Islam and Science Relation: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Scientific Atheism of Richard Dawkins
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51590/waraqat.v10i2.1134Keywords:
Critique of Atheism, Richard Dawkins, Science, Worldview, IslamAbstract
Richard Dawkins, the most prominent figure of New Atheism, maintains that God and religion can be examined scientifically, positioning the theory of evolution as the central foundation of his argument. For Dawkins, evolutionary theory provides the best explanation for the origin of the universe's complexity, thereby rendering the existence of God unnecessary and setting science in direct opposition to religion. This study critically analyzes Richard Dawkins' scientific atheism from the perspective of the Islamic worldview using a qualitative approach through content analysis of Dawkins' primary works and relevant secondary literature. The findings reveal that Dawkins' rejection of the supernatural and his claim that science is the sole path to truth are rooted in the worldview of scientific naturalism, which reduces reality to its material dimensions while denying any non-empirical aspects of existence. This stands in sharp contrast to the Islamic worldview, which affirms from the outset that the universe is God's creation and that science serves as a means to understand and study nature to strengthen faith in Him. Unlike scientific naturalism, which positions science and religion as mutually contradictory, Islam presents an integrated vision where scientific inquiry and religious faith are complementary rather than oppositional. Consequently, contemporary Muslim scholars have promoted the Islamization of science to protect the Muslim community from the philosophical implications of modern science that marginalize God and religion.
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Setia, Adi. “Tiga Pengertian Sains Islam.” In Islamic Science (Paradigma, Fakta, Dan Agenda). Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (INSISTS), 2025.
Sharlow, Mark F. Playing Fast and Loose with Complexity: A Critique of Dawkins’ Atheistic Argument from Improbability. 2009.
Shermer, Michael. “Scientific Naturalism: A Manifesto for Enlightenment Humanism.” Theology and Science 15, no. 3 (2017): 220–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2017.1335060.
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Sungkar, Syakieb. “Tuhan dan Hal yang Belum Selesai.” Jurnal Dekonstruksi 2, no. 1 (2021).
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Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib. Tinjauan Ringkas Peri Ilmu Dan Pandangan Alam. Ta’dib International, 2019.
Alfarizi, Reza, and Naupal Asnawi. “Problem Argumen Improbabilitas dalam The God Delusion: Kritik terhadap New Atheism Dawkins.” Melintas 38, no. 3 (2022).
Al-Sanusi, Muhammad bin Yusuf, and Muhammad bin Umar Al-Mallali. Syarh Umm Al-Barahin Li al-Imam Al-Sanusi. 2nd ed. Edited by Khalid Zahri. Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, 2009.
Arif, Syamsuddin. “Sains Diangkat Dan Dihujat ('Science Praised and Disparaged’).” Kasyaf: Jurnal Populer Pemikiran Ekonomi Islam 2, no. 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20226.50883.
Baggini, Julian. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Bird, Alexander. “Scientific Evidence.” In The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evidence. Routledge, 2024.
Blum, Jason N. “Dawkins in Wisdom’s Garden: Scientific Naturalism in The God Delusion.” Theology and Science 10, no. 2 (2012): 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2012.669951.
Bullivant, Stephen. “Defining Atheism.” In The Oxford Handbook of Atheism. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Daniel Dei and Agana-Nsiire Agana. Belief in God Does Not Cause Evil: A Response to Richard Dawkins. 14, no. 6 (2018). https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.23507.02089.
Dawkins, Richard. An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist (A Memoir). HarperCollins Publisher, 2013.
Dawkins, Richard. Climbing Mount Improbable. 1. American ed. Norton, 1996.
Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker. W. W. Norton & Company, 1986.
Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. Bantam Press, 2006.
Dawkins, Richard. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. Free Press, 2009.
Ecklund, Elaine Howard, and David R. Johnson. Varieties of Atheism in Science. 1st ed. Oxford University PressNew York, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197539163.001.0001.
Emilsen, William W. “The New Atheism and Islam.” The Expository Times 123, no. 11 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524612448737.
Fadel, Achmad, and Hasan Mujtaba. Pemikiran Ateisme Richard Dawkins: Studi Kritis Argument from Improbability God Delusion. 6, no. 2 (2020).
Feda’, Abul. Blasting the Foundations of Atheism; Its Pseudoscience and Pseudo-Reason (Answering Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion). Second. Vol. 1. Waqfeya, 2009.
Golshani, Mehdi. “Islam Can Give A Proper Orientation to Science and Technology Development.” In Islamic Perspectives on Science and Technology. Springer, 2016.
Gould, Stephen Jay. Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of LIfe. Random House Publishing Group, 1999.
Griffin, David Ray. “Scientific Naturalism, the Mind‐Body Relation, and Religious Experience.” Zygon® 37, no. 2 (2002): 361–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/0591-2385.00433.
Halilovic, Savfet. What the Quran Says about Human Being: An Introduction to Quranic Anthropology. Dar Al-Salam, 2013.
Handrianto, Budi. Islamisasi Sains: Sebuah Upaya Mengislamkan Sains Barat Modern. Pustaka Al-Kautsar, 2010.
Handrianto, Budi. “Sains Islam: Makna Filosofis Dan Lima Model Islamisasi.” In Islamic Science (Paradigma, Fakta, Dan Agenda). Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (INSISTS), 2025.
Hassan, M Kamal. “The Necessity of Studying the Natural Sciences from the Qur’anic Worldview.” In Islamic Perspectives on Science and Technology (Selected Conference Papers). Springer, 2016.
Haught, John F. God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens. Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.
Haught, John F. Is Nature Enough?: Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science. Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Iqbal, Muzaffar. Perspectives on Islam and Science. Dost Publication, 2010.
Johnson, David R., Elaine Howard Ecklund, Di Di, and Kirstin R.W. Matthews. “Responding to Richard: Celebrity and (Mis)Representation of Science.” Public Understanding of Science 27, no. 5 (2018): 535–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662516673501.
Kettell, Steven. “What’s Really New about New Atheism?” Palgrave Communications 2 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2016.99.
Lorkowski, C. M. Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief. Springer International Publishing, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56208-3.
Malik, Shoaib Ahmed. Islam dan Evolusi: Imam al-Ghazali dan Paradigma Evolusi Modern. Rene Islam, 2023.
Martanegara, Irfan Habibie, Adian Husaini, and Nirwan Syafarin. “Pengaruh Worldview Ateis Terhadap Teori Evolulsi.” Ta’dibuna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam 8, no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.32832/tadibuna.v8i1.1881.
Martin, Ben, and Ole Thomassen Hjortland. “Evidence in Logic.” In The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evidence. Routledge, 2024.
McCoy, Ian. Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion: A Theist Response. Smashwords. 2012.
McGrath, Alister. Dawkins’ God: From The Selfish Gene to The God Delusion. Second Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
McGrath, Alister E. “Evidence, Theory, and Interpretation: The ‘New Atheism’ and the Philosophy of Science: ‘New Atheism’ and Philosophy of Science.” Midwest Studies In Philosophy 37, no. 1 (2013): 178–88. https://doi.org/10.1111/misp.12004.
McGrath, Alister, and Joanna Collicutt McGrath. The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine. InterVarsity Press, 2007.
Muslih, Muhammad Kholid, Miqdad Hamid al Anshory, and Aldy Pradhana. “Rethinking the God of the Gaps Argument: An Islamic Philosophical Critique of New Atheism.” Theologia 36, no. 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.21580/teo.2025.36.1.25497.
Nidzom, M. Faqih, Hamid Fahmy Zarkasyi, and Setiawan bin Lahuri. Merumuskan Rangka Kerja Islamisasi Ilmu Pengetahuan: Islamisasi Worldview, Paradigma, Teori. UNIDA Gontor Press, 2023.
Nisar, Qutab, and Adnan Malik. “Reasons for the Development of Atheism in Modern Era.” Al-Misbah 3, no. 2 (2023). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7998449.
Nurnberger, Klaus. “Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion: An Atheist Science Confronts A Superstitious Faith.” Scriptura 101 (2009).
Pew Research Center. The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050. April 2, 2015. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/.
Razali, Kauthar, Nooramira Ghazali, Farah Roslan, and Susana Aditiya Wangsanata. “Richard Dawkins’ Criticism of Religion: An Islamic Analysis.” International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 14, no. 12 (2024): Pages 211-217. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v14-i12/23944.
Reitan, Eric. Is God A Delusion? A Reply to Religion’s Cultured Despisers. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Setia, Adi. “Tiga Pengertian Sains Islam.” In Islamic Science (Paradigma, Fakta, Dan Agenda). Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (INSISTS), 2025.
Sharlow, Mark F. Playing Fast and Loose with Complexity: A Critique of Dawkins’ Atheistic Argument from Improbability. 2009.
Shermer, Michael. “Scientific Naturalism: A Manifesto for Enlightenment Humanism.” Theology and Science 15, no. 3 (2017): 220–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2017.1335060.
Sire, James W. The Universe Next Door. Fifth Edition. InterVarsity Press, 2009.
Stenmark, Mikael. “Religions and Its Public Critics.” Religions 13, no. 7 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13070572.
Sungkar, Syakieb. “Tuhan dan Hal yang Belum Selesai.” Jurnal Dekonstruksi 2, no. 1 (2021).
Sutoyo, Yongki, and Fasya Tharra Annada. “Problem Konsep Manusia dalam Neo-Darwinisme: Kritik atas Pemikiran Richard Dawkins.” Tasfiyah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 8, no. 1 (2024): 1–32. https://doi.org/10.21111/tasfiyah.v8i1.11180.
Taira, Teemu. “New Atheism and the Criticism of Islam: From Transnational Discourses to Local Implementation?” Temenos: Nordic Journal for the Study of Religion 60, no. 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.136734.
Walters, Kerry. Atheism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Continuum, 2010.
Wolf, Gary. “The Church of the Non-Believers | WIRED.” Wired, 2006. https://www.wired.com/2006/11/atheism/.
Zarkasyi, Amal Fathullah, and Chandra Dwisetyo Widodo. “Said Nursi’s Concept of God and Nature: A Critique of the Views of Atheism and Naturalism.” Rusydiah: Jurnal Pemikiran Islam 4, no. 2 (2023). https://doi.org/10.35961/rsd.v4i2.1077.
Zarkasyi, Hamid Fahmy. “Makna Sains Islam.” Islamia: Jurnal Pemikiran Dan Peradaban Islam 3, no. 4 (2008).
Zarkasyi, Hamid Fahmy. Minhaj: Berislam Dari Ritual Hingga Intelektual. Institute for The Study of Islamic Thought and Civilizations (INSISTS), 2023.
Zovko, Jure, and Mate Penava. “Scientism as a Fundamentalist Worldview: With a Special Reference to Atheist Fundamentalism.” Mostariensia 26, no. 2 (2023): 7–21. https://doi.org/10.47960/2831-0322.2022.2.26.7.
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2025-12-31
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Islam and Science Relation: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Scientific Atheism of Richard Dawkins. (2025). WARAQAT : Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Keislaman, 10(2), 269-286. https://doi.org/10.51590/waraqat.v10i2.1134
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