Can teaching of Islam be good for morality, self-development, economics and science?

Biplab Pal

Published on April 03, 2006

 
-Biplab Pal: 11/26/2005
 
Reply to Shodalap editor�s challenge  �Antar Mama Bikashita Kar�
http://www.shodalap.com/MAU_Ontor01.pdf
 
 
Let self be enlightened, sure, but how?
 
Through religious preaching?
 
 
I have very high respect for Shodalap and its editor Mr Amanullah for the excellent job he is doing as the editor of  Shodalap, a forum which is very popular among moderate Muslims. Mr Amanulla is a very wise man indeed and a true man of intellect and spiritualism (study of self, not the exact dictionary meaning).
 
Let me first state that I agree with Mr Amanulla that objective of life is to better ourselves as a human being, to attain the human qualities before we do anything and want be called anything. The fact that, our spiritual development, or development as better human being needs inner search is quite established fact in Sufism which I adhere and respect very much despite a part of it is superstition. Same truth has been revealed in Upanishad and in Buddhism. An inner search of �self� is the key to journey of ascent as superior human being.
 
However how Koranic Islam treated Sufism? Does this Sufi Message of Amanullah fit into the doctrine of Koran?
 
Mr Abul Kashem writes:
 
https://gold.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/rationalist_day/rationalism_kasem.htm
 
�One of the more famous victims was Mansur Al-Hallaj http://www.xs4all.nl/~jeroen93/pdf/mansur.pdf . Al-Hallaj was a 10th-Century Sufi (Islamic mystic) master, famous today for being a mentor of popular Sufi poet Rumi. The specific charge was uttering �I am the Eternal Truth.� (Only Allah can be �The Eternal Truth� in Islam.) This was simply the logical outcome of Al-Hallaj�s Sufi beliefs, which held that �God� is found in all of us. It was, however, blasphemy according to Imam Hanbal (founder of Sunni Islam�s most reactionary school of Islamic law), who engineered Al-Hallaj�s persecution and eventual execution by crucifixion.�
 
Mr Amanulla�s �Antra Mama Bikashita Kar� also means, accepting �self� as singular point (technical jargon of philosophy) meaning accepting �I am the eternal truth� for which Mansur Al-Hallaj has been executed.
 
Now let me be specific in answering Mr. Editor�s questions to me:
 
 
[1] Are religious people morally strong?
 
First of all, my heartiest congratulation to you that you differed with Mr Kawan and supported my point that
 
A.     No one become atheist for free-sex
B.      An atheist can be highly moral and truthful person
 
However, you do not agree that religiosity leads to more criminal and amoral behavior. So here is some statistics for you.
 
(Courtesy Mr Avijit Roy) 
Some statistics you will still find in the review:
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/kenneth_krause/shermer.html
 
In 1934, for example, Abraham Franzblau discovered a negative correlation between religiosity and honesty. In 1950, Murray Ross discovered that agnostics and atheists were more willing to help the poor than their deeply religious counterparts. In 1969, sociologists Travis Hirschi and Rodney Stark found no difference between young churchgoers and young non-churchgoers regarding their propensity to commit crimes. Other studies revealed that college-age students in religious schools were no less likely to cheat on exams.
 
Finally, David Wulff's comprehensive survey of studies on the psychology of religion revealed a consistent positive correlation between religious affiliation and ethnocentrism, authoritarianism, dogmatism, intolerance, and racial prejudice. "The conclusion is clear," writes Shermer, "not only does religion not necessarily make one more moral, it can lead to greater intolerance, racism, sexism, and the erosion of other values cherished in a free and democratic society" (236).
 
Even born-again Christian pollster, George Barna, confessed to such discrepancies in his 1996 "Index of Leading Spiritual Indicators." Based on interviews with nearly 4000 Americans, Barna found that "Born-again Christians continue to have a higher likelihood of getting divorced than do non-Christians," and that "atheists are less likely to get divorced than are born-again Christians" (236). The divorce rate for born-again Christians was 27 percent, according to Barna, while the rate was only 24 percent for non-Christians.
 
