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Middle Eastern Cultures, Islam and Extraterrestrial Life
Abstract
Over the last thirty years, Muslim and other astronomers have detected thousands of planets outside of our solar system. They have also confirmed the existence of building blocks of life on other celestial bodies. With powerful instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope now in operation, the discovery of extraterrestrial life could thus be imminent. However, while we are waiting for such an important event, aliens have already invaded the imagination of people in the Middle East and elsewhere. Flying saucers and intelligent visitors from outer space have secured a firm place in cultures across the world, including Islamic ones. Writers, filmmakers and other artists have creatively combined Islamic scripture and history with scientific knowledge, giving rise to highly original and profound views of our place in the cosmos. This paper will present the findings of a multi-year project that resulted in 2024 with the publication of an edited volume among other outputs. This conference presentation, and the larger project on which it is based, explains how a future scientific confirmation of the existence of alien life might impact Islamic theology and Middle Eastern cultures. Prior to this project, there has been no dedicated book either as a monograph or edited volume on Islamic exotheology in English (although some works more dedicated to the study of Arabic and Turkish science fiction have been published). Therefore, our research has aimed to produce a foundational reference on the subject. Based on a multilingual corpus of medieval and modern texts, our project members have gathered a variety of different insights from both Sunni and Shia positions and from different Muslim contexts. We have also aimed to compare and contrast Islamic perspectives with Christianity. Together, our project addresses some of our biggest questions through an Islamic lens: What makes humans unique in the cosmos? What are the ethics of dealing with other sentient beings? And how universal is salvation? However, we do not claim to establish a single Islamic perspective on extraterrestrials. Rather, this paper and our larger project provides a range of opinions and intra-Islamic (Sunni and Shia) positions. We thus seek to provide an overview that is more representative of Middle Eastern and global Muslim communities in their rich diversity.
Discipline
Religious Studies/Theology
Geographic Area
Islamic World
Sub Area
None