Need stressed to promote research in Muslim states
PARIS, Nov 17: Two leading advocates for science in Muslim countries say "enlightened moderation" and a shift away from military spending are needed to haul Islamic countries out of their backwardness in research.
Pakistani Science Minister Atta-ur-Rahman and Anwar Nasim, science adviser to the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), say Muslims "are having little impact in today's battle of ideas" and warn that future generations will pay the price.
Just two individuals from Islamic states have ever won Nobel prizes for science, they note in a commentary published on Thursday in Nature, the weekly British science journal.
Both laureates, Abdus Salam of Pakistan and Ahmed Zewail of Egypt, carried out their research abroad. In the post-9/11 world, the risk of intellectual isolation looms for Muslim researchers because of the image of extremism and intolerance bred by violent fundamentalism, the commentary says.
Backwardness in research has a huge impact, for economic progress today is now based on knowledge and innovation, it warns. To revive Islam's glorious scientific past - from the eighth to the 15th century it was the world leader while Europe was mired in the superstitions of the Dark Ages - the two call for a new strategy of enlightened moderation.
"In the wake of 11 September 2001, Islamic countries face myriad challenges and the gap of misunderstanding between the West and the Islamic world is widening. "The way forward for Muslim countries is, in their own interest, to focus on internal reforms and socio-economic modernisation, to shun extremism and to promote moderation."
The commentary calls for a big shift away from military spending, which ranges from four to seven per cent of gross national product (GNP) in OIC countries, and towards research, where the budget is typically less than one percent of the GNP.
"Political leaders in many Islamic nations largely fail to appreciate the importance of scientific research to their countries' development," it says. "Public spending is often skewed towards the military, educational standards are low and public interest in science is undeveloped." -AFP
