has come to a head over the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). This is a tough-tough issue. Astronomy, culture and environmentalism meet at 14,000 feet - and leave almost no one happy. The TMT folks did learn from the past mistakes of astronomers, and I think they overall did a good job of reaching out to the local Hawai'ian community. But it is also true that, for some, any new construction will be a further sacrilege - let alone the construction of the one of the largest ever optical telescopes. Although astronomers had nothing to do with this, but all of these issues are further complicated by the messy history of how the US took over Hawai'i in the late 19th century - and the early treatment of native Hawai'ans.

This past week, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) unanimously approved the $1.3 billion project (see an earlier post: University of Hawaii Regents Approve Plans for TMT on Mauna Kea). This approval was widely expected. But the Board also left room for one more hearing by the opponents of the telescope. I don't think any thing will change with another hearing. Everyone is set with their views and the TMT has, overall, followed the procedures well. I think this will be a spectacular telescope (it is expected to begin its construction in 2012). At the same time, I also hope that astronomers appreciate and recognize the historical and cultural context of the arguments of the telescope opponents.

If interested, you can find earlier posts on the topic here:
University of Hawaii Regents Approve Plans for TMT on Mauna Kea
Management Plan Approved for Telescopes on Sacred Mauna Kea
Hawaii-Tribune Herald on the recent Mauna Kea lawsuit decision
Mauna Kea Observatories Update Is it good news that Maui is picked as the site for a new Solar telescope?

By the way, if you are prefer getting history via Hollywood, you can check out Princess Ka'iulani about the early period of US takeover of Hawaii. She was heir to the throne when US took over in the late 19th century. The movie is okay - but at least it provides light on to an area rarely talked about. Here is the trailer:

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Travel.. travel? Who doesn't like it? But J really made me think for a while when she asked me to write about what I learned from my travel. I love traveling so much that I don't realize what I learn from it. LOL  
But then I sent her this reflection ... 




A Day in DC







Have confidence



During my first week of winter break, I went outside early in the morning and went back to the
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This is a weekly post by Nidhal Guessoum (see his earlier posts here). Nidhal is an astrophysicist and Professor of Physics at American University of Sharjah and is the author of Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science.

History is full of episodes and examples of people who, for having been a bit more clairvoyant, thoughtful, humanistic, or heterodox than the rest of their society paid a dear price, sometimes with their lives: Socrates, Hypatia, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Bruno, Galileo, and many others.

But one would have thought that times have really changed, that someone refusing to lie about his conviction that Darwin’s theory of evolution is correct would not be called a heretic and be the subject of all kinds of threats. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Dr. Usama Hasan is going through these days, and not in some corner of Pakistan or Yemen – right in London, UK!

Usama Hasan is a special specimen. He presents himself as “an imam, scientist, lecturer & activist based in London, UK”; the Guardian describes him as “a senior lecturer at Middlesex University, fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, former planetarium lecturer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and a part-time imam”; a longer bio can be found on the Global Experts website, where one reads that “Dr. Hasan received his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Imperial College, University of London… [an] MA (Hons.) [in] Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge and MSc (Distinction) [in] Mathematics at King’s College, London.” All of this is quite impressive, but what really makes Dr. Hasan a special specimen is the fact that he “successfully memorized the Koran at the age of eleven and has continued training in the traditional Islamic sciences”, particularly under the guidance of his father, a respected Muslim scholar. He has thus served as an Imam for two decades, hosted a weekly TV show on Islamic jurisprudence issues, and appeared on various British and US media outlets, particularly the famous BBC-TV show Hardtalk, speaking out against Muslim extremists, especially after 7/7 (the London subway bombings, the UK equivalent of 9/11).

All this, and Usama Hasan is only in his forties…

But then Darwin’s anniversary came (in 2009), and it brought troubles to Dr. Hasan, after he penned an article in the Guardian, titled “Knowledge regained” but more interestingly subtitled “In contrast to their forebears, modern Muslims have a childlike view of science, especially evolution. This needs to change.” (I know, these titles and subtitles are rarely chosen by the authors, the editors always find “better” ones…) In the article, Dr. Hasan was not only arguing that Muslims’ knowledge and view of the theory of evolution was woefully poor – hence the widespread opposition to it – but that the illustrious scholars of our civilization’s golden age were so far ahead of today’s Muslims in their knowledge of nature and their evolutionary conception of the living world. And that's when all hell broke loose. Google "Usama Hasan" and Evolution together and you get 3,370 pages, including Adam Deen's "Responding to Usama Hasan's Muslim apes" and ""Sheikh" Usama Hasan on Evolution". 

Now, those of us who speak or write on controversial issues or just hold unpopular views are used to the invectives and even the hatred. But in Dr. Hasan’s case, things went much worse.

First he was hit by a fatwa. As documented by Usama Hasan, “Sheikh Salih al-Sadlan of Riyadh gave a fatwa on not praying behind anyone who accepts Darwinism.  This fatwa was given at the Green Lane Mosque in Birmingham, HQ of Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith, during their annual conference 24-28 Dec 2010.” Dr. Hasan describes Sheikh al-Sadlan as “a respected Professor of Law, especially Hanbali Law”… Upon hearing about it, Dr. Hasan called the Sheikh on the phone and politely tried to explain his views to him, but to no avail…

Then he was hit by a petition for his removal from the mosque. He tried arguing back, by posting long rebuttals and excerpts from illustrious Muslim scholars’ views on Evolution and by giving, or at least trying to give, a lecture on Evolution (on the 22^nd of January 2011). The lecture was shouted out, and things have gone from bad to worse, as one person – as reported by Dr. Hasan – called for his killing.

Now, Usama Hasan, has posted a new entry on his blog (interestingly called “Unity: A website devoted to the unity of God, the unity of knowledge & the unity of the peoples of the world”), where he tries to show the extent to which he must be seen as an orthodox Muslim, since he believes that “As Allah revealed to us in the Qur’an, He created Adam, peace be upon him, the first human, from earth, or clay and water.  He created Him with His Two Hands, breathed His Spirit into him…” He also, unfortunately, starts to reduce the importance or the merits of scientific theories, stating that “people are free to accept or reject a particular scientific theory”, which I think is an inappropriate statement. He does, however, immediately add that “theologians who have no grounding in science, have no right to pronounce upon scientific subjects.  Any such fatwas about science from people ignorant of the subject matter are null and void.” These last two sentences are fully correct, and I support them without reservation.

It is very depressing – and even shocking – to me to witness such an inquisition on a learned, enlightened, and moderate man like Usama Hasan, who in other lands would have been hailed as a beautiful flower, grown and nurtured by a family of knowledge, and benefiting from all that is great in not one but two civilizations. That a man of science and faith, who devotes his time and his life to educating people, from the mosque to the planetarium and the media, would be “rewarded” as such is a great calamity of our times. I don’t know if something like this could happen nowadays in any other culture but the Muslim one. What a shame!

We all must speak up against such despicable acts and attacks. And we must continue to spread knowledge and civil discourse.

Usama, you are not alone out there, defending your knowledge, your faith, and your sincerity. I and many others, I hope, stand beside you to the extent we can – mostly with our thoughts, our words, and our prayers.

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