A three-year ‘Islam and Evolution’ research project presented recently at McGill University in Montreal examined the understanding of evolution at the student, teacher and scientist level in Indonesia and Pakistan. According to the NatureNews article, the study, which surveyed 3,800 high-school students, found that students in these countries had a “good” understanding of evolution.

For example, 85% of students agreed with the statement that millions of fossils show that life has existed for billions of years and changed over time.

But,

When students were asked if “the first humans on planet Earth were created by God, not gradually, but in their present form”, 80% of Pakistani students and 49% of Indonesian students surveyed agreed.

And,

When the students were asked if the holy book of their religion was in conflict with science regarding explanations of human origins, 64% of Pakistani students and 36% of Indonesian students agreed.

The study mentions that this difference between Indonesia and Pakistan may reflect the textbooks used to teach evolution in each country. For instance, texts produced by the Turkish creationist Harun Yahya are used in Indonesia but not Pakistan.

All in all, I am not particularly surprised by the results. What I am surprised by is that these results are considered “good” by any stretch of the imagination. For instance, reading a bit further:

Interviews with high-school teachers showed that most teachers had a vague understanding of evolution, did not accept it and tended to include religious explanations in their teaching.

This is not good. This is very, very bad. The authors of the study seem to think that merely teaching the teachers what evolution is and isn’t will help to alleviate the problem (Not completely, of course). Call me cynical, but in an environment which breeds distrust of those who deviate from the teachings of the Qur’an I highly doubt any amount of teaching reality will make a lasting impact. The problem needs to be dealt with at a deeper level.