Introduction to the Symposium on Islam and Evolution

The budding field of Islam and science has been steadily developing over the past few decades (Guessoum 2011). However, out of the many conversations that come under the umbrella of Islam and science, the specific discussion of Islam and evolution remains as one of the most polarizing, controversial, and, yet, exciting territories (Guessoum 2016; Malik 2021). This is likely due to the several challenges the theory simultaneously poses for religious believers, with Muslims being no exception. The following are some of them:

1. Evolution challenges design: One perspective is that evolution competes with or undermines design seen in biological organisms. In resonance with William Paley, some see God as an artisan who is responsible for crafting each biological entity according to a wise blueprint or a plan. Evolution, however, provides a scientific explanation for the origins of species and thus apparently undermines the thesis that biological entities are (directly) designed by God.

2. Chance undermines providence: Inherent in evolution, or at least the Neo‐Darwinian rendition, is an indeterministic process. Some believe that it is unbefitting or impossible for God to create life through an indeterministic process, as it undermines His providence.

3. Chance undermines teleology: Religion has it that God has intent and purposes. However, if evolution is true, all life seems to be radically contingent. Did God truly intend to create human beings or are we a lucky accident?

4. Evolution amplifies the problem of evil: Estimates indicate that 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct. Why would an omnibenevolent God create life through a process in which extinction, animal suffering, and cruelty are built into it?

5. Evolution challenges scriptural details: Religious scripture contain several details that intersect and potentially conflict with the theory of evolution. These include the age of the earth, Noah's flood, and, most importantly, the creation narrative of Adam and Eve. Depending on one's hermeneutic framework, some or all of these accounts can be difficult to reconcile with the theory of evolution.

An increasing number of publications have tried to engage the particular topic of Islam and evolution in the past decade, with varying positions and foci (Jalajel 2009; Guessoum 2016; Dajani 2012; Elshakry 2013; Qadhi and Khan 2018; Malik 2021). Some are descriptive (e.g., Elshakry 2013), while others are normative (e.g., Jalajel 2009). One of most recent publications has been my own work, Islam and Evolution: Al‐Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm (Malik 2021). In this monograph, I look at evolution through the lens of a specific Sunnī theological school known as Ashʿarism as articulated by al‐Ghazālī. In there, I engage with metaphysical and hermeneutic issues to then conclude that there are several options available, and that evolution need not be a point of contention. However, in my concluding chapter, I emphasize that there remain many unexplored approaches, perspectives, and ideas that require further research.

Despite the increasing number of publications in this area, they are only a handful of studies. To further stimulate dialogue and discussion in this area, the Leiden University Shīʿī Studies Initiative (LUSSI) hosted an online conference, with the combined efforts of Ahab Bdaiwi, Arnold Yasin Mol, and myself, on the theme of Islam and evolution. The collection of articles in this issue's Symposium on Islam and Evolution, which together explore new frontiers in the area, is an outcome of that conference.

The first article is written by Safaruk Zaman Chowdhury who looks at the intersection of Islamic theodicy and evolution. Building on his recently published book, Islamic Theology and the Problem of Evil (Chowdhury 2021), he identifies two evolutionary problems of evil and then suggests three theodicies—educative, ecological, and aesthetic—that can counter them. While constructive and creative in his approach, he makes it clear that these proposals should be seen as starting points in an otherwise developing area.

The next two articles are Shīʿī perspectives on evolution. The first is by Karim Gabor Kocsenda who examines the understanding of human evolution of Kamāl al‐Ḥaydarī, a well‐known contemporary Twelver Shīʿī theologian and a creationist, whose ideas have not been fully explored or critically analyzed in this space. He does this comparatively with the works of Muḥammad Ḥusayn al‐Tabātabāʾī, one of the most renowned Twelver Shīʿī theologians of the past century. The article presents Ḥaydarī’s hermeneutic reading that allows for an unscientific rendition of evolution that is deployed for Twelver Shīʿī theological ends. Ḥaydarī focuses specifically on the idea of multiple “Adams” in human and prophetic origins and attempts to link the evolution of consciousness with the Twelver Shīʿī belief in the Parousia of the Mahdī. The second article by Khalil Andani is the first academic perspective on Islam and evolution from an Ismaili Shīʿī perspective in the English language, and tackles both metaphysical and hermeneutic issues. In his view, Ismaili Shīʿī metaphysics, which is a Neoplatonic framework, allows for the metaphysical possibility of evolution, contrary to what other Neoplatonists like Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2006) have claimed. Furthermore, he argues that Ismaili Shīʿī hermeneutics permits a metaphorical reading of Adam's creation narrative, thus relieving any tension between Ismaili Shīʿīsm and evolution.

The final two articles are written from Sunnī perspectives. Both look at teleology and design in the context of evolution but have slightly different approaches and foci. Building on his earlier work, David Solomon Jalajel (2009) looks at how scholars from all three Sunnī schools—Ashʿarism, Māturīdism, and Salafism—understand God's wisdom (ḥikma). After expounding their views and finding a common denominator, he then presents the various ways discussants in Islam and evolution resort to God's wisdom to argue for and against evolution. He concludes that the discussants’ arguments do not conform with how wisdom is traditionally understood within the Sunnī theological tradition, and they apply subjective or arbitrary measures of God's wisdom to make a case for or against evolution. The second article is co‐authored by me, Hamza Karamali, and Moamer Yahia Ali Khalayleh. Intelligent design (ID) has become a significant cultural force in the dialogue of evolution and religion, and it has gained much currency in the Muslim world. It would not be controversial to state that ID is seen as the default position for a lot of Muslims in the Islam and evolution debate. Given the several design references in the Qurʾān, some see ID reinforcing the Qurʾānic narrative. Critiquing ID, then, is seen as tantamount to critiquing the Qurʾān or its design discourse. We look at ID and the design discourse in the Qurʾān from a Sunnī kalamic framework—Ashʿarism and Māturīdism—and expose an important difference between the two, and subsequently argue that critiquing ID does not undermine the Qurʾān or its design discourse.

I hope that this Symposium offers much food for thought and instigates further research in the field of Islam and evolution.

Acknowledgments

I would sincerely like to thank Ahab Bdaiwi and Arnold Yasin Mol for hosting the conference under LUSSI. Without their support and encouragement, this issue would never have come to fruition. Furthermore, the participants of the conference made the experience all the more enjoyable. A huge thanks to everyone involved. Finally, I would like to thank Arthur Petersen, the editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, for welcoming this thematic section.