America Abroad: Islam and the Cosmos

Back in the Golden Age of Islam, Muslim astronomers began studying the skies to improve their religious practice: when to pray, how to face Mecca… Then, they solved more scientific questions, and European thinkers were drawn to learn from them. Now, in a new era of space exploration, how will Muslim scholars work with the rest of the world to advance scientific thought - while remaining faithful to their traditions?

Features interviews with: 

• David DeVorkin, senior curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
• George Saliba, professor emeritus at Columbia University and historian of Arabic and Islamic science
• Asad Q. Ahmed, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at UC Berkeley
• Jorg Matthias Determann, author of Space Science and the Arab World: Astronauts, Observatories and Nationalism in the Middle East
• Kathleen Lewis, curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
• Imam Yahye Hendi, Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University

Airs Friday, March 9 at 9pm on WNYC-FM

Airs Friday, March 9 at 11pm on AM 820

Airs Sunday, March 11 at 11am on AM 820