Blurring the Boundaries

Abstract

I will clearly focus on a particular expression of transhumanism and how this can be applied to a particular expression of Islam. I begin by examining what is meant by ‘transhumanism’ in the modern context and what assumptions are made in terms of the nature of the human species and the antagonism towards religious belief. The middle way approach between transhumanism and religion more generally is something that is already being engaged in and has been for some years now. Transhumanists have certainly been willing to embrace the ‘eastern’ religions, especially Confucianism and Buddhism, which may allow for the perception—all depending of course on how interpreted—of the human being as at one stage in an evolutionary process. This book subscribes to the view presented in Shahab Ahmed’s (1966–2015) ground-breaking work What Is Islam? (2016) which cogently looks to a creative and explorative explication of Islamic sources which are all too often ignored (by Muslims and non-Muslims alike), yet they provide so much guidance in terms of meaning and value. An awareness of the complexities and diversity of Islamic belief is key to understanding the relationship between Islam and transhumanism. Many transhumanists—what I refer to as the secular transhumanists—are wary of a possibility for any positive contribution that can emerge from religious traditions, especially the Abrahamic, due to a prevalent, particular of theology that believes, hopes, and prays for a better next life, and/or relies upon supernatural forces for a better this life. Recent scholarship in the Jewish and, more prominently, Christian traditions have set out to alter this perception. What I set out to demonstrate is that there are other forms of Islam that, certainly prior to the mid-nineteenth century, were dominant in the Islamic world and, when these are considered in modern light, also show that secular transhumanists need not be so distrustful and suspicious here.