IO9 highlighted what it called the “surprising” intersection of Islam and sci-fi. The only thing surprising, to me, was that this is described as surprising – and that seems to just be a case of a clickbait title, since the article itself explains why this should not be surprising. The long history of pioneering exploration in both philosophy and science in the Islamic world makes this a natural, and we have seen the exploration of Islamic themes by non-Muslim science fiction as well- Frank Herbert’s Dune series and the radical monotheism of the Cylons on the rebooted Battlestar Galactica are just a couple of examples that come immediately to mind.
You can download an anthology of sci-fi short stories inspired by Islamic themes and cultures for free. It is called Islamicates Volume I.
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