Over the centuries, monotheism has proved an ineffectual prescription for morality. "Personally," the author reveals, "it would frighten me to believe that the people I deal with on a day-to-day basis treat me tolerably well only because they are afraid of God and divine retribution" (155). Indeed, what manner of behavior should we expect from people of received ethics, i.e., from those who have never struggled consistently and independently with questions of right and wrong?
 
 
 
[2] Greatest people of the past were spiritual or religious?
 
You are also right that some of the greatest intellectual and rational people in this century were religious. However if spiritualism (study of self) which is an inner need and religion which is a product to meet the need of spiritualism (more of a set of canons) are separated, you would figure out that these rational people were spiritual in the quest of understanding self and rejected  the canons of religion (like offering Namaz, following Islamic rituals etc.,,)
 
A fine distinction between Adhyatikata (spiritual) and Dharmik (religious) is made here. To understand whether they were Dharmik or Adhyatik. I have a different definition of Adhyatik (spiritual) and Dharmik (religious) that I made clear in several of my articles and still making it clear:
 
http://www.shodalap.com/bp_spiritualism1.pdf
 
http://www.shodalap.com/bp_kspiritualism.pdf
 
Everybody has an inner need to know thy self- true nature of �self�, how our ego (Ahang), anger, love, hate, and seemingly unassuming culmination of every action of ours  construct this �self� �the very object called �I� and me.
 
Gandhi defied all the canons of Hindu religion. He rejected cast system and started sleeping with naked virgins to practice celibacy. Hindu Mahasava called for a movement to depose Gandhi as Hindu. This should be enough for you to understand that such great people were spiritual in the quest of truth. Abdus Salem�s religious or spiritual behavior in his later age has to do with a lot of politics, which I do not want to bring it here. However, I would like to remind you that he too, observed the fact that Islam can be revived only through the study of science and technology. And not through the study of Koran and but with scientific scrutiny of Koran.
 
Abdus Salam reiterated every word I have been speaking to my Muslim brothers-it is only through the science and technology and not through Koranic study, Islam will be liberated as a better and modern religion.
 
"A grievous crime indeed against the religion has been committed by a man who imagines that Islam is defended by denial of mathematical science, thinking that there is nothing in this science that contradicts the truth of the religion"
-Abdus Salam, Science and Religion p-189
 
 
 
 
[3]Why ultra-religious and terrorists are two sides of a same coin:
 
As to why I think ultra religious, followers of religious canons (not spiritual) are other face of the terrorists.
 
I wrote several articles explaining this in terms of theist existentialism. Since nobody refuted my articles yet ( Kawan indeed supported my view that it is ok for a Muslim to act in self-defense if Islam is attacked! That was my sole point)
 
http://www.shodalap.com/BP_sorgoduyar.pdf
http://www.shodalap.com/BP_toabid.pdf
http://www.shodalap.com/BP_Existentialism.pdf
http://www.vinnomot.com/BiplabPal/TheistExist.htm
 
[4] Does Islam punish the people who criticize its religious doctrine?
 
Editor thinks it does so only following the laws of the land.
 
Islamic intolerance is unequal and unparallel in magnitude, only comparable to medieval intolerance of Christianity.
 
Let�s start with the case that happened just on Wednesday in Calcutta:
http://www.vinnomot.com/BiplabPal/WBfundamentalism2.pdf
Criticism of any religion in scientific manner (not in a derogatory manner that hurts religious feeling) is not against the laws in India.
 
That is the recent one. Rest, I am summarizing from Mr Abul Kashem�s writing, where Muslims have tortured the people for criticizing Islam:
 
Today the weapon is more likely to be a gun or a knife than a cross,  but Imams and mullahs and their collaborators are still killing or persecuting Al-Hallaj�s modern-day heirs and getting away with it. Here are just a few of the prominent victims from the last 20 years:
 
Ali Dashti http://www.geocities.com/freethoughtmecca/bookreview.htm
Iranian statesman and Islamic historian. Dashti was imprisoned and tortured to death in Iran in the early 1980s for writing �23 Years,� a �warts-and-all� biography of the Prophet of Islam.

