December 17, 2006

ALMOST all Islamic countries are lagging behind in science and technology. Muslims pay dearly for this backwardness in the form of unemployment, disfavour in international trade, and deficiency in skilled human power to meet the demands of the modern world. For their economies and defence they depend on imports from the west. The future of Muslim societies seems very bleak without advancements in science and technology, and this issue is interlinked with that of education.

In the Middle Ages, Muslims flourished in the acquisition of knowledge; they established laboratories, observatories, libraries and reputed institutions of learning like Baitul Hikma of Baghdad and Al-Azhar Mosque of Cairo. In addition, they translated a number of works from other languages; Greek philosophical works were translated in Baitul Hikma (Nanji, 1998).

Muslims emphasised the inclusion of science subjects in curriculum. A 10th century model of Muslim learning, Rasail Ikhwan Al Safa (the writings of pure ones), incorporates the subjects of religion, astronomy, geography, architecture, and biology (Nanji, 1998).

When the Muslim civilisation came into contact with other civilisations, they acquainted themselves with knowledge from the outside world and contributed towards its enrichment (Shamsavary, Saqeb, & Halstead, 1993). Later on, the Europeans developed modern science on the foundations laid down by Muslim scientists.

Upheavals in Muslims’ learning started from the 13th century. The Mongol invasion of the 13th century destroyed majority of Muslim institutions of learning and hampered technological advancement in Muslim world. Shamsavary, Saqeb, & Halstead, (1993) believe that after the Mongol holocaust “…Muslim institutions of higher education lost their innovative and creative urge and turned into centres of religious indoctrination, committed only to upholding orthodoxy, fearful of change and suspicious of secular sciences”. However, Muslims continued working in the field of knowledge but could not continue with the fervour which had been broken in the 13th century.

Where does the Muslim world stand today in the field of science and technology? This can best be answered by exploring the attitude of Muslim scientists towards relating science and religion. It is observed that potential Muslim scientists’ understanding of the natural phenomenon is extremely unscientific. In this regard writing on the beliefs of students of Quaid-e-Azam University, Hoodbhoy (2006) notes, “almost a third of our physics M. Sc students believe that the earthquake was caused by sinfulness, moral laxity, and deviation from the Islamic true path and so on. They were not swayed by the argument that the victims were innocent – more then 10,000 children were killed as 8,000 schools and madrasahs collapsed into rubble. Nor were they persuaded by the fact that mosques were hit just as hard – or even harder- than other buildings.”

These beliefs indicate that many Muslim potential scientists do not find any relevance of their subject with natural phenomenon. Dr Hoodbhoy believes that science without scientific method does not work, and Muslims lack scientific method.

Furthermore, the present state of science in the Muslim world is marked by a severe dearth of scientists. So far, the Muslim world has produced only two Nobel Prize laureate scientists, Abdus Salam from Pakistan and Ahmed Zewail an Egyptian-American. However, many of the Muslims are not ready to accept Abdus Salam as a Muslim. Pakistan also has very limited number of scientists. Dr Hoodbhoy notes that in Pakistan – a country of 160 million population - there are fewer than 20 computer scientists and about five able mathematicians.

Furthermore, Muslims have parted ways with science. Dr Hoodbhoy believes that science and Islam parted many centuries ago. I do not agree with this idea. I would rather say, Muslims parted their way from both Islam and science many centuries ago as Iqbal said “Kabzay say umat becharee kay deen bhee gaya dunya bhee gaee”. It means that the Muslim ummah has lost religion as well as worldly benefits. When the Muslims lost their political power, in the 13th century, they became insecure and thus invested all their energies in religious practices and beliefs, putting research on stall. Shamsavary, Saqeb, & Halstead (1993) also believe that in the 13th century Muslims lost their innovative and creative urge for secular sciences.

In addition, Muslims have developed an attitude of retrospection. They look into the past and feel proud of the Muslim scientists of medieval ages. This attitude serves nothing. Even the reputed Muslim writers have shown this attitude. For example, Nasr (1983) in his work Science and Civilisation in Islam tries to prove that the findings of Muslim scientists of medieval ages are quite close to modern findings. However, he does not mention its relevance to the present needs of Muslim societies.

Muslim intellectuals and governments of Muslim states are the stakeholders in almost every institution or body related with learning and development. However, focus will be laid on the role of two stakeholders: the governments of Muslim countries and institutions of higher education/universities.

Governments prepare plans and policies; they patronise and promote institutions and in welfare states, governments are responsible for the development of a nation. The development of nations in the modern age is linked with advancement in science and technology. But in the case of Muslim countries, governments do not give proper importance to development of science; however, they have trivial priorities like the wasteful expenses by rulers of royal families in Arab countries or defence expenses, in the case of Pakistan. The Eighth five-year plan of the government of Pakistan is evidence of the low priority of higher education. The plan says, “Subsidy on higher education will be reduced by increasing the tuition fees gradually from existing level of one per cent of the recurring expenditure to 10 per cent”.

In addition the annual spending of Arab countries on development and research is 0.15 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product” (Maziak, 2006). The Islamic world’s average spending on the development of science is 0.2 per cent (Nature, 2003). Without access to higher education, research does not seem to have a future and without research, the idea of advancement in science and technology is irrelevant.

Another negative attitude of Muslim governments towards science is to take science as a commodity; hence they think that they can survive on its purchase from the open market. Maziak (2006) defines this situation as: “Rich Arabs believed that oil money plus Western technology was a simple formula for industrialization and modernisation. Thus acquiring the latest technological products or shares in hi-tech industries become synonymous with being partners in the technological revolution of the modern world. After all most Arabs view science as a commodity that can be separated from the thought processes and socio-cultural attributes of its producers.”

The above discussed beliefs and attitudes of Muslim governments hamper progression in science and technology. Because the practices are motivated by beliefs, governments are not prompted to support research and development in science and technology. Institutions of higher education or universities are often considered as the places where scientists start their journey of inventions. However, in the Muslim world, universities are so deficient in laboratory materials and proper faculty that they cannot speed up research work - which is a prerequisite for advancement in science and technology. Muslims have become suspicious of research itself. They are afraid of it as for them it is part of western culture or ‘un-Islamic’. Writing in the Arab context, Maziak (2006) notes “…research has become, in the minds of many Arabs, a suspicious activity and yet another potential gateway for western incursion”.

Another, perhaps more serious, problem with the institutions of higher education in Muslim countries is that the undemocratic government systems view research as a threat to the status quo. Therefore, the ruling elite’s goals for these institutions have a political rather than scientific bearing. For example 1998-2010 education policy of Pakistan emphasises a politically motivated goal of Islamisation of education. A whole chapter of the policy document is devoted to islamising education and making Islamiat compulsory up to graduation (B.A/B.Sc level).

The quality of science education is low. Faculty members of universities hardly take part in research work. Dr Hoodbhoy (2002) notes that you will not see a Muslim name as you browse scientific journals and if you do, chances are that this person lives in the west. Consequently, the knowledge of the faculties is not updated but remains obsolete. In this situation, the students of Muslim countries have access to outdated things with no relevance to the modern age with the exception of those who can afford to go abroad for quality education. It is unfortunate that quality scientific education is not accessible to students in Muslim countries.

Muslims contributed towards development of science, but from the 13th century their political decline hampered their progress of research in science. The gap between education and science in Muslim world widened. It was observed that Muslim governments stopped patronising research in science. As a result, Muslim countries remained alien to science and rational thinking. This distance from rational thinking and scientific methods dragged Muslims into many superstitions, which is still pushing them backward.

However, it has been observed historically that the strength of powerful nations has been by virtue of their supremacy in science and technology. Hence, the only way for the Muslims, out of the present quagmire, is to achieve strength in science and technology. It is high time that science teachers in the Muslim world work towards promoting scientific thinking among students at all levels of education. They should strive to inculcate scientific thinking in children which would be an investment in human development, leading to progression in science and technology. This would require a dynamic re-conceptualisation of the role of science education in the Muslim world.

The writer is pursuing a Masters in education at a private university in Karachi

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)