The relationship between science and religion has regained interest in the fields of history of science, social studies of science, and religious studies. An anthropological inquiry into this relationship takes a different turn from a philosophical or epistemological approach. An important contribution of an ethnographic understanding of science and Islam is the ability to generate a cultural critique of philosophical and religious assertions. This book examines how Muslim scientists and engineers, in the global context in which Islam has become an ingredient of identity discourses, are grappling with competing discourses to create new technoscientific outlooks.

The Iranian Revolution represented to intellectuals and professionals the potential of spiritual values to triumph over the great power of economic imperialism. Yet out of this revolution has emerged an identity crisis that touches Islamic ideological heights and reaches down to the very ground of Islamic practice. The contributors to this collection, experts on Iranian cultural and political history, analyze the 'fragmented self' of today's Iranian, refracted through that country's institutions, market forces, and modern thought. Each essay both deepens our understanding of contemporary Iran and adds to the broader discussion of the relationship between Islam and the West.