 
Hitoshi Igarashi http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-translator.html,
Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses, was stabbed to death in July 1991.
 
Ettore Caprioli, Italian translator of The Satanic Verses, was attacked with a knife in the same year, but survived http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-translator.html.
 
Aziz Nesin, Turkisk publisher and writer, who had printed extracts of The Satanic Verses in a Turkish newspaper, was attacked by a crazed religious mob in 1993 http://www.cjr.org/year/94/6/burned.asp
They cornered him in a hotel and set it on fire, killing 37 people, but Nesin, an elderly man in his late 70s, escaped.
 
William Nygaard, Norwegian translator and publisher of Rushdie�s book. Nygaard was shot four times in the back in 1993 by an Islamic extremist. http://www.europarl.eu.int/hearings/speech/thef_en.htm?redirected=1
 
Naguib Mafouz http://www.derechos.org/wi/2/egypt.html.
world-famous Egyptian author and Nobel Laureate. An elderly man in his 80s, Mafouz narrowly escaped a knife attack in 1994, after Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahmame, spiritual leader of the armed fundamentalist group al-Gama'a al Islamiyya, issued a death fatwa on his head. His �crime�: writing a book decades before that �insulted Islam.� Mafouz, physically and mentally traumatized by the attack, no longer writes.
 
Taslima Nasrin http://humanists.net/nasrin/profile.htm,
a Bangladeshi-born physician, poet and author. In 1993 Nasrin, a self-declared apostate, was sentenced to death by Muslim clerics for �insulting Islam.� That year 300,000 people demonstrated in her native land, calling for the poet to be burned alive. She escaped to the West, but still hides, her life blighted by a price on her head and not one but two death fatwas issued by pious Muslim clerics.

Farag Foda http://www.derechos.org/wi/2/egypt.html
An Egyptian writer and human rights defender. Foda was shot dead by militants from an Islamic  fundamentalist group after being branded as an apostate by officials at Al-Azhar, the leading Islamic educational institute in the world.
 
Anwar Sheikh http://www.hvk.org/articles/0996/0132.html
a Kashmir-born man of letters, was targeted with a death fatwa for writing  books that explored the imperialist nature of Islam. As a young man, Sheikh admitted to have been a fundamentalist who murdered innocent non-Muslims in cold blood during the partition of India in 1947. He now lives discreetly in a Western nation.
 
Nasr Abu Zaid http://carryon.oneworld.org/index_oc/issue496/abu_zaid.html
Egyptian Quranic scholar. Abu Zaid was convicted in Egypt of being an apostate from Islam in 1995. He was involuntarily divorced from his wife of many years for advancing the cause of textual criticism of the Quran. He escaped to the West in fear of his life as a convicted apostate, where he reunited with his wife, but remains a target for assassination from Islamic fanatics.
 
Rashad Khalifa http://www.yuksel.org/e/law/terror.htm
Islamic reformer, an Egyptian immigrant to the USA. Khalifa was founder of a controversial movement in Islam called the �Submitters�, who deny the authenticity of many Islamic traditions. Declared an apostate in a fatwa issued by 38 Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia, Khalifa was murdered in 1990 in Tuscon, Arizona. Although the crime was never solved, the prime suspects have been linked to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization led by Osama Bin Laden.
 
Matoub Lounes, http://aatman.free.fr/matoub.htm
Popular Algerian song-writer, political activist for Algeria�s Berber people, and singer, Lounes was murdered in 1998. The murder remains unsolved, but the radical Islamic gang, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), is the main suspect. The GIA had kidnapped Lounes in 1994 and held him hostage for two weeks.
 
Dr. Younis Shaikh http://iheu.org/Shaikh a Pakistani physician and lecturer. Convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan in 2001 for the �crime� of stating the Prophet of Islam�s parents were not Muslim and the prophet was not circumsized. Sentenced to death in August 2001, Shaikh at this writing (January 2002) languishes in jail while his sentence is appealed.
 
