Monday, June 4, 2007
Meet Center for Islam and Science (CIS)
Center for Islam and Science (CIS) is dedicated to the promotion of research and diffusion of knowledge on all aspects of Islam and science. CIS encourages a creative exploration of the Islamic worldview of science, fusion of contemporary scholarship with the traditional sources of Islamic thought and a renewed link with the intellectual tradition of Islam. CIS supports activities aimed at enhancing our religious and scientific understanding of nature and the human condition.
The Center does not construe "Islam" and "science" as two separate entities that need to be somehow related through an external process; rather, the Center recognizes an underlying unity in all domains of knowledge. This is based on the Qur'anic concept of Tawhid, Unicity of God, the most fundamental principle of Islamic epistemology.
Vision
Center for Islam and Science (CIS) is dedicated to the promotion of research and diffusion of knowledge on all aspects of Islam and science. CIS encourages a creative exploration of the Islamic worldview of science, fusion of contemporary scholarship with the traditional sources of Islamic thought and a renewed link with the intellectual tradition of Islam. CIS supports activities aimed at enhancing our religious and scientific understanding of nature and the human condition.
The Center does not construe "Islam" and "science" as two separate entities that need to be somehow related through an external process. Rather, the Center recognizes an underlying unity in all domains of knowledge. This is based on the concept of Tawhid, Unicity of God, which is the most fundamental principle of Islamic epistemology. CIS, therefore, recognizes, honours and builds its foundation on this underlying unifying principle which makes the whole of the manifest cosmos a part of the hierarchy of beings in which the physical cosmos (the subject matter of natural sciences) is but one aspect of the manifest reality.
The Center for Islam & Science has only one goal: a renaissance of Islamic tradition of learning in which all branches of knowledge originated and returned to one single source. The Center, therefore, aims at providing impetus to a learning process which combines the traditional transmitted and intellectual sciences (al-`ulum al-naqliyah wa `ulum al-`aqliyah) at all academic levels.
In particular, the Center aims at forging a link between the contemporary scientific research at the highest levels and the traditional Islamic understanding of cosmos and the human nature. This effort has two foci: (i) An exploration of the metaphysical, epistemological and philosophical dimensions of science from an Islamic perspective; and (ii) Reconstruction of the Islamic Scientific Tradition.
Through these two efforts, CIS hopes to provide support for the emergence of an integrated process of learning at various academic levels in which a fusion of scientific and religious understanding of cosmos and the human condition emerge as a natural outcome.
These efforts involve support for designing and teaching of academic curricula aimed towards this integrated learning process.
Activities
Research and Publications
CIS plans to publish a series of well-researched books and monographs dealing with contemporary issues which have arisen through recent advances in various sciences. Written by competent scientists and scholars, this series will cover areas such as cosmology, neuroscience, genetics and bioethics. CIS will also publish contemporary editions of selected works from the Islamic scientific tradition. These will not be mere reproduction or translations; rather, the aim here is to provide a framework for relating these works to our contemporary understanding. This will be done by providing current equivalents for terms used by the classical authors as well as by providing broad historical and philosophical understanding of the issues dealt with in those works.
Bibliographic Resources
CIS is compiling extensive bibliographic resources which will facilitate research on all aspects of Islamic scientific tradition. These Web-based, periodically updated databases are being designed to provide global access to a wealth of literature which has hitherto remained inaccessible to most scholars. Summaries, annotations and cross-references would add to the utility of these databases. Also planned is a source guide to the available translations of classical works which deal with various aspects of Islam and science. A portal in the database will lead to brief reviews on important works.
Branch offices
Planned for the future is a network of branch offices in regions of the Muslim world. The objectives of these branch offices are (i) to establish closer ties with various institutions and scholars of that particular region and (ii) to produce material suitable for local needs. This will include translations of various CIS publications, sponsorship of seminars, workshops and conferences.
Visit to Center for Islam and Sicence Website (http://www.cis-ca.org/index.php)
The Center does not construe "Islam" and "science" as two separate entities that need to be somehow related through an external process; rather, the Center recognizes an underlying unity in all domains of knowledge. This is based on the Qur'anic concept of Tawhid, Unicity of God, the most fundamental principle of Islamic epistemology.
