Source: The Huffington Post

Early last month, a conference was held in London, entitled “Have Muslims Misunderstood Evolution?” under the auspices of The Deen Institute, an organization which aims at promoting engagement between the Islamic tradition and modernity. The event sparked off a debate on social media and op-ed columns regarding the place of evolution in the Islamic worldview.

The conference, whose lectures were recentlypublished online, brought together scientists like Prof. Ehab Abouheif and Prof. Fatimah Jackson with theologians like Dr Usama Hasan and the prominentShaykh Yasir Qadhi. Also invited was Dr. Oktar Babuna, representing the hardcore creationist ideas of Harun Yahya, who is deemed by many Muslim scholars to be a charlatan. Sadly, by the end of the day, Babuna was reduced to such a laughing stock that even Qadhi distanced himself from him.

Abouheif and Jackson made their case for evolution in a style reminiscent of the bestselling and quite compelling book, “The Language of God,” by devout Christian geneticist Francis Collins. Babuna’s creationist ideas were roundly rejected by all the other panellists. What I found most interesting, however, was the theological discussion.  Read further.