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| | | THE LAB AND THE MOSQUE
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Go to the Listen Again page | | | | | Can science and religion work together? | | | |
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In western eyes, science and religion don’t mix. But Muslims see no contradiction in a belief system that embraces both science and religion.Ìý
| | |  | | | University of Al-Azhar | |  ÌýListen again to the programme | |
The Lab and the Mosque
In the Western world, science and religion occupy different spheres. Religion might sometimes be called on to provide an ethical dimension to a scientific issue, but by and large,Ìýit is believed that science and religion are best kept apart.
In Islam, there is no such antipathy.
From its beginnings, the Prophet Muhammad emphasised that the material world could only be understood through scientific inquiry. Islamic culture, he said,Ìýshould beÌýa knowledge based culture. He valued science over extensive worship and declared: ‘An hour’s study of nature is better than a year’s prayer’. But despite the Prophet's teaching,Ìýby the middle of the sixteenth century, Islamic science had gone into aÌýsteep decline. Why?
Ziauddin Sardar investigates the philosophical and practical links between science and Islam. He visits Al-Azhar University in Cairo, where technical subjects such as Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture are taught within a religious framework.Ìý
Given theÌýrevival of Islam and theÌýemergence of a modern Islamic culture, how canÌýthe spirit of scientific enquiry be brought back to Islam? | | |
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