Source: Scidev.net

From: David Dickson

Conservative traditions, rather than religious belief, seem to be the main barrier to modern science in Muslim countries, says David Dickson.

Earlier this month, I visited Jordan to participate in a workshop at the country’s Hashemite University on a topic that generates heated debate in much of the Muslim world, and increasingly in the West: the relationship between Islamic thought and modern science.

I came away from the workshop optimistic that it is a topic on which a productive dialogue can take place — despite the extreme views that are often reported on either side, such as on the highly contested area of Darwinian evolution.

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