WATANI International
13 December 2009
It is not every day that the world marks 200 years since Darwin’s birth and 150 years since the first appearance of his On the Origins of Species while the British Council in Egypt celebrates its 75th anniversary. To honour the occasions the British Council teamed up with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to hold a conference on ‘Darwin’s Living Legacy’ within the framework of the international ‘Darwin Now’ programme organised by the British Council.
The three-day conference was attended by more than 120 theologians, historians, psychologists, sociologists, and natural scientists, as well as academics concerned with Darwanism and evolution. The plenary session commenced with a heated debate entitled “Evolution and Faith in the 21st century”, where Professor Nedhal Guessoum of the American University of Sharjah, UAE, and Dr John Hedley Brook, head of the International Institution for Science and Faith in England, spoke.
Serious, informed, unprejudiced
“The conference aims to promote serious, informed and unprejudiced debate,” Martin Davidson, the British Council’s chief executive, said. “I hope that this will be an opportunity for thinkers from all perspectives to work together in a shared quest for greater knowledge and understanding.” Darwin’s theory of evolution, Mr Davidson said, was a revolution in science and, from the time it was first published to this day, Darwin’s book has created wide controversy. The important point however, he explained, was to share different thoughts and discussions while trying to employ the theory to face the challenges created by climate change, pandemic illness, food security and the loss of biodiversity.
As a cultural institution, Mr Davidson explained, the British Council relied very heavily on Darwin’s works and had built on his legacy. He pointed to an international network that included more than 2,000 participants from 46 countries who regularly convene to discuss Darwin’s theories and its relation to Faith.
Randall Keynes, a British conservationist and author and a great-great grandson of Charles Darwin, spoke during the plenary session of the conference in praise of his grandfather’s many contributions in various aspects of life. He said Darwin would have been very happy to have his theories and thoughts reviewed at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, especially in that he was very keen on scientific truths and he would have accepted any debate or suggestion concerning the evolution of his theory. In Mr Keynes’s latest book, Creation: The True Story Of Charles Darwin, the author stresses the importance of separating the religious and scientific issues when studying Darwin, since his works relate to many great values: good and evil; cooperation and dispute; and beauty and ugliness. He explained that, in his theories, Darwin talked about genres and species and how they perpetually evolved. Had he still been living, Mr Keynes said, he would have been saddened by the extinction of species today, and would have mourned the loss of beauty, diversity and richness.
Controversial theories
During the plenary session Ismail Serageddin, director of the Bibliotheca, gave a speech entitled “Highlights on Darwin and his scientific thought”. He spoke of the debt humanity owes the British scientist to this day, as well as the controversy created by the theories and facts he presented. Dr Serageddin pointed out that there was no such thing as absolute reality, and said we should strive to reach the truth with objectivity. He explained that Islam acknowledged the importance of scientific thought, and highly appreciated scientists.
Dr Serageddin said Darwin never said that man’s ancestors were monkeys, and his theory only said that man and monkey shared a common ancestor. This main point in his theory was responsible for the debate. He said that close examination of DNA revealed evidence of how different species were related, because many important genres were shared across the animal kingdom.
Over three days the conference presented a unique opportunity for young researchers to interact with prominent academics. Following the conference an exhibition of Charles Darwin’s life and works was opened to schoolchildren and to the wider public.