What does Islam say about evolutionary theory?
7:09
25 Jun 2010
Evolution, Embryology
Abdur Raheem Green
In this clip from the question and answer period of a lecture (date unknown), Abdur-Raheem Green suggests that Muslims must accept the science of evolutionary theory for all creatures except humans, with the provision that God is “the evolver”.
Topics include: evolution as a scientific methodology, embryology, miracles, Adam, Jesus.
The video includes advertising for www.IslamNet.no, a Norwegian organization, apparently during a conference “Misoppfatninger om Islam” (Misconceptions about Islam). It also includes advertising for additional videos by the speaker.
Evaluation:
The Islamic material presented here is within the bounds of what Muslims have historically understood as acceptable.
It’s not clear what Green understands about the relationship of embryology and evolution in humans, as the two are intermixed here. Although Green says that “what science proves conclusively to be true, Muslims cannot ignore”, he also says that humans did not evolve from/with other primates, that they were created miraculously by God. This does not correspond with scientific understanding of the evolution of human beings. For more information on the evolution of humans, see “From Fish to Man”.
There is insufficient historical material on which to base an evaluation.
About Abdur Raheem Green
Born in 1962 in Tanzania to a British father and a Polish mother, Abdur Raheem Green was raised as a strict Roman Catholic. His father was employed as a colonial administrator in the former British Empire, and as such attended both Roman Catholic Monastic schools and various boarding schools growing up, including St. Martin’s Ampleforth and Ampleforth College. He went on to pursue a degree in history at the University of London; however, he never finished as he became embittered with the British educational system and its Eurocentric focus and teaching style.
In 1987, after struggling with his Roman Catholic upbringing and a brief stint practicing Buddhism, Abdur Raheem Green began his journey to Islam, and in 1988 officially converted. He soon became a fixture at the infamous ‘Speakers Corner’ in Hyde Park, London where he practiced dawah (calling to Islam) on a regular basis. Through this, Green became well known and began to deliver talks amongst various universities, eventually reaching international platforms such as the Peace Conference in Mumbai, India. He also went on to co-found the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA), and may now be found as a regular presenter on Peace TV.
As he grew in fame, however, Abdur Raheem Green’s life and work did not come without controversy. He was once barred from boarding a flight that had a stopover in Australia as he holds a place on their ‘movement alert list’. In addition, Green was barred from giving a lecture at Concordia University in Canada and from the Arsenal Football Club’s Emirates owned stadium. Green and his organization iERA have been criticized for holding extreme views about the coexistence of Muslims and westerners, the treatment of wives by their husbands, Jews, and terrorist acts.
Green maintains a blog (last updated October 2014), as well as more frequently updated Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Select Bibliography:
“Abdur Raheem Green.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.
“Abdurraheem Green.” IERA. Islamic Education and Research Academy, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.
“Sheikh Abdur-Raheem Green.” Islam Events. Islam Tomorrow, n.d. Accessed 13 May 2015.