America Abroad: Islam and the Cosmos
Specials | Mar 9, 2018
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:Â
- 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
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