Dr Shoaib Ahmed Malik (د. شعيب أحمد مالك)
Lecturer in Science and Religion
Contact details
- Email: shoaib.malik@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
Room 3.01, New College
School of Divinity - City
- Mound Place
- Post code
- EH1 2LX
Background
Shoaib Ahmed Malik is Lecturer in Science and Religion at the University of Edinburgh. With a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham and another in Theology from the University of St Mary’s, Twickenham, Shoaib stands at the crossroads of Science and Religion. His monograph work, Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm, was acclaimed as the foremost academic contribution to the field of science and religion, receiving recognition from the International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) in 2022. He is working to develop the infrastructure for the field of Islam and Science.
Qualifications
BEng (Engineering), PGCE, MSc (Science and Religion), PhD (Engineering), PhD (Theology), FISSR, SFHEA
Responsibilities & affiliations
Editorial Board Member of Theology and Science
Joint Publication Member of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science
Chief Editor of Palgrave’s Islam and Science book series
Chief Editor of Palgrave’s Islam and Science encyclopedia
Trustee of the International Society for Science and Religion
Postgraduate teaching
Teaches on the MSc in Philosophy, Science and Religion and the MSc in Science and Religion.
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Areas of interest for supervision
I welcome enquiries for PhD supervision in Islamic theology, as well as Science and Religion.
Within Islamic theology, I am particularly interested in classical and contemporary kalām, Islamic intellectual history, philosophical theology, and constructive applications of the Islamic theological tradition to contemporary questions.
Within Science and Religion, I welcome projects engaging the relationship between theology and the sciences across the Abrahamic traditions, particularly Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Areas of particular interest include divine action, scripture and science, theological anthropology, artificial intelligence, evolution, and extraterrestrial life.
Current PhD students supervised
PRIMARY SUPERVISOR
Nasser Al-Naimi (2024)
A Thematic Study of al-Malāḥimī's Tuḥfat al-mutakallimīn fī l-radd ʿalā l-falāsifa
Subboor Ahmad (2025)
Theistic Evolution in Asharism & Scholasticism: A Contemporary Study
Nida Harwood (2025)
Islamization of Knowledge and the Ecological Crisis
Asmaa Qtb (2025)
Artificial Intelligence and Conditions of Agency from a Kalāmic Perspective
Richard Boyle (2025)
Novelty and Repetition in Design Discourse
Hassan Sher (2025)
Chemistry and the Jurisprudence of Istiḥāla
CO-SUPERVISOR
Ach Fatayillah Mursyidi (2024)
Islamic Reconciliation of Darwinian Evolution in Contemporary Indonesia
ASSISTANT SUPERVISOR
Vincent Mundy (2025)
Project Deep Magenta: Exploring the Boundaries of Perception
Research summary
Shoaib’s research spans two broad areas: Islamic theology and Science and Religion.
His work in Islamic theology engages both the classical intellectual tradition and contemporary constructive questions. His interests include kalām, Islamic intellectual history, philosophical theology, theological anthropology, proofs for God’s existence, miracles, and the ways in which classical theological resources can inform contemporary debates.
His work in Science and Religion examines the relationship between theological claims and the natural and human sciences, particularly across the Abrahamic traditions. He has particular expertise in Islam and Science, while also engaging wider Jewish and Christian perspectives. His research in this area includes:
- Divine action and causation
- Science and scripture
- Evolution and theology
- Artificial intelligence and theology
- Extraterrestrial life and its theological implications
- Theological anthropology
- Miracles and the laws of nature
- Comparative approaches to Science and Religion