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Science in Iran

longbrained

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Mar 28, 2011
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Think that Iran is a theocracy that allows no science contrary to
Islamic doctrine? Think again:

Iranian science textbooks do, in fact, include evolution, and reveals
several problems with the existing discourses on both Islamic
creationism and the effect of religious governance on science education.
Prevailing assumptions about the Iranian government evidently lead to
the expectation that science education in Iran, rather than representing
the consensus of the international scientific community, is merely
another avenue for Islamic indoctrination. However, the state-produced
science textbooks, which define the national curriculum and whose use is
mandatory in all Iranian schools, are nearly devoid of any religious
ideology. While the first page is emblazoned with bismillah ("In the
name of God"), the generic Arabic phrase prefacing texts and speeches in
most Muslim countries, Iranian fifth-graders do not read the Qur'anic
account of creation in their general sciences text. Instead they learn
about deep time, the marine beginnings of life on Earth, Pangaea, and
continental drift. Furthermore, geologists are credited as the source of
this knowledge, as opposed to divine inspiration (Tehrani et al. 2008).
In eighth grade, the final year of compulsory schooling in Iran,
students learn about evolution in earnest. Within a historical
perspective, the middle-school science textbook presents not only
Darwin's observations of natural selection, but also the discrediting of
the Lamarckian hypothesis by August Weissmann, as well as de Vries'
ideas on genetic mutation. Furthermore, multiple lines of evidence for
evolution are illustrated, including comparative embryology and
structural homologies. Most strikingly, the text highlights transitional
forms; the image of an Archaeopteryx fossil is captioned: "This is the
first bird on Earth, which also has some reptile traits" (Amani et al.
2008).
For secondary students who go on to the highest levels of biology in
preparation for university, the pish-daneshgahi (12th-grade equivalent)
biology textbook elaborates on these previous discussions within several
chapters on evolution and population genetics (Karam al-Dini et al.
2008). Alongside the science of and evidence for evolution, the text
paints a sympathetic picture of Darwin, mentioning his reluctance to
publish his ideas within the Victorian English social milieu, especially
given the church's censure of Vestiges of the Natural History of
Creation and Lamarck. Perhaps more importantly, the text includes a
diagram presenting Darwin's influences and the eventual construction of
the new synthesis of evolutionary theory, with abundant reference to
Western scientists and their research programs. Equally remarkable is
the text's analysis of punctuated equilibrium, which it points out as
Darwin's original conception of "gradual" evolution, and its
presentation of ongoing evolutionary research, including that of Peter
and Rosemary Grant and Jonathan Losos.

A wonderful more detailed read on the same subject about science education in Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel: EVOLUTION AND CREATIONISM IN MIDDLE EASTERN EDUCATION: A NEW PERSPECTIVE on Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel
 
In the UK we simply have the press bombarding the average person with incredible propaganda and making out Iranians are all madmen and trying to blow the world up. Its really a one way stream of constant abuse about the nation. Its simply not fair and blatant lies. I hope Iran achieves its goals and keeps annoying the west by being best!
 
Good job iran in keeping creationists at bay. A major war against ignorance is won if you teach science as it is.
Contrast this with islamic school curriculum in UK.
 
When I read above passage on the net which I have posted above, I remembered this personal story which I thought to share with you guys here on PDF in relation to science in Iran, by the way I am neutral on the subject and do not endorse any views:

Once years back when I was in one of the famous universities of Pakistan I along with friends while on Pundi entered a packed conference hall and were attracted to girls and the prospect of free food on premises. To make the story short we found out that Iranian mullah from Iran was to be the chief speaker at the event about the topic of science and religion. In attendance was a huge audience of students, professors and administration. His talk was mostly spiritual underlying the notion that science and religion were just two faces of one coin. Or something like that, since I was not really listening. Then question answer session started and suddenly a female graduate student of biology who I now understand was very courageous stood up and asked the mullah that biology teaches us Darwinism and we are told by our religious scholars that it is wrong. So she asked him what to do. The mullah stood up and said that evolution is right and Islam is compatible with it as per our current knowledge but he added this might actually change as more scientific knowledge is produced, then he mentioned modern evolutionary theories and how some of them actually accommodate Islamic ideals as well and went on to mention that Muslim scientists Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Abu Uthman al-Jahith who had worked on evolution even before Darwin reiterating that it is not necessary to think man came from apes in a modified theory of evolution. There was a shock in conference hall and immediately a professor of Islamiat took the stage followed by a Journalism professor condemning Darwin and theory of evolution in the most undiplomatic tone. Iranian mullah was puzzled, then a professor of biology stood up and tried to defend theory of evolution and how it was possible to see it in an Islamic way. The fight was going to go on when organizers intervened while students were confused and dead silent, every one was invited for food and drinks. And that was the time before Taliban.

I am still confused today after all this time. While we read science it says one thing and we read our religious texts it says something else. It is not only evolution, the issue happens in many other fields too. But it seems Iranians have come to accept evolution in their science. Today when I read the article I have posted above I remembered that day again and thought to share it here along with this video I just watched, let me know about what you think and help me with this confusion from long ago:

 
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When I read above passage on the net which I have posted above, I remembered this personal story which I thought to share with you guys here on PDF in relation to science in Iran, by the way I am neutral on the subject and do not endorse any views:
First of all there is nothing called islamic science or hindu science or jewish science. The science you see now, may have been by many devout christians(e.g. Mendel was a priest), but this is not christian science.
People of all faith,colour and region have contributed to it, some have contributed more than other because of the civilization they were fortunate to be born in.
By the way, as with everything else, many of the modern thoughts can be traced to greeks.
Here is the wikipedia entry:

Proposals that one type of animal, even humans, could descend from other types of animals, are known to go back to the first pre-Socratic Greek philosophers. Anaximander of Miletus (c.610–546 BC) proposed that the first animals lived in water, during a wet phase of the Earth's past, and that the first land-dwelling ancestors of mankind must have been born in water, and only spent part of their life on land. He also argued that the first human of the form known today must have been the child of a different type of animal, because man needs prolonged nursing to live.[2] Empedocles (c. 490–430 BC), argued that what we call birth and death in animals are just the mingling and separations of elements which cause the countless "tribes of mortal things"

Even during Darwin's time there were other scintists who had similar thoughts. The genius of Darwin was to collect evidence meticulously and provide a theoretical basis of how it happens. Nobody did that before.
 
First of all there is nothing called islamic science or hindu science or jewish science. The science you see now, may have been by many devout christians(e.g. Mendel was a priest), but this is not christian science.
People of all faith,colour and region have contributed to it, some have contributed more than other because of the civilization they were fortunate to be born in.
By the way, as with everything else, many of the modern thoughts can be traced to greeks.
Here is the wikipedia entry:

Proposals that one type of animal, even humans, could descend from other types of animals, are known to go back to the first pre-Socratic Greek philosophers. Anaximander of Miletus (c.610–546 BC) proposed that the first animals lived in water, during a wet phase of the Earth's past, and that the first land-dwelling ancestors of mankind must have been born in water, and only spent part of their life on land. He also argued that the first human of the form known today must have been the child of a different type of animal, because man needs prolonged nursing to live.[2] Empedocles (c. 490–430 BC), argued that what we call birth and death in animals are just the mingling and separations of elements which cause the countless "tribes of mortal things"

Even during Darwin's time there were other scintists who had similar thoughts. The genius of Darwin was to collect evidence meticulously and provide a theoretical basis of how it happens. Nobody did that before.

I know that. What I meant was compatibility of science with religion. There are even anti-evolution pro-christian groups in US who are very strong. So this is what I am talking about.
 

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