Similar to most regions of the world, the Arabic-speaking Middle East is home to a rising ‘anti-science’ sentiment, as people are becoming increasingly distrustful of science and seeing it as a force in conflict with their religious beliefs. Poor educational systems and limited understanding of science and science procedures can make this even more profound in our corner of the world.

But while it may be becoming harder to convince the layperson to appreciate science, Nidhal Guessoum, an astrophysicist and associate dean of the college of arts and science in the American University of Sharjah, argues that it can be even harder to convince scientists to appreciate religion.

Science and religion are vastly different in many ways, as Guessoum points out. The first problem that arises is a problem of definition. While the definition of science is obvious to most, a process of rigorous analysis and discovery of the world, religion is far from it. People often confuse religion, faith and spirituality. These are all different and one may possess one and not the others.

Guessoum raises the issue of  our understanding of both science and religion, the boundaries between the two, and if they can/should coexist, in a lively discussion that attracted hundreds of posts. The discussion is over now, but it has raised some very interesting points and – while it is a long read due to the high interactivity – it is definitely worth the time to read.

You can read the Guessoum’s original article here, then follow the whole discussion with valuable insights here.