Robert Hussein (Born Hussein Q�amber Ali) http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/MDE170051996?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES%5CKUWAIT
a Kuwaiti-born businessman. A former Shiite Muslim, Hussein was convicted of apostasy by an Islamic court in his native land in 1996 for the �crime� of converting to Christianity. He escaped to the West under threat of death with assistance from Christian missionary groups and published a book called �Apostate Son.�
 
Nawal El-Saddaawi http://www.amnesty-usa.org/bannedbooks/saadawi.html
Egyptian feminist and author of many books. In 2001, El-Saddaawi narrowly escaped conviction in her native land as an apostate. A conviction would have forced El-Saddaawi to divorce her husband in recognition of Islamic law that Muslims cannot remain married to apostates. Her �crime� was stating that the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage had Pagan historical origins. Once imprisoned for her outspoken feminist views, El-Saddawi courageously remains in Egypt although clearly a target for assassination from a radical Islamist.
 
Tahmineh Milni http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/01december/milani.htm , an acclaimed Iranian filmmaker. Arrested in August 2001 and charged by Iran�s Islamic religious establishment with �waging war against God�, Milni could be executed if found guilty of the charge. Her �crime� was making a film that contained references to the miserable conditions of women under the Islamic regime of Iran.
 
Khalid Duran, Moroccan/German academic and critic of Islamic extremism. In 2001, Duran, while teaching at the university level in the U.S., evoked death threats from the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan for writing a book called �Children Of Abraham: Explaining Islam to Jews.� The death threat was the direct result of an anti-Duran public realtions crusade engineered by the Washington, DC-based Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR)
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff071001.asp. Duran went into hiding as a result of the Jordanian edict. Curiously, Islamic apologist Dr. John Esposito of Georgetown University�s �Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding� gave the keynote speech at CAIR�s annual fund-raising dinner only a few months after this incident occurred, seemingly untroubled by CAIR�s role in soliciting the murder of a fellow academic.
 
Mahmoud Muhammed Talal, Islamic reformer, Sudan http://alfikra.org/biography/english.htm
Talal wrote many books criticizing Sharia (Islamic law). He was convicted of apostasy and creating �fitnah� (religious tourmoil) by an Islamic court in Sudan and hanged for this �crime� in 1985.
 
The above is only a small representation the number of intellectuals, writers, artists and reformers who have been systemically terrorized, imprisoned and even assassinated by Islamic thought police on all continents, even in the so-called �free� West. (As the Norwegian national William Nygaard and the U.S.-resident Khalid Duran can undoubtedly confirm). This �censorship by terrorism� not only shows the widespread lack of intellectual maturity that is prevalent in the Islamic world today, but also begs a more disturbing question: how accurate are of many of the books and articles currently being published about Islam?
 
 
[5] Nobel Lauriat Ahmed Zewail�s success has anything to do with Koran or Islam?
 
Mr Editor reminded me Ahmed Zewail the Egyptian chemist who won Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is a counter proof that Islam also can produce scientists in Arab countries that follow Koran in 70-80% level!
 
First of all Mr Ahamed Zewail is an American by citizenship and not Egyptian (he was born Egyptian ). He did not work in Egypt but in CalTech, USA.
 
Secondly Egypt is a secular country.
 
What Koran or Islam has to do with it?
 
Rather if we go through autobiography of Ahamed Zewail, from his own writing, we will realize how frustrating the situation of science in the Arab countries is!
 
Nobel Lauriat Ahmed Zewail in his Nobel lecture praised USA and its scientific culture as the reason behind his success. He was also not happy at the scientific culture of Egypt. I am quoting him from his autobiography which has no place of Islam and Koran but has every appreciation of America and quest of science-the same message I am trying to spread.
 
