THE TANDEM PROJECT
UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
CREATIONISM, MINUS A YOUNG EARTH,
EMERGES IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD
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Issue: World views on human evolution – “never possible” to
bridge?
For: United Nations, Governments, Religions or Beliefs,
Academia, NGOs, Media, Civil Society
Review: Creationism, Minus a Young Earth,
Emerges in the Islamic World, by Kenneth Chang, New York Times:
Excerpt: “Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a prominent atomic
physicist at Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan, said that when he gave
lectures covering the sweep of cosmological history from the Big Bang to the
evolution of life on Earth, the audience listened without objection to most of
it. ‘Everything is O.K. until the apes stand up,’ Dr. Hoodbhoy said. Mentioning
human evolution led to near riots, and he had to be escorted out. ‘That’s the
one thing that will never be possible to bridge,’ he said. ‘Your lineage is
what determines your worth. Biology education, even in places likes
In 2006 the Netherlands
Ambassador-at-large for Human Rights speaking on education curricula at the 25
year Commemoration of the 1981 UN Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief
said we must “teach children, from the very beginning, that their own religion
is one out of many and it is a personal choice for everyone to adhere to the
religion or belief by which he or she feels most inspired, or to adhere to no
religion or belief at all.” This is true, but almost never beginning with early
childhood education.
Article 18: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a
religion or whatever belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or
in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in worship, observance, practices and teaching.
No one shall be subject to coercion which would
impair his freedom to have a religion or belief of his choice.
Freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief may be
subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to
protect public safety, order, health, morals or the fundamental rights and
freedoms of others.
General Comment 22 on
Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
1. “The right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion (which includes the freedom to hold
beliefs) in article 18.1 is far-reaching and profound; it encompasses freedom
of thought on all matters, personal conviction and the commitment to religion
or belief, whether manifested individually or in community with others. The
Committee draws attention of States parties to the fact that freedom of thought
and the freedom of conscience are protected equally with the freedom of
religion or belief. The fundamental character of these freedoms is also
reflected in the fact that this provision cannot be derogated from, even in
time of public emergency, as stated in article 4.2 of the Covenant.”
2. “Article 18 protects
theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to
profess any religion or belief. The terms “belief” and “religion” are to be
broadly construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional
religions or to religions or beliefs with institutional characteristics or
practices analogous to those of traditional religions. The Committee therefore
views with concern any tendency to discriminate against any religion or belief
for any reason, including the fact that they are newly established, or
represent religious minorities that may be the subject of hostility on the part
of a predominant religious community.”
AMHERST, Mass. — Creationism
is growing in the Muslim world, from Turkey to Pakistan to Indonesia,
international academics said last month as they gathered here to discuss the
topic.
But, they said, young-Earth creationists, who believe
God created the universe, Earth and life just a few thousand years ago, are
rare, if not nonexistent.
One reason is that
although the Koran, the holy text
of Islam, says the universe was created in six days, the next line adds that a
day, in this instance, is metaphorical: “a thousand years of your reckoning.”
By contrast, some
Christian creationists find in the Bible a strict chronology that requires a
6,000-year-old Earth and thus object not only to evolution but also too much of
modern geology and cosmology, which say the Earth and the universe are billions
of years old.
“Views of scientific
evolution are clearly influenced by underlying religious beliefs,” said Salman
Hameed, who convened the two-day
conference here at
But that does not mean
that all of evolution fits Islam or that all Muslims happily accept the
findings of modern biology. More and more seem to be joining the ranks of the
so-called old-Earth creationists. They do not quarrel with astronomers and
geologists, just biologists, insisting that life is the creation of God, not
the happenstance consequence of random occurrences.
The debate over evolution
is only now gaining prominence in many Islamic countries as education improves
and more students are exposed to the ideas of modern biology.
The degree of acceptance
of evolution varies among Islamic countries.
Research led by the Evolution
Education Research Center at McGill University, in
Montreal, found that high school biology textbooks in Pakistan covered the
theory of evolution. Quotations from the Koran at the beginning of the chapters
are chosen to suggest that the religion and the theory coexist harmoniously.
In a survey of 2,527
Pakistani high school students conducted by the McGill researchers and their
international collaborators, 28 percent of the students agreed with the
creationist sentiment, “Evolution is not a well-accepted scientific fact.” More
than 60 percent disagreed, and the rest were not sure.
Eighty-six percent agreed
with this statement: “Millions of fossils show that life has existed for
billions of years and changed over time.”
The situation in
Some years later, while browsing
a bookstore on a visit to
In Turkey, officially a
secular government but now ruled by an Islamic party, the teaching of evolution
has largely disappeared, at least below the university level, and the science
curriculum in public schools is written in deference to religious beliefs, Dr.
Edis said.
