Global News

[ad_1] PUBLISHED July 02, 2023 KARACHI: To modern eyes, both outside and within the Muslim world, science fiction fantasy and Islam don’t seem to have too much in common. Commentators in the West obsessed with demarcating a clear East-West divide in culture and ideology have long stereotyped Islamic thought and Muslims as being obsessed with the past and lacking in imagination and creativity. But Islamic tradition, in fiction and beyond, has a rich history of exploring and embracing speculative ideas. In his though-provoking book ‘Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life’, historian Dr Jörg Matthias Determann aims to emphasise just that. The Express Tribune sat down with Dr Determann for an interview about the assumptions he challenges with his book and the historic and modern futurism that he says flourishes in the Muslim world. ET: How did this book came about? What specifically triggered your interest in this topic? JMD: Since I was a child, I’ve been intere...

[ad_1] PUBLISHED July 02, 2023 KARACHI: To modern eyes, both outside and within the Muslim world, science fiction fantasy and Islam don’t seem to have too much in common. Commentators in the West obsessed with demarcating a clear East-West divide in culture and ideology have long stereotyped Islamic thought and Muslims as being obsessed with the past and lacking in imagination and creativity. But Islamic tradition, in fiction and beyond, has a rich history of exploring and embracing speculative ideas. In his though-provoking book ‘Islam, Science Fiction and Extraterrestrial Life’, historian Dr Jörg Matthias Determann aims to emphasise just that. The Express Tribune sat down with Dr Determann for an interview about the assumptions he challenges with his book and the historic and modern futurism that he says flourishes in the Muslim world. ET: How did this book came about? What specifically triggered your interest in this topic? JMD: Since I was a child, I’ve been intere...