Evolution and Islam

"Darwin's main use was in removing God as an explanation in biology," he insists, "and for this reason any effort at challenging Darwin or Darwinism is shot down [by Western scientists] without any thought, as it is a direct assault on a central Western 'myth.'" By rejecting Darwinism, Zameel is simply repeating a view already well established within the Islamic world. Biology textbooks in Pakistan, however, present evolution as a fact, albeit the books exclude humanity from the discussion entirely.\n Given the literalistic way so many mainstream Muslims read their scriptures, humanity's descent from apes is taboo, as it has been for many conservative Christians. [...] teaching students to accept evolution, including human evolution, could help them better appreciate what Pakistan has set as the national goal of its high-school biology curriculum: to "enable the students to appreciate that Allah . . . is the creator and sustainer of the universe."