Harun Yahya, a Turkish creationist
of the old-Earth variety, has gained prominence in
In the McGill research,
fewer students in Indonesia than in Pakistan thought evolution a well-accepted
scientific fact, yet 85 percent agreed that fossils showed that life had
existed for billions of years and changed over time.
The quality of biology
education “varies highly depending on what country you’re in and what school
you’re in,” said Jason R. Wiles, a professor of biology at Syracuse University and
associate director of the McGill center.
In addition, the situation
in
Even finding out how
different countries teach evolution can be difficult, Dr. Hameed said. Saudi
Arabia, for example, does not let foreigners see the biology textbooks. “We
don’t have much information,” he said.
For many Muslims, even
evolution and the notion that life flourished without the intervening hand of
Allah is largely compatible with their religion. What many find unacceptable is
human evolution, the idea that humans evolved from primitive primates. The
Koran states that Allah created Adam, the first man, separately out of clay.
Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a
prominent atomic physicist at Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan, said that
when he gave lectures covering the sweep of cosmological history from the Big
Bang to the evolution of life on Earth, the audience listened without objection
to most of it. “Everything is O.K. until the apes stand up,” Dr. Hoodbhoy said.
Mentioning human evolution
led to near riots, and he had to be escorted out. “That’s the one thing that
will never be possible to bridge,” he said. “Your lineage is what determines
your worth.”
Biology education, even in
places like
Some academics at the
conference worried that the rejection of some aspects of evolution might leave
Islamic countries at a disadvantage in scientific education. Dr. Hameed said a
negative reaction to evolutionary theory could reflect a struggle to retain
cultural traditions and values against Western influences, even though Islamic
creationists readily borrowed many of the arguments from Western creationists,
just removing the young-Earth aspects.
There is some indication
that in the West, where non-Islamic influences are strongest, Islamic
creationism may be stronger in reaction to the outside pressure. For example,
high school students at Islamic schools in and near
At the same time, many of
the Canadian Muslims even acquired young-Earth creationist beliefs, which are
thoroughly Western in origin. Only half the students surveyed at the Islamic
schools in the
In a study financed by the
National Science
Foundation, Dr. Hameed and his colleagues will survey the beliefs of Muslim
doctors in five Muslim countries — Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey —
and compare them with Muslim doctors in non-Muslim countries — Turkish doctors
in Germany, Pakistani doctors in Britain, and Turkish and Pakistani doctors in the
United States.
“We actually expect,
especially in Europe, where they have a harder time merging in the culture,”
Dr. Hameed said, “harsher rejection of evolution in England and Germany” than
in Muslim countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/science/03islam.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Documents Attached:
Creationism, Minus a Young Earth, Emerges in Islamic World
Faith, Evolution & Creationism
United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon, at the Alliance of Civilizations Madrid Forum said; “never
in our lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and
committed dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among
and between nations.”
Genuine dialogue on human
rights and freedom of religion or belief calls for respectful discourse,
discussion of taboos and clarity by persons of diverse beliefs. Inclusive
dialogue includes people of theistic, non-theistic and
atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.
The warning signs are clear, unless there is genuine dialogue ranging from
religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism; conflicts in the future will
probably be even more deadly.
In 1968 the UN deferred
work on an International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Religious Intolerance because of its complexity and sensitivity. In forty years
violence, suffering and discrimination based on religion or belief has dramatically
increased. It is time for a UN Working Group
to draft what they deferred in 1968, a comprehensive core international human
rights treaty- a United Nations Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief: United Nations History –
Freedom of Religion or Belief
The challenge to
religions or beliefs at all levels is awareness, understanding
and acceptance of international human rights standards on freedom of
religion or belief. Leaders, teachers and followers of all religions or
beliefs, with governments, are keys to test the viability of inclusive and
genuine dialogue in response to the UN Secretary General’s urgent call for
constructive and committed dialogue.
The Tandem Project title,
Separation of Religion or Belief and State
(SOROBAS), reflects the far-reaching scope of UN General Comment 22
on Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Human
Rights Committee (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4). The General Comment on Article 18 is
a guide to international human rights law for peaceful cooperation, respectful
competition and resolution of conflicts:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
Surely one of the best
hopes for humankind is to embrace a culture in which religions and other
beliefs accept one another, in which wars and violence are not tolerated in the
name of an exclusive right to truth, in which children are raised to solve
conflicts with mediation, compassion and understanding.
The Tandem Project is a non-governmental organization (NGO)
founded in 1986 to build understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity,
and to prevent discrimination in matters relating to freedom of religion or
belief. The Tandem Project has sponsored multiple conferences, curricula,
reference materials and programs on Article 18 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights – Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion - and 1981 United Nations Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or
Belief.
The Tandem Project is a UN NGO in
Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations