Q: What is your view of the burgeoning of Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East today?
SALAM: I am well aware that I have made myself unpopular in certain quarters by refusing to endorse many of these developments. I believe that some of the things now happening in those countries are not in line with the teachings to be found in the Koran. For me they represent an aberration of true Islamic teaching.
Q: One of your interests is the relationship between science and religion. How do you personally reconcile the conflict between the two?
SALAM: I do not see that there is a conflict. As a practicing Muslim, I find many reflections on the laws of nature in the Koran, with examples drawn from cosmology and physics, biology and medicine. The Holy Prophet of Islam emphasized that the quest for knowledge and science is obligatory on every Muslim. Secondly, ...
