Science or Religion?

by Esra'a (Bahrain)

Often, I hear the argument that science and religion can’t go hand in hand, mainly because science is based on evidence and religion is based on faith. For the longest time, I’ve believed this as well, until I started paying close attention to the Koran and its specifics. I realized that there are a lot of scientific facts expressed; anything from the embryo to the creation of the solar system.

I saw an interesting documentary on Al-Arabiya, called “man on four legs.” It’s about a seemingly new disease called quadrupedal gait. They filmed a Kurdish family of 12, 7 of which were crawling on their hands despite the fact that they’re middle aged. Doctors and experts were baffled by this extraordinary phenomena. A case like this has never been reported in scientific literature. It was bad enough that these people were leading unbearable lifestyles, but I found it somewhat insulting that experts would compare them to chimps. The father, a religious man, insists that this is God’s test on his faith in Him. He wasn’t paying attention to the details being discussed. A Turkish professor was talking about the genetics of the human mind, hereditary genes, and unertan symptoms, but the man said he doesn’t want his children to become laboratory rats for scientists. All he wants to see is for them to walk and function normally. Although the problem was not just physical, which makes it even harder. They were mentally incapable of doing the simplest tasks.

Inevitably, Darwin was being discussed (the origins of humans by means of natural selection.) A lot of Muslims deny this, as God is the sole creator of this universe and everything belonging to it. Islam doesn’t deny that evolution took place, but Darwin goes against the belief of God, and when this idea was suggested, the Kurdish translator said that the family is not prepared to deal with any “evidence” that goes against that. The problem with finding a cure for this “disease” is that scientists have always dismissed this possibility as something so unnatural that it couldn’t happen in our lifetime. This is why the study is hard to conduct, there is simply no explanation at this point. Not even the genetics of our brain, chromosomes, or DNA structures could provide a sufficient answer.

Most scientists are saying that it has to do with the environment that this family has been living in. It’s unsanitary and the handicapped members are being physically abused by the villagers. At first, the father said that the house was cursed, but after moving the situation did not change. If anything, it got worse as they were getting older. An Egyptian scientist, also a strong believer in evolution but strictly opposes Darwinism’s theory for religious reasons, noted that we can’t compare them to chimpanzees mainly because they don’t walk on knuckles. Another scientist tried to say that it’s because of the parents’ relationship with each other; they were familially related. I think that’s far from being the case. They were 2nd cousins, and my extended family is full of 1st cousin couples and their children are as healthy as anyone else.

The point here is not to try and find possible solutions or causes of this, I bring this up because I’ve been wondering about this question for a long time: does religion support science? Islam, for instance, clearly does. A lot of disbelievers choose not to believe in any religion because they see it as an excuse not to learn. “God said so, leave it at that!” However, Islam emphasizes the importance of education. All forms of it. But science in particular, perhaps because of the examples provided in the Koran. Upon reading it, one becomes more curious and interested and would therefore want to learn more about things like biology, astronomy, geography, etc. The heart surgeon in the program where this documentary was being debated was religious, but you’d think that he wouldn’t be interested in this field because it’s God’s will if anyone dies from a heart disease. I’ve seen Muslims try to argue that no one but God can remedy a sickness and therefore doctors are just trying to play the role of God by controlling the human mind and body, and I’ve seen other devout Muslim doctors who were inspired to be doctors after reading the Koran and paying attention to its details. This, again, goes back to the Koran and how differently it’s interpreted.

This discussion is just as important as whether or not it’s right for states to be ruled by religious values such as the Sharia law, and whether or not such laws are misportraying this religion. I think the difference here is the limits that we give ourselves depending on how religious we choose to be, and the questions that we ask ourselves: Should we obey a government that supposedly goes by Islamic law? If we rebel against it, does it mean that we’ve sinned? Can we openly deny that it’s proper Islam? Should we go ahead and study the details of science or is it God’s will that certain things happen (diseases, natural disasters, etc)? The conflicting opinions regarding these matters is a testament to the fact that religion really is personal, and while you may “brainwash” people into thinking certain things (for example, in Saudi, half of their laws aren’t related to Islam at all but people believe it is because of the country’s historical reputation) you still can’t deny that doubting your own belief system is perfectly normal and if anything, it strengthens your faith in God. You’ll have a better understanding of the religion you’re a part of. You can’t blindly accept what you’re born into like many people do, that’s just poisonous.

Unfortunately, we can’t do that under the social conditions planted in these lands. Everything you say or do is considered “haram” and whenever you interpret something differently you’ve sinned greatly. And yet, they expect us to grow intellectually and otherwise. How? Most of us lack a basic understanding of religion because we can’t discuss it like normal human beings. It’s much harder to look for the answers than it is to sit down with your eyes and ears closed insisting that you already know everything there is to know about this world by being a Muslim. Most of the Muslims I’ve argued with keep hiding behind their ignorance and instead of informing me on what’s “right” in their opinion, they mock my willingness to learn. Their minds are painful to see through. Schooling has a lot to do with this mentality. Even in private schools where it’s more liberal, you can’t question or doubt. You memorize what’s in your Islamic text books, whether be it the words of God or its interpreters, and whenever you ask a question that might provoke a good discussion, you’re told to be ashamed of the sourly bitter ideas inspired by the “Great Satan,” (i.e, Western beliefs and ideals.)

I don’t think it’s against Islam at all to want to learn more about your religion. God created the brain for a reason. If he wanted us to become mindless automatons, He would have given us a much more simpler mind that’s incapable of critical thinking. I’m a Muslim, and I believe that I will always be one, but every time I read an Islamic book, even those revolving around the doings and good deeds of the Prophet, I can’t help but wonder about the credibility of the stories being told, especially if I’m asked questions by outsiders that I don’t know the answers to, and can’t seem to find the answer. I still don’t know the answers to these questions because there’s still a good portion of the Koran that I haven’t grasped yet, no matter how closely I read into it. I’ve read 3 interpretations by 3 different Imams from 3 different parts of the world, and they varied significantly. For example, two of them denied the study of science saying it’s only there to prove the words of God wrong, and one of the authors strongly encouraged the study of science and education as a whole.

Regulations and limits must end, no matter how offensive it’s going to be to some people. If we want change, then we need to learn how to accept it. I wouldn’t be pondering upon these ideas if I was given the chance to discuss them as a child.

This doesn’t only apply to Islam. There’s a book called Stealing Jesus: How fundamentalism betrays Christianity, and it talks about similar issues, only in the context of American Christiandom. It goes over why people are scared to go against what they have been taught about Christianity because it challenges their ideas, and how they’re discouraged by their preachers to do so as it’s somehow “evil.” This is the root of most extremist behaviors. Intellectual and religious freedom would decrease that by a huge amount, but unfortunately religious competition still exists today, and that step is nowhere near being accomplished. I do have hope, though, that the schooling system, at least in Bahrain, might change for the better, but I have a feeling that I’m only really saying this to help myself sleep at night.