<>
A Depressing Story of the Contributions
to Science and Technology by contemporary Muslims.
T.O.Shanavas. M.D
Observations
The
universal Muslim excuse for the self-inflicted illiteracy in science and the lack of Muslim scientific productivity is colonialism and their
rulers. But what is their excuse for anemic presence of Muslim students in the
Intel Science Talent Search among American high school students?
The most prestigious science
research competition for US high school seniors is Intel Science Talent Search.
Within the lists of 300 semifinalists for each year (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,
and 2014), there are 49, 56, 46, 60, and 62 names of high school
students of Indian-American community respectively. There are many more from
Chinese community among the semi-finalists.
However, there are only 1, 3, 5, 3, and 4 Muslim sounding names in the
list of Intel Science Talent Search Semi-finalists during the same period.
The anemic presence of US Muslim high school students among the semi-finalists
of the Intel Science Talent Search cannot be linked to Muslim rulers or
foreigners by any stretch of imagination.
Yet, there is another possibility for Muslim failure in
science and the dismal scientific track record of Muslims even in America. It
may be suggested that Islam is inherently inimical to research. However, George
Sarton, a professor of History of Science at Harvard University states:
"Briefest
enumeration of the Arabic contributions to knowledge would be too long to be inserted here�The creation
of a new civilization of international and encyclopaedic
magnitude within less than two centuries is something that we describe, but cannot
explain. Indeed the superiority of Muslim culture, say in the eleventh century, was so great that
we can understand their intellectual pride. It is easy to imagine their doctors speaking of western
barbarians almost in the same spirit
as ours do of the �Orientals.� If there had been some ferocious eugenists among the Moslems they might have
suggested some means breeding out all the western
Christians and Greeks because of their hopeless backwardness.�
[Ref: George Sarton: �The History of Science and The New
Humanism.� New York. 1956. Page 87-90]
Therefore, there must be a difference between the Islam preached
and practiced in the initial history of Muslims than the Islam practiced today.
And the current
gloomy plight of Muslims in the scientific field is the outcome from Muslim
communal physiology. Nobody else is to be blame except Muslims themselves.
Elements of Muslim Communal physiology: A
Barrier against scientific Progress
1. Human progress occurs in places where there
is an unrestricted welcoming conduit for new ideas. Unfortunately, Muslim
leaders, scholars, and Imams across the world, even in America, feel
intimidated by science so that they avoid any honest discussion of science or
new ideas in the community and mosques.
2. Productive scientists who invent
new technology or discover new laws or propose new theories question the soundness
widely accepted concepts, theories, and facts. Islamic centers, Imams, and
Muslim scholars, even 99.9 % Muslims at large discourage questioning certain
views of widely accepted scholars even if it is outrageously illogical.
3. Islamic centers and community leaders discourage
critical thinking especially when the outcome conflicts with their point of
view. The major
characteristics of critical thinkers are in capital
letters and what happens in Islamic center, Muslim
communities, and homes is within brackets for easy comparison. Critical
thinkers are skeptical [Islamic centers do not allow skeptical enquiries], open-minded [Islamic centers are not open-minded], respect evidence [Islamic centers do not respect scientific or
other evidences that may conflict Imams� opinion] and reasoning [reasoning is rejected if it contradicts
Imams� reasoning], look at different points of view [all Islamic centers are impervious fortresses against different point of
view including new approach to the interpretations of the Qur�an], and will change positions when reason leads them to do so [The Islamic centers, and its leadership never allow to change position
when reason leads to do so].
This is true with most Muslims parents also. When children grow up in an
environment where critical thinking is not appreciated and generally
discouraged, they grow up with a fear to think critically (i.e., out of the box
thinking) and become non-productive in scientific research.
5. Another reason for the weakness of Muslim scientific productivity is the
shameful lack of interest in science displayed by Imams and Muslim leadership.
Science is almost never discussed in mosques and Muslim conferences. Sadly,
even Muslim umbrella organizations in United States avoid discussion of science
in their national meetings although science is the driving force for human
progress and power.
6. For most Imams, Islam
is both a religion and a complete way of life. Among other things, the way of
life for scientists includes investigation of the meaning of the Divine Book in
material medium, the Universe. Science is in fact only an interpretation or tafsir of the Universe. Unfortunately,
most Imams as well as many in the Muslim
organization leadership have minimal or no training in science. Islamic scholars refuse to acknowledge it and
so, cannot give effective guidance for Muslims� life in the scientific field in
order to escalate Muslim productivity in science.
7. Science has been defined as,
�a continuing effort to discover and increase human knowledge and understanding
through disciplined research. Using controlled methods, scientists collect
observable evidence of natural or social phenomena, record measurable data
relating to the observations, and analyze this information to construct
theoretical explanations of how things work.�
Based upon this definition,
physicians, engineers, chemists, physicists, pharmacists, sociologists,
biologists, and many other professionals who utilize the scientific method are
called scientists. Unfortunately, many Muslims among the scientific community have
a mental dichotomy and lead a double life. In their professional life they are
true believers in science, but, when it comes to their religious lives, they
passionately reject many well-established scientific theories such as theories
related astronomy and its application for moon-sighting, the theory of
evolution and its applications. They have a truth tell in the mosques and
another for their external professional lives. The old Latin expressions, �contra evidential credo (I believe
despite the evidence)� and credo quia
evidentia (I believe because of evidence),� most accurately differentiate
their dual lives. Such an attitude has major negative impact on scientific
productivity as well as critical thinking among Muslim children.
8. Islam practiced today
by Muslims is an extremely oppressive orthodoxy that is emanating from Saudi
Wohabism. Across Muslim world even the secular among them are compromising more
to this orthodoxy that suppress free enquiry and critical-minded scholarship.
Solution for Muslim Failure in
Science
Science is the
powerhouse of the GDP of a nation. So, what are the critical components
necessary for any Muslim community with serious ambitions in science?
1. Muslim leaders,
Imams, and the Muslims at al large must accept the fact that the encouragement
of science along with a parallel suppression of free inquiry and
critical-minded scholarship will not escalate Muslim productivity in science.
2 A minimal
requirement is an education system that embraces science as well as a critical
approach. If Imams and Muslim leadership
are willing to embrace ijtihad � unfettered reasoning � and critical
investigation of the natural world, they could help unlock the immense human
potential of the Muslim world.
2. Muslims at large, Imams,
Muslim leadership must accept that the Qur�an and the Universe are twin
manifestations of the Divine Act of Self-Revelation. The interpretation of the
Qur�an is generally called tafsir and
of the Universe is called science. The Qur�an is
the Divine Revelation in human vernacular while the universe is the Divine Book
in material medium. Both books come from the same divine source. So the
interpretations of one divine revelation (the Qur�an) cannot contradict that of
the other revelation (the Universe). In fact without a parallel reading of the
both Divine books we may misread the meaning of the Quran and vice versa. Muslims
and their leaders must acknowledge that truth emerges when the tafsirs
of both Divine Manifestations merge into one.
|