Trieste

With the world on the brink of a conflict that is likely to reverberate for years to come, scientific leaders gathered in Trieste, Italy, last week to discuss why Islamic countries have neglected science and technology, and what could be done to end this neglect.

Stretching from Indonesia to Morocco, and from Uganda to Kazakhstan, Muslim countries are home to 1.3 billion people and three-quarters of the world's fuel reserves. But their combined gross national product (GNP) is less than half that of Germany, illiteracy levels are among the world's highest, and science spending, at 0.2% of GNP, is well below the global average.

The meeting of research ministers and heads of scientific academies was organized by the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues, as part of an effort to strengthen the resources and roles of scientific academies worldwide in promoting research and providing independent advice to governments.

The delegates argued that political leaders in Islamic nations often fail to appreciate the importance of scientific research to their countries' development. Most speakers blamed public spending skewed towards the military, low educational standards, and a lack of public interest in science for this pattern.

But there was less agreement on whether the region's stunted scientific development can be linked to the practice of Islam. Many speakers pointed out that the religion itself is pro-science, with the Koran stating the duty of Muslims to seek knowledge of nature. Indeed, they added that the Islamic world enjoyed six centuries of scientific progress while Europe was floundering in the Dark Ages.

But some delegates argued that aspects of Islam — particularly fundamentalism — are incompatible with modernity and science. They even proposed that scientists should help to 'reform' Islam. Others said that better science education might discourage people from what many scientists regard as the irrational aspects of religious belief.

“The problem is coming from dogma, from narrow interpretations of the Koran,” said Atta-ur-Rahman, president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and minister for higher education. Rahman, who is director of the Husein Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry in Karachi, has championed plans to create a multibillion Pan Islamic R&D Fund by the 57-state Organization of the Islamic Conference (see Nature 416, 120–122; 2002).

Perhaps the most contentious suggestion was that science is stifled by a lack of democracy in authoritarian Islamic countries. Adnan Badran, president of the Beirut-based Arab Academy of Sciences and former deputy director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is convinced that a lack of free expression and creative thinking explains the absence of a vibrant scientific culture. “Oppressive regimes are hindering the creativity of scientists in Islamic states, imprisoning the brains of the élite,” he said.

Whether religious culture helps or hinders the advancement of Islamic society is a “legitimate question”, argued Çigdem Kagitcibasi, a psychologist and member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences. She said it is important to assess the impact of religious dogma on education, and expressed concern about the growth of fundamentalist religious schools.

Such arguments drew fire from Mohamed Falougi, deputy director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, who said that they are political, and should not arise at a meeting of scientists. Saleh Al-Athel, president of the King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, warned against the idea that science is synonymous with progress, whereas Islam is somehow 'backward'.

Although the academic élite of Islamic countries is generally suspicious of the United States' motives and commitment to democracy in the region, many scientists and intellectuals are now so impatient for greater freedom that they are willing to contemplate change imposed from outside, according to Badran.

The meeting provided a rare opportunity for Western scientific leaders, such as Bruce Alberts, president of the US National Academy of Sciences, to rub shoulders with their Islamic counterparts. Most said that the gathering marked a positive step towards greater cooperation between Islamic and Western scientists.

Rahman added that scientists are well placed to engage in dialogue between Islamic countries and the West. This was echoed by Abdel-Salam Majali, president of the Islamic Academy of Sciences and a former prime minister of Jordan. “Our scientific community needs to work hard at projecting the true image of our Islamic faith, and counter the gross distortions that have become part of Western mentality toward Islam since the events of 9/11,” he said.