Islamic creationism

{{significantly problematic}}{{Rewrite}}[[File:Flat Earth Wonders of Creation.jpeg|thumb|right|upright|The ''original'' Islamic creationism. That's an [[angel]] supporting a [[fish]] supporting a [[goat]] supporting a [[flat earth]].]]{{crenav}}
'''Islamic creationism''' refers to [[creationism]] in the [[Islam|Islamic]] world. Although creationism in the West is more usually associated with [[fundamentalist]] [[Christianity]], the Islamic world has its own version of creationism, with substantial (and not so substantial) differences.

==Beliefs==
Unlike the [[young Earth creationist]] movements within Christianity, few, if any, Muslim creationists insist that the world was created in a matter of days a few thousand years ago{{fact}} as most accept the [[Koran]] as a metaphorical and contemplative document{{fact}}. Translations of six "days" are also far more ambiguous than their explicitly Christian counterpart.<ref>[http://islam.about.com/od/creation/a/creation.htm About.com Islam - Six "Days" or Long Periods of Time]</ref> However, they do reject [[evolution]], and especially the notion that humans evolved from animals. They accept that the [[Earth]] and [[Universe]] are old.

Largely because the [[Qur'an]] is less explicit about the subject, Islamic creationists are primarily [[Old Earth creationism|Old Earth creationists]]. However, many reject [[evolution]], and the vast majority reject [[common descent]].

Some [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalists]] however take things a step further and promote that the [[flat earth|earth is flat]], using a literal interpretation of several Koranic verses.<ref>Ibrahim, Youssef. "[https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/12/world/muslim-edicts-take-on-new-force.html Muslim Edicts Take on New Force]," ''New York Times.'' 12 February 1995</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20140618202429/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15iuoHEnWQ&app=desktop Recording of Sheik Abdel-Aziz Ibn Baaz, Archive]</ref>

==Proponents and history==
Many [[Islam|Muslims]], [[Crank magnetism|especially]] more [[fundamentalist]] ones, believe in [[Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge]].<ref name="EotQ">Dallal, Ahmad. "Science and the Qur'an", ''Encyclopedia of the Qur'an''.</ref><ref name="Hamza">[http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/essays-articles/exploring-the-quran/does-the-quran-contain-scientific-miracles-a-new-approach/ Tzortzis, Hamza. "Does the Qur'an contain scientific miracles? A new approach on how to reconcile and discuss science in the Qur'an". HamzaTzortzis.com. 21 August 2008. Web. 17 October 2014.]</ref><ref name="Edis">[http://edis.sites.truman.edu/quran-science-scientific-miracles-from-the-7th-century/ Taner, Edis. "Quran-science: Scientific miracles from the 7th century?" Truman State University. n.d. Web. 28 October 2014.]</ref><ref name="Halil">[https://newhumanist.org.uk/2131 Arda, Halil. "Sex, flies and videotape: the secret lives of Harun Yahya". 09 September 2009. Web. 06 November 2014.]</ref>  Believers often [[Confirmation bias|see Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge as "proof" of the Qur'an's divine nature]] and {{wpl|Dawah|a means to convert people to Islam}}.<ref name="EotQ"/><ref name="Hamza"/><ref name="Edis"/> The idea of Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge is a relatively recent invention,<ref name="Syed">[http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/skm/Religion_Science_Bucaille.htm Mirza, Syed. "Religion, Science, and Maurice Bucaille". n.d. Web. 06 November 2014.]</ref> linked to rising Muslim creationism and fundamentalism.<ref name="Hamza"/><ref name="Halil" /><ref group=note>It appears likely that the concept of [[Biblical scientific foreknowledge]] as proof of the [[Biblical inerrancy|unerring truth]] of the [[Bible]] seemed like an effective way of convincing unbelievers and was adopted by Muslim apologists, especially popularizers like [[Harun Yahya]].</ref>

{{wpl|Maurice Bucaille}}, a [[French]] physician, promoted Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge in {{wpl|Maurice Bucaille#The Bible, The Qur'an and Science|''The Bible, The Qur'an and Science''}} and other writings. Considering that Bucaille was living in [[Saudi Arabia]] at the time, was an employee of the Saudi royalty, and may have been paid to write said book by said royalty, it appears entirely plausible that Bucaille was 
a government shill for
 ''not fully critical of'' Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge claims.<ref name="Syed" /> Dr. Muhammad Rasjidi, translator of the book into Indonesian and former [[Indonesia]]n Minister for Religious Affairs, describes Bucaille's book as "a half-baked mish-mash of [[pseudoscience]] and pseudo-[[exegesis]]".<ref>{{cite book
| publisher= Routledge
| page= 279
| last= Roff
| first= William
| title= Islam and the political economy of meaning: comparative studies of Muslim discourse
| year= 1987
| url= http://books.google.com/?id=s5sOAAAAQAAJ&dq=Islam+and+the+political+economy+of+meaning
| isbn= 978-0-7099-4248-1
}}</ref> Despite this, Bucaille helped propagate Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge to regions that hadn't previously been exposed to the idea.

[[Harun Yahya]] is perhaps the most prolific<ref>[http://www.harunyahya.com/bilgi/yazarHakkinda Yahya, Harun. "About the Author". n.d. Web. 06 November 2014.]</ref><ref>[http://harunyahya.com/list/type/5/A2Z/all/ Yahya, Harun. "Websites". n.d. Web. 06 November 2014.]</ref> and least credentialed<ref>{{see-wp|Adnan Oktar#Biography}}</ref> propagator of Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge, with hundreds of websites, books, articles, and lawsuits<ref name="Halil" /> on the subject. Within Islam, he is perhaps the most notorious proponent of creationism, and has been heavily influenced by American Christian creationism. In recent years, he has become one of the more vocal creationists and some of his publicity stunts and ramblings would make even [[Ted Haggard]] blush. He has repeatedly been shown to not know what he is talking about, such as with his [[Ask Darwinists]] question sheet (which even an amateur could answer easily) and mistaking a fishing lure for a live animal in one of his books. In line with [[Gish Gallop]] tactics, Yahya is probably there just to waste people's time and try to keep the "[[Manufactroversy|controversy]]" in the public eye in order to bilk more money out of the faithful, rather than make any real contribution.

==See also==
*[[Qur'anic scientific errors]]
*[[Qur'anic scientific foreknowledge]]
*[[Qur'anic contradictions]]
*[[Qur'an]] ([[RationalWiki:Annotated Qur'an|annotated]])

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
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[[Category:Islam]]

Categories: Islam