 
 
Arriving in the States, I had the feeling of being thrown into an ocean. The ocean was full of knowledge, culture, and opportunities, and the choice was clear: I could either learn to swim or sink. The culture was foreign, the language was difficult, but my hopes were high. I did not speak or write English fluently, and I did not know much about western culture in general or American culture in particular. I remember a "cultural incident" that opened my eyes to the new traditions I was experiencing right after settling in Philadelphia. In Egypt, as boys, we used to kid each other by saying "I'll kill you", and good friends often said such phrases jokingly. I became friends with a sympathetic American graduate student, and, at one point, jokingly said "I'll kill you". I immediately noticed his reserve and coolness, perhaps worrying that a fellow from the Middle East might actually do it!
My presence - as the Egyptian at Penn - was starting to be felt by the professors and students as my scores were high, and I also began a successful course of research. I owe much to my research advisor, Professor Robin Hochstrasser, who was, and still is, a committed scientist and educator. The diverse research problems I worked on, and the collaborations with many able scientists, were both enjoyable and profitable. My publication list was increasing, but just as importantly, I was learning new things literally every day - in chemistry, in physics and in other fields. The atmosphere at the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) was most stimulating and I was enthusiastic about researching in areas that crossed the disciplines of physics and chemistry (sometimes too enthusiastic!). My courses were enjoyable too; I still recall the series 501, 502, 503 and the physics courses I took with the Nobel Laureate, Bob Schrieffer. I was working almost "day and night," and doing several projects at the same time: The Stark effect of simple molecules; the Zeeman effect of solids like NO2- and benzene; the optical detection of magnetic resonance (ODMR); double resonance techniques, etc. Now, thinking about it, I cannot imagine doing all of this again, but of course then I was "young and innocent".
The research for my Ph.D. and the requirements for a degree were essentially completed by 1973, when another war erupted in the Middle East. I had strong feelings about returning to Egypt to be a University Professor, even though at the beginning of my years in America my memories of the frustrating bureaucracy encountered at the time of my departure were still vivid. With time, things change, and I recollected all the wonderful years of my childhood and the opportunities Egypt had provided to me. Returning was important to me, but I also knew that Egypt would not be able to provide the scientific atmosphere I had enjoyed in the U.S. A few more years in America would give me and my family two opportunities: First, I could think about another area of research in a different place (while learning to be professorial!). Second, my salary would be higher than that of a graduate student, and we could then buy a big American car that would be so impressive for the new Professor at Alexandria University! I applied for five positions, three in the U.S., one in Germany and one in Holland, and all of them with world-renowned professors. I received five offers and decided on Berkeley.
Early in 1974 we went to Berkeley, excited by the new opportunities. Culturally, moving from Philadelphia to Berkeley was almost as much of a shock as the transition from Alexandria to Philadelphia - Berkeley was a new world! I saw Telegraph Avenue for the first time, and this was sufficient to indicate the difference. I also met many graduate students whose language and behavior I had never seen before, neither in Alexandria, nor in Philadelphia. I interacted well with essentially everybody, and in some cases I guided some graduate students. But I also learned from members of the group. The obstacles did not seem as high as they had when I came to the University of Pennsylvania because culturally and scientifically I was better equipped. Berkeley was a great place for science - the BIG science. In the laboratory, my aim was to utilize the expertise I had gained from my Ph.D. work on the spectroscopy of pairs of molecules, called dimers, and to measure their coherence with the new tools available at Berkeley. Professor Charles Harris was traveling to Holland for an extensive stay, but when he returned to Berkeley we enjoyed discussing science at late hours! His ideas were broad and numerous, and in some cases went beyond the scientific language I was familiar with. Nevertheless, my general direction was established. I immediately saw the importance of the concept of coherence. I decided to tackle the problem, and, in a rather short time, acquired a rigorous theoretical foundation which was new to me. I believe that this transition proved vital in subsequent years of my research.
