Understanding Islam in the Light of Science and Reason

Book excerpt: This refreshing work by Dr. Yasin Gocgun focuses on the fundamental tenets of Islam and the rationality that supports the faith of well over one billion Muslims in the world today. Dr. Gocgun's aim is to increase the reader's knowledge and level of understanding by discussing various topics related to Islam and to faith itself. Unique to this book, the author offers for the reader's consideration the use of a scientific framework featuring the Markov decision processes for proving the existence of God. Also discussed are various topics concerning Islam in a historical context, the mandates of the Quran, and the phenomena discussed in the Quran that cannot be explained in the context of the era. Misconceptions about Islam are discredited, and some of the more important Hadith are explained. Absent in this book are political discourse and discussions relating to individual nations' practices. Rather, the book is intended to be a fact-based, well-reasoned and useful tool for both Muslims and non-Muslims who are curious about Islam.