Vision
Center for Islam and Science (CIS) is dedicated to the promotion of research and diffusion of knowledge on all aspects of Islam and science. CIS encourages a creative exploration of the Islamic worldview of science, fusion of contemporary scholarship with the traditional sources of Islamic thought and a renewed link with the intellectual tradition of Islam. CIS supports activities aimed at enhancing our religious and scientific understanding of nature and the human condition.
The Center does not construe "Islam" and "science" as two separate entities that need to be somehow related through an external process. Rather, the Center recognizes an underlying unity in all domains of knowledge. This is based on the concept of Tawhid, Unicity of God, which is the most fundamental principle of Islamic epistemology. CIS, therefore, recognizes, honours and builds its foundation on this underlying unifying principle which makes the whole of the manifest cosmos a part of the hierarchy of beings in which the physical cosmos (the subject matter of natural sciences) is but one aspect of the manifest reality.
The Center for Islam & Science has only one goal: a renaissance of Islamic tradition of learning in which all branches of knowledge originated and returned to one single source. The Center, therefore, aims at providing impetus to a learning process which combines the traditional transmitted and intellectual sciences (al-`ulum al-naqliyah wa `ulum al-`aqliyah) at all academic levels.
In particular, the Center aims at forging a link between the contemporary scientific research at the highest levels and the traditional Islamic understanding of cosmos and the human nature. This effort has two foci: (i) An exploration of the metaphysical, epistemological and philosophical dimensions of science from an Islamic perspective; and (ii) Reconstruction of the Islamic Scientific Tradition.
(i) CIS recognizes that religious, cultural and historical matrix in which science operates is a fundamental component of the scientific inquiry and hence it forms an integral part of its operative methodology. From cosmology to neuroscience and from genetics to artificial intelligence, the whole spectrum of modern science and its relationship with the religious understanding of cosmos and human condition are deeply rooted in theoretical constructions which are outside the domain of experimental sciences. In order to forge a link between Islamic worldview and scientific understanding of cosmos, CIS is interested in studying this underlying matrix of contemporary scientific inquiry from an Islamic perspective.
(ii) The goal of reconstruction of the Islamic scientific tradition is to provide an Islamic view of science. This will be done through representative translations, careful and objective studies focusing on the broad matrix of Islamic scientific tradition and through a renewal of links with the traditional sources which had given birth to the Islamic tradition of learning.
Through these two efforts, CIS hopes to provide support for the emergence of an integrated process of learning at various academic levels in which a fusion of scientific and religious understanding of cosmos and the human condition emerge as a natural outcome.
These efforts involve support for designing and teaching of academic curricula aimed towards this integrated learning process.
Activities
Research and Publications
CIS plans to publish a series of well-researched books and monographs dealing with contemporary issues which have arisen through recent advances in various sciences. Written by competent scientists and scholars, this series will cover areas such as cosmology, neuroscience, genetics and bioethics. CIS will also publish contemporary editions of selected works from the Islamic scientific tradition. These will not be mere reproduction or translations; rather, the aim here is to provide a framework for relating these works to our contemporary understanding. This will be done by providing current equivalents for terms used by the classical authors as well as by providing broad historical and philosophical understanding of the issues dealt with in those works.
Bibliographic Resources
CIS is compiling extensive bibliographic resources which will facilitate research on all aspects of Islamic scientific tradition. These Web-based, periodically updated databases are being designed to provide global access to a wealth of literature which has hitherto remained inaccessible to most scholars. Summaries, annotations and cross-references would add to the utility of these databases. Also planned is a source guide to the available translations of classical works which deal with various aspects of Islam and science. A portal in the database will lead to brief reviews on important works.
Branch offices
Planned for the future is a network of branch offices in regions of the Muslim world. The objectives of these branch offices are (i) to establish closer ties with various institutions and scholars of that particular region and (ii) to produce material suitable for local needs. This will include translations of various CIS publications, sponsorship of seminars, workshops and conferences.
Visit to Center for Islam and Sicence Website (http://www.cis-ca.org/index.php)
No comments yet