Darwinism in Moroccan schools

Rabat- The theory of evolution is accepted by scientists around the world, but in Morocco, students can spend their entire school years without coming across Charles Darwin’s 1859 theory. This theory explains how complex living organisms have evolved from earlier forms throughout the history of planet earth. In fact, the study of human evolution is not included in the state-prepared syllabi.

“On paper it is taught. But we don’t teach it directly because it is controversial,” said Dr. Mohammed Melouk, a professor in the faculty of education in Rabat. “It is up to the professors.”

Evolution “blackout” in Morocco continues even though no law explicitly forbids its teaching in schools. However, the main reason lies behind the fact that the theory of evolution does not agree with the origin suggested by Islam, according to Lahcen Sguenfle, president of the local Islamic council in Temara, near the capital Rabat.

Still, some individual teachers do take it upon themselves to introduce the theory to students.

 “I learned about evolution through newspapers, websites and general information but never heard of it in school,” said Anas Berroug, journalism undergraduate. “Some teachers talk about it in a very superficial way but it’s not in the program.”

Loubna Ryani, 22, said that she first stumbled upon the theory of evolution in high school when her science teacher introduced it to class. “He talked about a lot of things that were not included in the program”, she remembered.

Touria Benazzour, the first biology professor to introduce the theory of human evolution in a Moroccan university, precisely the University of Mohammed VI in Rabat, underscored that even some students who don’t believe in human evolution are interested in the subject.

“They ask me for more information, more slides, more projections but they don’t dare to debate,” she added.

The study of evolution wasn’t always neglected in Morocco. The recent rise of an Islamic-led governmental coalition contributed to the demise of evolution leftovers from Moroccan schools, according to Benazzour.

“In the Moroccan education system, way before, there were few parts of the theory of evolution and a few parts of Darwinism, but they were removed. Maybe because of the Islamic government and now they still haven’t put them back,” added Benazzour.

Morocco follows the trend that is common in most Muslim countries of being deeply sensitive to topics that would include questioning commonly held religious beliefs.  As a Muslim country, many Moroccans regard the Quran as the source for explaining the origin or origins of humans.

Sguenfle highlights that there is deep incompatibility between evolution and Islam, since the Quran states humans came from mud and water while evolution suggests that the origin of man is both amphibian and ape.

“A theory is just a theory. At one time a theory can be this huge discovery, but with time, another theory comes, and the old theory dies, for example, Newtonian physics is not the physics of Einstein,” adds Sguenfle.

While Sguenfle suggests that Islam and evolution are incompatible, Asma Lmrabet, a biologist calling for a reformist version of Islam, is working actively to create a rapprochement between those who believe in the evolution theory and those who dismiss it as incompatible with their religious beliefs.

“There is no problem with evolution being taught in schools if we are going to take it from a scientific perspective,” she said.

Lmrabet emphasized that those who are against Darwinism are disseminating stereotypical notions, such as the idea of the man descending from apes to make the theory look negative in the eyes of the public.

“From the Islamic perspective, if you just get rid of the word monkey or ape, a lot of people will embrace the theory,” she added.

In spite of calling for a dialogue between the two camps, Lmrabet does not agree with the so-called scientific miracles of the Quran, a trend recently gaining momentum, which suggests the Quran has supremacy over scientists and scientific theories.

 “I don’t agree with that. They are just wasting their time, there is no such thing as the Quran explaining natural phenomena,” Lmrabet explained.

 “What the Quran can explain now, maybe in another time, that explanation or theory may be debunked, and people will then start to question the Quran and the Quran would no longer remain valid while Muslims claim it is valid for all times,” she said.

Sguenfle agrees that the Quran is not a book of scientific theories.

“We cannot say as Muslims that whenever someone comes up with a new theory that we already have it in the Quran 1400 years ago.”

While there is a lot of calm and seemingly an attitude of indifference to the entire Islam vs Evolution debate in the surface, tension is brewing below. The battle is getting fierce between those in favor of introducing evolution in Moroccan schools and those who oppose it on grounds of its incompatibility with Islam.

“There is a problem with the religious institution because they don’t want to teach evolution, “stressed Lmrabet. “It’s the problem of the religious institution, not mine.”