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No, should be someone who has studied extensively and has ejazah (a chain of teachers stretching back to the prophet (pbuh) himself).

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Actually a better translation would be 'scientist', an Aalim is someone who has studied the Islamic Uloom (sciences). Obviously in the modern Western context, you'd not consider such a a translation accurate but that's actually the best translation. Also keep in mind that for most of Islamic history, there was no distinction between a scientist of the Islamic sciences and one of the natural sciences, most of the great scientists/scholars in Islam were also scientists/scholars in mathematics, astrology, geography etc.

By 'Iman' I think you mean Imam. Imam just means 'the guy at the front', coming from the Arabic word for forward/front Amaam, and it basically just means leader, usually leader of congregational prayers.

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As stated already there's no concept of clergy in Islam, really.

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Because that's what it translates as.

عالم (Aalim) is the Arabic word for 'Islamic Scholar' and it's also the Arabic word for 'Scientist'. Throughout the history of Islam, there wasn't really any distinction between the two, they were exactly the same thing. Islam doesn't have the same kind of historical conflict between religion and science as the Western Christian civilisation has. In the Islamic world they were more seen as one wholistic tree of knowledge, some branches of which dealt with Islamic disclipines and some which dealt with physical phenomena and some which deal with social phenomena and so on.

Growing up with a Western viewpoint myself, I can definitely see the problems that raises for you, as it doesn't fit in nicely with the Western way of dividing it all up. But you gotta realise Muslims have always viewed it like this, since long before the Christian West took any interest whatsoever in science. Pretty much all of the famous Muslim scientists/mathematicians were all 'Islamic Scholars' also, and were masters in the Islamic branches of science like Usul ul-Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), Tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) etc. They didn't consider themselves as 'Islamic Scholars' and also 'Scientists', they just considered themselves 'Aalim'.

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Those theories have only been proposed in the last century or two, by which time the Islamic civilisation had almost completely declined. There have been very few Muslims worthy of the title Aalim in that time, what few Ulema (plural of Aalim) we've had, were usually busy addressing other issues related to our decline, occupation, revival, disapora etc. to have time to focus on issues of natural science. Along with this, we have the Arab nation states attempting (quite poorly) to emulate the Western secular states, and so they've pushed, quite brutally in many cases, to relegate the role of the Ulema to something like a 'cleric', who performs circumcisions, marriages, burials and delivers weekly sermons about being nice to your neighbour asnd occasionally gives a 'fatwa' when the government requires it to condone/condemn things that suit the government's interests.

Basically that kind of higher level of thinking requires a very stable civilisation, and the only civilisation which is stable enough at present to produce such a level of thinking is the Western civilisation. The Islamic civilisation has not seen that kind of stability for quite a few centuries.

Abu,

If you don't mind, how about on a personal level? What is your opinion as a Muslim on the natural sciences of (say) evolution and the creation of the universe etc. I suppose, this question goes out to Malik, Exotic Cheese and Lestat as well, if they so wish to answer.

Abu_rashid- Thank you for answering my questions.

Is there no 'official' Islamic position on evolution?

(Aalim) is the Arabic word for 'Islamic Scholar' and it's also the Arabic word for 'Scientist'.

So you translate it as scholar when the context implies that the English word scholar is the correct translation, and you translate it as scientist when the context requires it.

Throughout the history of Islam, there wasn't really any distinction between the two, they were exactly the same thing.

It's the same throughout most of western history. Science has a meaning now that it didn't a few centuries ago. The Greek (I think) 'scientia' translates to knowledge, not science.

Islam doesn't have the same kind of historical conflict between religion and science as the Western Christian civilisation has.

That doesn't justify the wrong translation into English.

In the Islamic world they were more seen as one wholistic tree of knowledge, some branches of which dealt with Islamic disclipines and some which dealt with physical phenomena and some which deal with social phenomena and so on.

ie, philosophy

But you gotta realise Muslims have always viewed it like this, since long before the Christian West took any interest whatsoever in science.

That doesn't justify the incorrect translation either.

Pretty much all of the famous Muslim scientists/mathematicians were all 'Islamic Scholars' also

Same with many early European philosophers and scientists.

Hi Soren, welcome to OzPolitic. I remember you from AM, but they deleted the thread with your posts in it that I read.