Are Islam and science compatible? Is the Islamic faith harmonious with the science of the natural world or is there, rather, an irreconcilable conflict between the metaphysical system based on faith and the demands of reason and empirical inquiry?

This question is the one I proposed to a class of some 30 undergraduate students at the University of Florida on January 20, 2015 as I lectured on the topic of "Islam & Science" as a teaching assistant for Dr. Anna Peterson's "Religion and Science" course.

This question is inexorably tied up in consideration of history, contemporary politics, discussions of civilization, debates about "oriental" understandings of the past, and the fields of philosophy, science, and metaphysics.

Essentially, it's a complicated topic. As I said to my students, covering this topic in one 50-minute lecture is like drinking water from a firehose. You can't keep it all down, catch what you can! To help the students and to share the discussion with others I voiced-over my public Prezi and am sharing it with you HERE.

Please FOLLOW THIS LINK to watch, and listen to, my presentation of the historical context, the contemporary debates, and the significant highlights we must consider, understand, and appreciate concerning Islam and science and to be able to answer the question of whether or not these two are harmonious, compatible, or engaged in irreconcilable conflict.