ISLAM AND THE MODERN MAN — Part I

Anything that is associated with a religion for a long time becomes sacrosanct. So, after a few hundred years, this altered version of Christianity came to be revered as sacred. What had initially been adopted on the grounds of expediency came to be considered as a genuine part of the religion taught by Jesus. The Greek sciences, which had no evidence to support them, came to be known as Christian Science. Subjects such as ‘Christian topography’ came into existence, which in fact were only a new expression of old Greek ideas. The Separation of Religion from the Rest of Life When decline set in amongst the Muslims, modern research into these subjects started in Europe and these ‘Christian Sciences’ were proved to be mistaken in their notions. There was indignation in religious circles in Europe when modern scholars made new discoveries in the fields of Astronomy, Geography, and Physics. First, these scholars were excommunicated. When this measure failed to hold them in check, Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) gave special orders for the establishment of courts of Inquisition in Spain and other Catholic countries. It is estimated that about three million people had to face these courts. Severe punishments were meted out to them. Approximately 30,000 people were burnt at the stake, even famous scientists such as Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno had also to face the wrath of the Church. The separation of religion and science is a division between religion and life itself. This sparked off a conflict between the Church and Science, which eventually became a conflict between religion and science in general. Because of inordinate insistence on the sacrosanctity of certain hypothetical beliefs, people received the false impression that religion and science were opposed to each other, and that progress for one meant inevitable decline for the other. Knowledge, according to the Quran, should draw one closer to God (THE QURAN 35: 28), but as a result of Christian interpolations, knowledge came to make one, more distant from the Lord. The conflict between Christianity and scientific knowledge continued for about two hundred years. Then, in 1859, Charles Darwin published his famous book The Origin of Species. The Church was bitterly opposed to this book, but by now the Church’s power had waned. Compromise