Science and Islam Panel, Washington, DC

90:28

30 May 2013

History of Science, Astronomy

Pervez Hoodbhoy

Asad Q. Ahmed

In this clip from a video of a panel discussion on Science and Islam held April 23, 2013 in Washington DC, the two speakers approach presentations on science and Islam from different perspectives.

Pervez Hoodbhoy (who speaks from 4:38-47:14) contextualizes his presentation by discussing his own intellectual coming of age in Pakistan, where he encountered some physicists working as they might in the West, while others sought to show how ideas from physics could be proven through or with the Qurʾān.  As a contrast to this personal encounter, he presents a general sweep of Muslim engagement of science.  Hoodbhoy’s argues that Muslims must change the way they think, their educational systems, their culture to encourage greater tolerance for scientists working on ideas that might not correspond to the Qurʾānically-oriented constructions.

Asad Ahmed (who speaks from 52:30-90:16) has problems with many of the points that Hoodbhoy makes about classical and premodern Islamic history.  His perspective, as a historian largely raised and educated in the United States, is grounded in the original sources of the periods about which he speaks, sources which are unfortunately rarely used outside of specialist historical circles.  He discusses engagement over time with Greek thinkers like Ptolemy and Aristotle, and presents how various Muslim scientists made changes to the astronomical models over time.  He closes by suggesting that historically, in the Muslim world there was less a clash between rationalism and traditionalism than a shift brought about by politics in how systems of patronage worked (or failed to work) in Muslim-majority areas.

A third speaker was on the panel, but was not included in this video.  The video has a timer displayed throughout.

Topics discussed:  physics, astronomy, Pakistan, Harun Yahya, Qurʾānic miracles/ijaz, Aristotle, al-Ghazālī (Muḥammad Abu Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, d. 1111), metaphysics, philosophy, logic, rationalism, Ptolemy, geocentric versus heliocentric models of the universe, al-Birūni, Ibn al-Shāṭir, Copernicus.

Evaluation:

Both the viewpoints presented on Islam fall within the bounds of what Muslims have historically understood as acceptable.

The two speakers present very different constructions of science and Islam.  Hoodbhoy’s presentation about his personal engagement with science and scientists in Pakistan, as well as those engaged in the science and Islam discourse, like Bucaille and Harun Yahya, in the second half of the 20th century is accurate.  However, his construction of the history before the 20th century is not accurate.  There is a tendency towards over-simplification and essentializing in this section that might have been done for dramatic effect, but is not particularly good history.

Ahmed’s engagement with the original sources enables him to rebut the essentializing constructions Hoodbhoy uses.  His historical and scientific presentation is rich and accurately reflects the scholarly understanding today.

About Pervez Hoodbhoy

Pervez Hoodbhoy is a physicist born July 1950 in Karachi, Pakistan who, aside from his career as a scientist, is known for his efforts to make education more accessible to everyone in Pakistan while  popularizing science. Hoodbhoy holds two bachelors degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics, a masters degree in physics – all of which he received in 1973 – and a Ph.D. in physics that he received in 1978, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a physics professor for 37 years at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, beginning his career there in 1973. As of 2015, Hoodbhoy is the Zohra and Z.Z. Ahmed Distinguished Professor of physics and mathematics at Forman Christian College-University in Pakistan.

Hoodbhoy’s activism for education in Pakistan led to his creation and anchoring of TV programs aimed at discussing the Pakistani education system and popularizing science. In addition, he is the head of Mashal Books, Lahore, Pakistan that works to translate books into Urdu about contemporary issues such as women’s rights, education, the environment and a variety of other topics. Hoodbhoy has been the recipient of various awards, most notably UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science in 2003.

A complete list of Hoodbhoy’s articles divided by topic can be found on the Eqbal Ahmed Centre for Public Education’s website and as of 2015, he operates an active Facebook page with thousands of followers.

Selected Bibliography:

About Pervez Hoodbhoy.” Eqbal Ahmad Centre for Public Education. EACPE, 16 Jan. 2014. Accessed 10 June 2015.

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy.” Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning. Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning, n.d. Accessed 10 June 2015.

Hoodbhoy, Pervez. “Articles by Pervez Hoodbhoy.” Eqbal Ahmad Centre for Public Education. N.p., n.d. Accessed 10 June 2015.

Hoodbhoy, Pervez. Facebook. Facebook, n.d. Accessed 10 June 2015.

Mashal Books. Mashal Books Pakistan, n.d. Accessed 10 June 2015.

Pervez Hoodbhoy.” Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Accessed 10 June 2015.


About Asad Q. Ahmed

Asad Q. Ahmed, an associate professor for Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, received his PhD from Princeton University in 2007.  The focus of his research has been social and intellectual history of the Islamic world, 800-1200 CE; he is currently working on thirteenth to twentieth centuries, with a geographic focus on the South Asian subcontinent.

Ahmed serves as the editor-in-chief of Studies in Post-Classical Islamic Scholarship at Oxford University Press and co-editor of the journal Oriens. He has published several books on Islamic intellectual history.

This Ahmed should be distinguished from the Asad Ahmed who is a journalist for the BBC and another Asad Ahmed who is a guitarist in Pakistan.

Ahmed does not seem to have a presence on any social media.  He served as an advisor for the Science and Islam Video Portal project.

Select Bibliography:

Dr. Asad Q. Ahmed.”  American Islamic Congress.  Accessed 31 August 2015.

Professor Asad Q. Ahmed.”  University of California, Berkeley.  Department of Near Eastern Studies Faculty. Accessed 31 August 2015.