The interaction and ‘conflict’ between science and religion is a fairly constant theme throughout the history of science. In this volume, the focus is on the relationship of the two within Muslim societies, both in the classical (medieval) period and in modern times. Professor Ahmad Dallal has brought his background as an established scholar of Islamic intellectual history and scientific thought to bear upon the subject, and the result is a serious, reliable and thoughtful analysis that should supersede all earlier discourses on the topic by modern scholars.

The volume is based on lectures that the author gave at Yale University in 2008, with a quadripartite division of the discourse. Dallal opens with a discussion (titled ‘Beginnings and beyond’) of the rise of science within Arabic-speaking societies, arguing that the translation movement of Greek and Persian materials into Arabic that took place in the ninth century was only one aspect and one factor in the subsequent development of science in Islamic society. This first section serves as a preliminary to the central arguments of the book, which he develops in the other three chapters. Science is analysed first in terms of the attitudes towards it that are evident in classical Islamic philosophical writings, and then secondly in terms of attitudes towards it that are found in classical Islamic theological discourse, with the concluding chapter devoted to the attitudes of modern Muslim writers towards science and Islam and the perceptions these modern thinkers have of the role of science in Islam during the classical period.

The conclusions Dallal draws are important, and to some will appear startling: ‘A shared trait of all modern Islamic discourses on science is their presenters’ ignorance of, indifference to, or even outright abuse of history’ (p. 176). In other words, the recent Islamic discourse on science is not rooted in an understanding of the relationship between Islam and science that existed in previous centuries. Modern Muslim writers on the topic are intent on trying to bring science and religion together and making them compatible – either by trying to demonstrate that science corroborates Qur’ānic statements or through suggesting that the miracle of the Qur’ān was that it predicted modern scientific discoveries. An example of the latter is the assertion that the Qur’ān 21:30 (‘the heavens and earth were an integrated mass then We split them’) foreshadows the Big Bang theory. This, Dallal argues, contrasts completely and utterly with the approach of classical commentators on the Qur’ān, who would never have suggested that the Qur’ān predicted scientific discoveries or could serve as a source of scientific knowledge. Dallal goes so far as to suggest that there is nothing specifically Muslim in many of these modern arguments, for they employ techniques derived from Christian fundamentalism and creationism.

In the two chapters concerned with science in the contexts of philosophy and religion in the classical period, Dallal convincingly argues that for authors of Qur’ānic exegesis in classical Islamic culture, the Qur’ān was never assumed to have authority in matters of natural philosophy and science. In other words, ‘science was conceived as a culturally neutral and universal activity’ (p. 147). Thus scientific knowledge was freed of religious meaning, and a distinct sphere of autonomous scientific enquiry was able to flourish. Such an approach was possible through what Dallal terms a ‘new epistemology’ that characterized the practice of science in classical Islamic societies. Scholars purposefully strove to redefine the scope of theology so as to allow for the separation and disengagement of the sciences from philosophy, metaphysics and religion – an adjustment prompted and made possible by the systematic mathematization of fields such as astronomy. Dallal highlights the irony that in the classical period, when Muslims were the major innovators of science, they did not advocate the union of religion with science, while in the modern period, when Muslim participation in scientific innovation has dwindled, contemporary discourses are arguing for bringing the two together.

The volume presents an authoritative and subtle analysis of the radical change that has occurred between the classical period and the contemporary modern era with regard to the complex relationship in Muslim societies between scientific thought and religious/philosophical traditions. It deserves to be read widely and taken seriously. While this volume might prove a challenging read for the non-specialist, it is well worth the effort. It is an important study that should attract a large readership.