Ok so we were disappointed that we went to Liverpool the day after the 'Giant Spider' had left, but found solace in the BA's Festival of Science - where Demos hosted an event titled 'Between Faith and Reason: The New Shape of Science in the Islamic World'. Whilst other events at the Festival considered the fighting habits of primates, or the science behind the laws of attraction, we were joined by Jim Al-Khalili, Usama Hasan and Salim Khan to explore whether scientific rationality was compatible and indeed complementary to the Islamic faith.

And the answer is yes, it would seem. When the Islamic-world were leaders in science 800 years ago, science and Islam were largely compatible, and within today's new renaissance of Islamic-world science, our panelists spoke of the inspiration to be found in the Quran and the potential of the Islamic faith to harness creativity within all fields of science, whilst also highlighting  the complementary nature of more traditional methods of Islamic-science. 

But like all faiths, finding ways to address and reconcile new scientific discoveries and new scientific thinking is an ongoing dilemma. As the Islamic world beings to reassert itself onto the scientific platform, the issues of the relationship between faith and science will only become more pertinent.

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