I wrote two papers with Charles, one theoretical and the other experimental. They were published in Physical Review. These papers were followed by other work, and I extended the concept of coherence to multidimensional systems, publishing my first independently authored paper while at Berkeley. In collaboration with other graduate students, I also published papers on energy transfer in solids. I enjoyed my interactions with the students and professors, and at Berkeley's popular and well-attended physical chemistry seminars. Charles decided to offer me the IBM Fellowship that was only given to a few in the department. He strongly felt that I should get a job at one of the top universities in America, or at least have the experience of going to the interviews; I am grateful for his belief in me. I only applied to a few places and thought I had no chance at these top universities. During the process, I contacted Egypt, and I also considered the American University in Beirut (AUB). Although I visited some places, nothing was finalized, and I was preparing myself for the return. Meanwhile, I was busy and excited about the new research I was doing. Charles decided to build a picosecond laser, and two of us in the group were involved in this hard and "non-profitable" direction of research (!); I learned a great deal about the principles of lasers and their physics.
During this period, many of the top universities announced new positions, and Charles asked me to apply. I decided to send applications to nearly a dozen places and, at the end, after interviews and enjoyable visits, I was offered an Assistant Professorship at many, including Harvard, Caltech, Chicago, Rice, and Northwestern. My interview at Caltech had gone well, despite the experience of an exhausting two days, visiting each half hour with a different faculty member in chemistry and chemical engineering. The visit was exciting, surprising and memorable. The talks went well and I even received some undeserved praise for style. At one point, I was speaking about what is known as the FVH, picture of coherence, where F stands for Feynman, the famous Caltech physicist and Nobel Laureate. I went to the board to write the name and all of a sudden I was stuck on the spelling. Half way through, I turned to the audience and said, "you know how to spell Feynman". A big laugh erupted, and the audience thought I was joking - I wasn't! After receiving several offers, the time had come to make up my mind, but I had not yet heard from Caltech. I called the Head of the Search Committee, now a colleague of mine, and he was lukewarm, encouraging me to accept other offers. However, shortly after this, I was contacted by Caltech with a very attractive offer, asking me to visit with my family. We received the red carpet treatment, and that visit did cost Caltech! I never regretted the decision of accepting the Caltech offer.
My science family came from all over the world, and members were of varied backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. The diversity in this "small world" I worked in daily provided the most stimulating environment, with many challenges and much optimism. Over the years, my research group has had close to 150 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting associates. Many of them are now in leading academic, industrial and governmental positions. Working with such minds in a village of science has been the most rewarding experience - Caltech was the right place for me.
My biological children were all "made in America". I have two daughters, Maha, a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas, Austin, and Amani, a junior at Berkeley, both of whom I am very proud. I met Dema, my wife, by a surprising chance, a fairy tale. In 1988 it was announced that I was a winner of the King Faisal International Prize. In March of 1989, I went to receive the award from Saudi Arabia, and there I met Dema; her father was receiving the same prize in literature. We met in March, got engaged in July and married in September, all of the same year, 1989. Dema has her M.D. from Damascus University, and completed a Master's degree in Public Health at UCLA. We have two young sons, Nabeel and Hani, and both bring joy and excitement to our life. Dema is a wonderful mother, and is my friend and confidante.
The journey from Egypt to America has been full of surprises. As a Moeid, I was unaware of the Nobel Prize in the way I now see its impact in the West. We used to gather around the TV or read in the newspaper about the recognition of famous Egyptian scientists and writers by the President, and these moments gave me and my friends a real thrill - maybe one day we would be in this position ourselves for achievements in science or literature. Some decades later, when President Mubarak bestowed on me the Order of Merit, first class, and the Grand Collar of the Nile ("Kiladate El Niel"), the highest State honor, it brought these emotional boyhood days back to my memory. I never expected that my portrait, next to the pyramids, would be on a postage stamp or that the school I went to as a boy and the road to Rosetta would be named after me. Certainly, as a youngster in love with science, I had no dreams about the honor of the Nobel Prize.
Since my arrival at Caltech in 1976, our contributions have been recognized by countries around the world. Among the awards and honors are:
 
