E32: The Theory of Evolution & Islam | Adam/Eve | Epigenetics | w. Molecular Biologist Dr. Rana Dajani

The Ansari Podcast: Mahmoud Elansary and Dr. Rana Dajani Discuss whether or not Evolution and Islam conflict on a fundamental level. Dr. Rana Dajani defines Evolution and then Explains how it fits into Islam. Dr. Rana Dajani clears up many of the misconceptions surrounding Evolution and Islam. How Muslims can believe in Evolution and the story of Adam and Eve at the same time. They talk about how evolution and the story of Adam and Eve in Islam don't conflict. Dr. Rana Dajani proposed a different look at the Quran where we do not use it as a book of science. They talk about Molecular Biology. They talk about Epigenetics and whether trauma affecting genes can be passed down generation to generation. They talk about Women in the STEM field, specifically the Middle east and why women are not in the STEM fields in mass. 

Rana Dajani is a Palestinian-Jordanian molecular biologist and tenured professor of biology and biotechnology at Hashemite University. She earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Iowa. The UK-based Muslim Science Magazine[10] praised her as one of the most influential women scientists in the Islamic World; and Arabian Business lists Dajani as one of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Women," in which she ranked number thirteen. Dr. Dajani is a Fulbright scholar alumna, having received two awards. She was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, and possessed an Eisenhower Fellowship as well. She is also a former Yale University visiting professor at the Yale Stem Cell Center and a visiting scholar at both the University of Cambridge and the Stem Cell Therapy Center in Jordan.