Bro, I do welcome it and with open arms. I was just making the point that Sunni scholarship is generally against the idea. And, i'll admit; I was trolling and provoking you for a reaction; which I apologize for as you have been nothing but tolerable.
No worries, I've been goading. I'm easygoing, I swear.
On a serious note though; do you consider yourself a Sunni Muslim?
Hmmm. Most folk assume I'm an atheist in real life (until they see the inside of the house, where they're then confused
). When asked about religion, I'm cagey. I fill out Religion with 'Prefer not to disclose' usually, because I change positions frequently in accordance with new knowledge and with spiritual experiences.
And what do your Muslim friends think about your viewpoint?
Nobody's made a fuss over it, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise, but it rarely crops up in day to day life. I assume they accept evolution by default.
I've mentioned evolution to a few Muslims a few months ago when there was a bomb threat in a nearby building, meaning we had to evacuate. They asked why people would want to do that. I said it's because we're a violent species, we're not like our bonobo cousins but are more similar to chimps, and that it's a tough one, as if we weren't competitive we'd've probably died out as a species before civilization, but our tendency for violence in times of extreme frustration results in stuff like this.
The response I got was "Yeah, I agree, but still, I just wish people be rational. Why can't people just think and talk about it?"
And thankfully it was a hoax.
As i've said before; I used to be a Muslim. I was actually born in Afghanistan and my family is generally very religious (save for my parents). I also grew up in a Muslim community and most of my Islamic friends are completely against the idea of evolution being compatible with Islam.
Unfortunately, revivalistic, fundamentalist movements are causing an increase of literalism in multiple religions, which includes a simplistic reading of scriptural text. In addition to a lack of scientific education in impoverished nations, it's no wonder it exists.
Coupled with general ignorance of evolution, this spells disaster.
Our understanding of evolution as a society has actually got worse; high school children in the 1920s understood evolution better than many folk today.
Evolution is a tricky subject for most, though. It's hard. It's detailed. It's complex. It changes. Some people can't handle change, thinking science has to be perfect and shouldn't be able to be revised otherwise it can't be true (I heard that from an atheist. Jaw hit the floor.). When you have something as certain as a religious myth, sometimes people prefer the easier route to the less accurate, and since evolution doesn't play that big an aspect in their lives, they don't think about it. Even though they will go to the doctors for a flu jab because of a new strain...
