Evolution, Intelligent Design and Muslim Evolutionists: William Dembski in conversation with Muzaffar Iqbal​

Evolution met its most serious challenge through the work of scientists and philosophers who connected with the Intelligent Design Movement. ID scientists and theorists have used scientific proofs and philosophical arguments to show how specified complexity cannot be produced by random and chance processes. Pre-modern Muslim scholars had also produced a large body of scholarly works on Design. How can these two design theologies come together?

In this conversation, William Dembski, one of the most important voices in the ID movement, and Muzaffar Iqbal discuss the rise of evolution, its various versions, the recent emergence of Muslim evolutionists, the relationship between the design arguments in the Islamic tradition and arguments expounded by the ID scientists and philosophers and possible future cooperation between the two sides.
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Keywords: Evolution; Theistic Evolution; Intelligent Design Movement; Historical aspects of evolution and design; No Free Lunch; implications of evolutionary narrative in culture, history, theology; possible collaboration between Muslim scholars and ID movement.

Journal of Islamic Sciences, Vol. 16 (Summer 2023) No. 1

William Dembski

William A. Dembski is Carl F. H. Henry Professor of Theology and Science and Director of the Center for Science and Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Muzaffar Iqbal

Muzaffar Iqbal is the President of the Center for Islamic Sciences and the General Editor of the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾan.