“I am a cuddly atheist... I am against creationism being taught in schools because there is empirical evidence that it is a silly notion... I am passionately concerned about the rise in pseudo-science; in beliefs in alternative medicine; in creationism.… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
“One cannot, therefore, understand Arabic science without considering the extent to which Islam influenced scientific and philosophical thought. Arabic science was, throughout its golden age, inextricably linked to religion. Clearly, the scientific revolution of the Abbasids would not have taken place if it were not for Islam, incontrast to the spread of Christianity over the preceding centuries, which had nothink… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
“His (Islamic astronomer al-Farghani) legacy also endures through the Italian writer and poet Dante (1265-1321), who derived most of the astronomical knowledge he included in his DIVINE COMEDY from the writings of al-Farghani (whom he referred to by his Latin name, Alfraganus).” — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
I find it more comfortable to say I'm an atheist, and for that I probably have someone like Dawkins to thank. — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
“Many historians regard him [Offa] as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great. In the 780s he extended his power over most of Southern England. One of the most remarkable extantfrom King Offa's reign is a gold coin that is kept in the British Museum. On one side, it carries the inscription Offa Rex (Offa the King). But,… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
“I suspect that if aliens did come to Earth, it would be as researchers: biologists, anthropologists, linguists, keen to understand the peculiar workings of… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
I shall mention in passing just one example of a gift from the Arabs that I for one am rather grateful for: coffee --… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
The difference between my beliefs and having a religious faith is that I am prepared to change my views in light of new evidence,… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
“By the time of the arrival of Islam in the early seventeenth century CE, what we now call the Middle East was divided between the Persian and Byzantine empires. But with the spread of this new religion from Arabia, a powerful empire emerged, and with it a flourishing civilization and a glorious golden age. Given how far back it stretches… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
However far apart we pull two entagled particles, they remain 'connected' through their common wavelength function. Their fates remain intertwined until a measurement is… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
“For the early scholars of Islam, there would have been no conflict between religion and science. The early thinkers were quite clear abou their mission: the Qur'an required them to study alsamawat wal'arth (the skies and the earth) to find proof of their faith. The prophet himself had besought this discipline to seek knowledge 'from the cradle to the grave',… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
“It is a fact of life that oversimplified accounts of the development of science are often necessary in its teaching. Most scientific progress is a messy, complex and slow process; only with the hindsight of an overall understanding of a phenomenon can a story be told pedagogically rather than chronologically. This necessitates the distilling of certain events and personalities from… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share
As the son of a Protestant Christian mother and a Shia Muslim father, I have nevertheless ended up without a religious bone in my… — Jim Al-Khalili Copy Share Image
