Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History

by Ahmad S. Dallal

In this wide-ranging and masterful work, Ahmad Dallal examines the significance of scientific knowledge and situates the culture of science in relation to other cultural forces in Muslim societies. He traces the ways in which the realms of scientific knowledge and religious authority were delineated historically. The realization of a discrepancy between tradition and science often led to demolition and rebuilding and, most important, to questioning whether scientific knowledge should take precedence over religious authority in a matter where their realms clearly overlap. Dallal frames his inquiry around three What cultural forces provided the conditions for debate over the primacy of religion or science? How did these debates emerge? And how were they sustained? His primary objectives are to study science in Muslim societies within its larger cultural context and to trace the epistemological distinctions between science and philosophy, on the one hand, and science and religion, on the other. He looks at religious and scientific texts and situates them in the contexts of religion, philosophy, and science. Finally, Dallal describes the relationship negotiated in the classical (medieval) period between the religious, scientific, and philosophical systems of knowledge that is central to the Islamic scientific tradition and shows how this relationship has changed radically in modern times.

Genres: Islam, History, Science, Religion, History Of Science

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 2010

Reviews

[P · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an example of why I'm not getting a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies. Although Dallal dilligently traces patterns in Arab thought, this book is extremely dense and rather detached from current issues. This book combines the difficulty of a primary source text with the brevity and shallowness of a "Very Short Introduction." Read Ibn Khaldoun or Espisito's compliation "Islam in Transition" if you are interested in the intersection of Islam and modernity.

[Zarmeen Lakhani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the chapter: Beginning and Beyond.

Very Insightful, challenged my understanding of science in the early Muslim era.

For the course: Cordoba to Baghdad: Science and Medicine in Early Muslim Societies