Nature and Natural Disasters

Salman :
You say,``...Today, astronomers can predict eclipses with high precision for thousands of years. One day we will be able to do the same for earthquakes...``

I agree with you with most of your observations in your article. What dismays me is why even now Muslims are so hung up on sighting the moon during their holy month to begin fasting. If I recall correctly, Bangla Desh wanted to send an aircraft to a very high altitude to sight the moon.How absurd. Faith is very important for humanity but one can always use a liberal dosage of knowledge from science to dispel our ignorance.

Now regarding Islamic enlightenment! What are urgently needed to day are reforms in Muslim world and not enlightenment. Even if a divine hand were to intervene and a dawn of enlightenment were to appear, I believe that it may take centuries before an genuine era of enlightenment will appear in Muslim world!

It is a pity that the high noon of Islamic civilization has disappeared long time ago mostly by its rigidity of thoughts of its own people. Then why cry? Civilizations reise into prominence and fade away. Islam is no different!

It is not like setting up like factory for franchised goods!
Kamath

Great article. As for your final question: ``Will we see a similar shift in Muslim thinking around the world or did the Earth move too soon for an Islamic enlightenment?``, I think the answer is:

Zameen Joombad
Na Joombad Gul Muhammed


i.e., the earth itself may shake, but Gul Muhammed is unshakeable (in his misguided beliefs and negative attitudes). :-)

The author writes <<< Will we see a similar shift in Muslim thinking around the world or did the Earth move too soon for an Islamic enlightenment? >>>

Salman Mian, don`t be so disingenuous, the ``enlightenment`` came to Muslim societies long before the European renaissance. What the world`s problem is dogmatism, whether it be religious (as in the case of the creationists) or scientific (as in the case of the die hard Darwinians). When a dogma guides thought, instead of the thought guiding what becomes accepted, it leads to BS always regardless of label.

There are no natural explanations for the Big Bang, all your ``natural laws`` break down at the earliest point of creation, further there are no natural explanations for how these laws came to be in the first place, they are not as benign as you make them out to be, for example the ``laws of evolution`` to operate require an order and entities governed by that order. The mix of the constants required to come up with a habitable universe had odds that totally belie chance or ``benign-ness``, you should know that yet you are writing as a mullah dogmatist. At the Quantum level consciousness plays an important role, probability or what you might say `chance` guides the course- this leave a lot of space for the divine to act in a most ``natural`` manner. Why do you ignore this? Be honest when you know better. The days of the mechanical clock based science have long passed, don’t try to resurrect them 300 years too late like Hoodbuoy.