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/Nobel Lectures. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
 

Addendum September 2005

After the awarding of the Nobel Prize in 1999, I continued to serve as a faculty member at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as the Linus Pauling Chair Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Physics, and the Director of the NSF Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (LMS). Our group�s current research is devoted to dynamical chemistry and biology, with a focus on the physics of elementary processes in complex systems. A major research frontier at LMS is the new development of �ultrafast diffraction and microscopy�, making possible the imaging of transient structures in space and time with atomic-scale resolution.
I have also devoted some time to giving public lectures in order to enhance awareness of the value of knowledge gained from fundamental research, and helping the population of developing countries through the promotion of science and technology for the betterment of society. Because of the unique East-West cultures that I represent, I wrote a book Voyage Through Time - Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize hoping to share the experience, especially with young people, and to remind them that it is possible!�
 
[6] Editor�s doubt about absolute truth:
In science the word �absolute truth� is spoken with respect to inductionism and not empiricism.
The sentence � Biplab has sent this article� is empiricism and not inductionism. It means this is an experimental observation that does not form any law because it does not have a counterevidence.
However, any ayat from Koran
 
2:216, Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you 
 
Is a good example of inductionism. Here, Koran is claiming that something is good for all mankind, present and future�this is something close to a prediction whose refutation or acceptance is possible through empiricism.
Truth always implies a statement whose inductionism or prediction can be tested to negate or accept. Koran�s Ayats and scientific hypothesis belong to this category.
However there is a huge difference. Scientific hypothesis are assumed to be falsifiable and Koran assume its ayats are abolute truth�that makes Koran 100% unscientific approach.
Please read my article, specially the chapter on David Hume�s inductionism to understand the nature of truth in details.
http://www.shodalap.com/BP_SirPopperonpseudoscience.htm
 
Besdies several articles on why teaching of Koran is unscientific:
 
 
 
 
[7] Why Islam (or any religion) is no good for economics of a country:
Mr Editor challenged me to prove how Koranic teaching can destroy the economics of a country.
I wrote an article based on research of Lawrence Innokon that religiosity destroys economics.
http://www.shodalap.com/bp_religiouseconomy.pdf
Let�s have summery of economic research that has been conducted on the effect of religion on market economics.
There are couples of reasons why any religion will destroy economics if it is allowed to interfere in the market economics.
[A] Success of economics is based on theory of rational choice of a man which is not possible for religious followers because of stipulated rules of conducts by religion and by the sanctions of religious institution on his choice. For example the fact that Islam forbids interest, alcoholic drinks and pork will lead to shrinking of market for banks, distilleries and groceries.
[B] Religious people tend to live in their own circle of group with which they are comfortable- this leads to shrinking of customers
[C] Suppression of women in several jobs leads to further reduction in productive force
[D] Capitalism, which is only proven system of prosperity, is based on material greed of a man which is opposed by every religion.
[E] Excessive production of children following religious diktat lead to poor school education of the kids and unemployment.
This is the reason economic conditions of Islamic countries that do not have oil resources are dismal. Poverty stricken and war ravaged at best. Even with oil resources, Saudi is struggling with unbridled unemployment.
Islam will bring poverty and will lead to disaster of economic system unless checked. Early prosperity of Arabs was based on Islamic looting of rich neighborhoods. That was the time when Islam boosted a strong army because of the unity it could install among its followers. In today�s world strength is dependant on scientific invention and unless Islam adopts science and technology as their primary focus by abandoning Madrasa and Koranic teaching,  there is no way, there will be any prosperity be seen in Islamic world and poor Muslims will continue to immigrate in Kafirland!
I have given evidences at the end of my article �Dharma Nitir rupkatha� how Muhammad didn�t follow the preaching of Koran. However if you feel more evidences are necessary, allow me some times to gather the evidences.

Following the path of truth is the most difficult choice, a proven filter that separate out everything-actions and deeds of Nabi are not beyond the scientific scrutiny of truth.

 

 

Biplab Pal  writes from USA. He can be communicated thru: [email protected]