Dear Colleagues,
University of Leeds School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science warmly invite you to attend a seminar by Salman Hameed on the evening of Wednesday 27th June:
"Making sense of the rise of Islamic Creationism in UK"
5.30pm Wednesday 27th June 2012, University of Leeds Parkinson Building, Room B.09
The rise of Islamic creationism has recently become a matter of serious concern in England, and Europe in general. There have been reports in the media of boycotts of university evolution lectures and, in one extreme case, even a threat of violence. How widespread is the rejection of evolution amongst British Muslims and how do we make sense of these public spectacles of creationism in England? While religious/theological objections are indeed at play in some cases, it is likely that the broader narrative of Muslim rejection of evolution in UK may be bound up in reactions to the secular culture and in the formation of a minority religious identity.
About the speaker:
Salman Hameed is Associate Professor of Integrated Science & Humanities and Director of the Center for the Study of Science in Muslim Societies (SSiMS) at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. He has an impressive research publication record, and has given many engaging interviews and written popular articles, including for the Guardian (for example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/apr/09/muslims-free-debate-evolution-without-fear). He is currently interested in using perceptions about biological evolution to explore how educated Muslims view the relationship between science & religion, and is engaged in a three year study which focuses on understanding the reception of evolutionary biology in the Muslim world by focusing on Muslim physicians and medical students in 5 Muslim majority countries (Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey) and three diasporas (Germany, UK, US). You may be interested in his popular science and religion blog, Irtiqa, which tracks and comments on news relevant to the interplay of science & religion - including scientific debates taking place in the Muslim world: http://sciencereligionnews.blogspot.co.uk/
We hope that you will be able to join us; if you would like to attend this talk, please email Vicky Blake (Philosophy) so that we can get an idea of the numbers likely to attend: [log in to unmask]
Best wishes,
Vicky Blake
Research Assistant
Learning from Science Communication's Past: a historically informed approach to reciprocity, citizenship and diversity AHRC exploratory award project, based at the University of Leeds and partnered by: British Council; Coventry University; University of Cambridge; University of Exeter; University of Kent; University of Oxford
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