It is quite unusual for scientific journals to investigate political matters, but this week the respected publication Science ran a discussion on the extent of creationist thinking in Islamic countries.
As already discussed by our friends over at the Daily Dish, the report by Salman Hameed, a lecturer at Hampshire College Massachusetts, considers the fact that “the next major battle over evolution is likely to take place in the Muslim world… Relatively poor education standards, in combination with frequent misinformation about evolutionary ideas, make the Muslim world a fertile ground for rejection of the theory”.
The article also throws up some shocking statistics. Out of six countries examined, five of them have populations where 50% of people reject evolution theory outright, and that’s not including those who believe that the theory is ‘probably untrue’. In Kazakhstan only around 28% of the population reject evolution, which is considerably less then in the United States (where 40% of the populace do not believe in evolution theory). Mull on that last statistic for a bit: the country that was so roundly mocked in Borat for being backwards is turning out to be one of the most progressive nations around.
So what can be done to counter this? Controversially, Salman Hameed does not believe in the Richard Dawkins direct attack, as “efforts that link evolution with atheism will cut short the dialogue, and a vast majority of Muslims will reject evolution.” Instead he offers the more practical approach of scientists engaging with Muslim countries and discuss the real, juicy details of their science in order to drown out the waffle offered by the likes of Harun Yahya.
This is important, as the theory of evolution itself can raise ideas that are far more exciting then any boring creationist “theory” can ever offer. Take for example the wonderful axolotl salamanders, which have evolved so that they can regenerate limbs if damaged. Study of these fascinating creatures offers insight as to how such processes can be used to heal human limbs. This is important information that can benefit all mankind.
There is another solution, which may require more political pressure: it is clear that most misinformation around evolution occurs in poorer, less-developed countries. I’m willing to bet dollar to doughnuts that creation theory being taught as fact in this country occurs in the more deprived areas too. Increased funding and aid, earmarked towards increasing educational standards, will also be key in countering the tide of nonsense passing itself off as “intelligent” design.
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It is quite unusual for scientific journals to investigate political matters, but this week the respected publication Science ran a discussion on the extent of creationist thinking in Islamic countries.
As already discussed by our friends over at the Daily Dish, the report by Salman Hameed, a lecturer at Hampshire College Massachusetts, considers the fact that “the next major battle over evolution is likely to take place in the Muslim world… Relatively poor education standards, in combination with frequent misinformation about evolutionary ideas, make the Muslim world a fertile ground for rejection of the theory”.
The article also throws up some shocking statistics. Out of six countries examined, five of them have populations where 50% of people reject evolution theory outright, and that’s not including those who believe that the theory is ‘probably untrue’. In Kazakhstan only around 28% of the population reject evolution, which is considerably less then in the United States (where 40% of the populace do not believe in evolution theory). Mull on that last statistic for a bit: the country that was so roundly mocked in Borat for being backwards is turning out to be one of the most progressive nations around.
So what can be done to counter this? Controversially, Salman Hameed does not believe in the Richard Dawkins direct attack, as “efforts that link evolution with atheism will cut short the dialogue, and a vast majority of Muslims will reject evolution.” Instead he offers the more practical approach of scientists engaging with Muslim countries and discuss the real, juicy details of their science in order to drown out the waffle offered by the likes of Harun Yahya.
This is important, as the theory of evolution itself can raise ideas that are far more exciting then any boring creationist “theory” can ever offer. Take for example the wonderful axolotl salamanders, which have evolved so that they can regenerate limbs if damaged. Study of these fascinating creatures offers insight as to how such processes can be used to heal human limbs. This is important information that can benefit all mankind.
There is another solution, which may require more political pressure: it is clear that most misinformation around evolution occurs in poorer, less-developed countries. I’m willing to bet dollar to doughnuts that creation theory being taught as fact in this country occurs in the more deprived areas too. Increased funding and aid, earmarked towards increasing educational standards, will also be key in countering the tide of nonsense passing itself off as “intelligent” design.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Its easy to put down creationism to ignorance in the Muslim world and i am sure there are other primitive societies who would reject Darwinism also.
However it is far more likely in the case of the former that they will use creationism to attack western scientific values in a form of stealth Jihad as Robert Spencer coined the term for gradual destabilisation of western values
And i would not bet against finance being made available to American creationist propagandist by oil rich islamists.
perhaps that is why it has mushroomed recently in the corridors of pseudoscience in the west..