What do you think?
Rate this book
Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life: The Culture of Astrobiology in the Muslim World
The Muslim world is not commonly associated with science fiction. Religion and repression have often been blamed for a perceived lack of creativity, imagination and future-oriented thought. However, even the most authoritarian Muslim-majority countries have produced highly imaginative accounts on one of the frontiers of astrobiology, or the study of life in the universe.
This book argues that the Islamic tradition has been generally supportive of conceptions of extra-terrestrial life, and in this engaging account, Jörg Matthias Determann provides a survey of Arabic, Bengali, Malay, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu texts and films, to show how scientists and artists in and from Muslim-majority countries have been at the forefront of the exciting search. Determann takes us to little-known dimensions of Muslim culture and religion, such as wildly popular adaptations of Star Wars and mysterious movements centred on UFOs. Repression is shown to have helped science fiction more than hurt it, with censorship encouraging authors to disguise criticism of contemporary politics by setting plots in future times and on distant planets. The book will be insightful for anyone looking to explore the science, culture and politics of the Muslim world and asks what the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would mean for one of the greatest faiths.
This book argues that the Islamic tradition has been generally supportive of conceptions of extra-terrestrial life, and in this engaging account, Jörg Matthias Determann provides a survey of Arabic, Bengali, Malay, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu texts and films, to show how scientists and artists in and from Muslim-majority countries have been at the forefront of the exciting search. Determann takes us to little-known dimensions of Muslim culture and religion, such as wildly popular adaptations of Star Wars and mysterious movements centred on UFOs. Repression is shown to have helped science fiction more than hurt it, with censorship encouraging authors to disguise criticism of contemporary politics by setting plots in future times and on distant planets. The book will be insightful for anyone looking to explore the science, culture and politics of the Muslim world and asks what the discovery of extra-terrestrial life would mean for one of the greatest faiths.
- GenresReligionScience Fiction
288 pages, Hardcover
Published September 17, 2020
2 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Jörg Matthias Determann
6 books12 followersI am immensely fortunate to work as a faculty member in the Department of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar. I also have the great honor of serving as an Associate Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies and as Book Review Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies. Previously, I had the good fortune of working at Zentrum Moderner Orient, Freie Universität Berlin, SOAS, University of London, and King Saud University. I also had the privilege of being a visiting scholar at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
I am interested in the history of science and in the history of the Middle East. I am forever thankful to I.B. Tauris and Springer for publishing the following six books of mine: 1. Historiography in Saudi Arabia. 2. Researching Biology and Evolution in the Gulf States. 3. Space Science and the Arab World. 4. Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life. 5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy. 6. Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life. My current book project is a history of teaching science with science fiction.
I am deeply grateful to a number of organizations for generously supporting my research. They include Qatar Foundation, Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Foundation, the Society for Arabian Studies, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and Stiftung Hans. Finally, I sincerely thank my family, friends, colleagues, students, teachers and mentors for their invaluable guidance, encouragement and assistance.
I am interested in the history of science and in the history of the Middle East. I am forever thankful to I.B. Tauris and Springer for publishing the following six books of mine: 1. Historiography in Saudi Arabia. 2. Researching Biology and Evolution in the Gulf States. 3. Space Science and the Arab World. 4. Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life. 5. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy. 6. Islamic Theology and Extraterrestrial Life. My current book project is a history of teaching science with science fiction.
I am deeply grateful to a number of organizations for generously supporting my research. They include Qatar Foundation, Gerda Henkel Stiftung, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Foundation, the Society for Arabian Studies, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and Stiftung Hans. Finally, I sincerely thank my family, friends, colleagues, students, teachers and mentors for their invaluable guidance, encouragement and assistance.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 30, 2020
This study is an original topic: the imaginative Muslim contribution to the study of life on other planets and science fiction. The work is written in clear English and is suitable for a broad audience from academics to the general public. The research of materials from several languages and different societies is comprehensive. The content is accessible, and the sources range from movies, books, articles, to socio-political groups and communities. Highlighted are the Muslim-born scientists and creatives. Discussion about Islam and the universe sets the analysis in context. Determann's text is a welcome breath of fresh air to readers of the Middle East, Muslim peoples, and cultural studies in general. The author introduces us to new materials and has brought together a wide array of source materials from the Arab Middle East to Turkey to Indonesia to the United States. Enjoyable and educational. It is suitable for anyone interested in extraterrestrials, and cultural interpretations of the ultimate Other! Catch this book when it comes out in paperback or kindle!
January 23, 2024
Lots of interesting information in this volume.
The information presented outpaced the organization and structuring of said information into a coherent argument or narrative.
The information presented outpaced the organization and structuring of said information into a coherent argument or narrative.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews