Intelligent design in Arabic: from scientific knowledge to religious worldviews

Abstract

While modern science adopts an evolutionary worldview in the study of life on earth, competing religious systems adopt variations of the creationist worldview in line with their respective brands of culturally embedded knowledge. Nonetheless, these religious systems inevitably interact with science in order to exchange information and interpretations. This paper views the knowledge exchange between science and religion as a form of epistemic translation that involves reframing biological evolution through adaptation and transformation. First, the claims of the creation science and intelligent design movements in the United States are conceptualised as translations of the scientific knowledge produced in evolutionary biology. Afterwards, paratexts accompanying the earliest translations of intelligent design literature into Arabic are analysed to reveal how this conservative Christian literature is adapted to a Muslim context. Epistemic translation arises in both cases as a factor influencing dynamic discourses sensitive to knowledge transfer from other epistemic systems.

KEYWORDS: Epistemic Translation, Intelligent Design, Science and Religion, Islamic Creationism, Paratextual Analysis