Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah
Encyclopedia
The Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah is an organization established by Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani with the backing of the Muslim World League
in 1984 in Saudi Arabia. The commission is also known as The International Commission, or World Commission on Scientific Signs of the Qur'an and Sunnah Abdullah al-Muslih has been the general secretary of the commission since 2002-2003 AD (1423 AH).
Al-Zindani has since become a noted leader in the struggle against interference in Muslim nations by Western powers. The US Treasury Department has designated him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" who was one of the spiritual advisors of Osama bin Laden
, and is on the UN 1267 Committee's list of individuals belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda.
, an endeavor that has also been described as attempting to prove that "the Qur'an
prophesied the Big Bang
theory, space travel and other contemporary scientific breakthroughs," or Bucailleism.
As of 2006 the commission has organized eight International Conferences on Scientific Signs in the Qur'an and Sunnah. The first, held in Islamabad
in 1987, was attended by "200 Muslim delegates from all over the world" and funded "by the Pakistani state to the tune of a couple of million dollars." At the seventh conference in Dubai
, "more than 150 scientists and researchers" attended. One of the highlights at the Eighth International Conference in Kuwait
was the announcement of a possible cure for AIDS
based on "a herbal extract that was prescribed in the Prophetic Sunnah
for the treatment of other ailments."
The debut of a 14-volume Encyclopedia on the Scientific Signs in the Qur'an and Sunnah has also been announced by the Commission. The encyclopedia has been "partially translated into English", with hopes for translation into "18 other languages."
In 1984, a member of the commission, Mustafa Abdul Basit Ahmed, moved to the United States to recruit non-Muslim Western scientists to verify the miraculous signs of the Quran. However, in a 2002 story in the American newspaper Wall Street Journal, several non-Muslim scientists spoke of questionable practices used by the commission to coax statements from them, such as hard-sell interviews by Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani,
and false promises to be “completely neutral.”
Marine scientist William Hay complained of having fallen into a "trap" in interviews, while embryologist Gerald Goeringer claimed "mutual manipulation" between the scientists and conference organizers. Retired Geologist Professor Alfred Kröner of the Universität Mainz has a standard e-mail reply clarifying his "out of context" remarks during one of the conferences and has described the proceedings which resulted in his remarks being used by Muslim apologists. In a video-taped interview he clarified his situation and that he did not feel he was represented realistically and was quote-mined in the religion based video made by Muslim apologists.
A further interview has been obtained with William W. Hay where he describes the events and explains how he was asked to answer purely hypothetical questions and it was from these answers that he was subsequently quote-mined and misrepresented.
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League is one of the largest Islamic non-governmental organizations. Muslim religious figures from 22 states founded it in Makkah in 1962.-Structure:...
in 1984 in Saudi Arabia. The commission is also known as The International Commission, or World Commission on Scientific Signs of the Qur'an and Sunnah Abdullah al-Muslih has been the general secretary of the commission since 2002-2003 AD (1423 AH).
Al-Zindani has since become a noted leader in the struggle against interference in Muslim nations by Western powers. The US Treasury Department has designated him as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" who was one of the spiritual advisors of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, and is on the UN 1267 Committee's list of individuals belonging to or associated with al-Qaeda.
Aims and activities
The commission describes its mission as "showing, verifying and publishing Scientific Signs" found in the Quran and SunnaSunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
, an endeavor that has also been described as attempting to prove that "the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
prophesied the Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
theory, space travel and other contemporary scientific breakthroughs," or Bucailleism.
As of 2006 the commission has organized eight International Conferences on Scientific Signs in the Qur'an and Sunnah. The first, held in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
in 1987, was attended by "200 Muslim delegates from all over the world" and funded "by the Pakistani state to the tune of a couple of million dollars." At the seventh conference in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, "more than 150 scientists and researchers" attended. One of the highlights at the Eighth International Conference in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
was the announcement of a possible cure for AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
based on "a herbal extract that was prescribed in the Prophetic Sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
for the treatment of other ailments."
The debut of a 14-volume Encyclopedia on the Scientific Signs in the Qur'an and Sunnah has also been announced by the Commission. The encyclopedia has been "partially translated into English", with hopes for translation into "18 other languages."
Controversy
A criticism made of the commission is that in its enthusiasm to prove that evidence in favor of Qur'anic scientific miracles “is clear and obvious" and that "a group of eminent non-Muslim scholars in several fields” has testified to this, the commission has spread misleading, out-of-context statements by several of these non-Muslim scholars.In 1984, a member of the commission, Mustafa Abdul Basit Ahmed, moved to the United States to recruit non-Muslim Western scientists to verify the miraculous signs of the Quran. However, in a 2002 story in the American newspaper Wall Street Journal, several non-Muslim scientists spoke of questionable practices used by the commission to coax statements from them, such as hard-sell interviews by Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani,
and false promises to be “completely neutral.”
The commission drew the scientists to its conferences with first-class plane tickets for them and their wives, rooms at the best hotels, $1,000 honoraria, and banquets with Muslim leaders — such as a palace dinner in Islamabad with Pakistani President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq shortly before he was killed in a plane crash. Ahmed also gave at least one scientist a crystal clock.
Marine scientist William Hay complained of having fallen into a "trap" in interviews, while embryologist Gerald Goeringer claimed "mutual manipulation" between the scientists and conference organizers. Retired Geologist Professor Alfred Kröner of the Universität Mainz has a standard e-mail reply clarifying his "out of context" remarks during one of the conferences and has described the proceedings which resulted in his remarks being used by Muslim apologists. In a video-taped interview he clarified his situation and that he did not feel he was represented realistically and was quote-mined in the religion based video made by Muslim apologists.
A further interview has been obtained with William W. Hay where he describes the events and explains how he was asked to answer purely hypothetical questions and it was from these answers that he was subsequently quote-mined and misrepresented.
See also
- Abdul Majeed al-Zindani
- Qur'an and science
- Scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts