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Muslim science must join the 21st
century
A female laboratory technician in Sudan.
A study of scientific research in the Muslim world shows
that it lags far behind the rest of the world, but there are encouraging signs
of improvement, says Athar Osama. For decades, Muslim countries have struggled to
understand the value of scientific and technological research. But a recent
study by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on the status of
scientific research in its 57 member states sheds some light on the nature of
the 'science deficit' in these countries. The study is the first attempt by the OIC to try and quantify
its members' scientific output and productivity. Although the results show that many Muslim countries have
a poor scientific output, they also indicate a growing realisation among such
countries that they must catch up with the rest of the world or lag behind
economically, socially and politically. If Muslim countries are to become innovative and
knowledge-based societies of the 21st century, they will need to develop
coherent and relevant science and technology policies and create an environment
supportive of research. Science deficits The OIC study looked at total scientific output of member
countries using Thomson Scientific's Web of Science database, which holds about
8,700 research journals as well as monographs and conference proceedings. Turkey
leads the pack by a long way (see Table 1).
It is also clear that the three largest Muslim countries
by population — Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh — are not the most
scientifically and technologically productive. Indeed, when considering
scientific publications per million of population, it is smaller countries like
Kuwait that do well. This disparity between countries suggests that a vast
number of Muslims around the world are virtually excluded from the worldwide
scientific enterprise. A closer look at the study's findings shows that there is
also a lack of diversity in subject in scientific publications. While many OIC
countries may have small islands of scientific excellence, they seriously lack
the broad-based scientific capability and infrastructure needed to see broader
societal gains. In addition, scientists in the Muslim world tend not to
publish in some of the technological fields that have contributed to economic
growth in the West — for example, semiconductors, information technology,
genetics and nanotechnology. This absence represents a weakness in these
countries' ability to translate scientific research into useful technologies
that support economic development. Finally, not one of the 25 most productive (by
publication count) scientific institutes in Islamic countries — such as
Ankara University, Cairo University or King Fahd University — appear on
the list of top institutions worldwide. As scientists' decisions and
motivations are affected by institutional quality, environment and incentives, this
institutional deficit may, in part, explain the low scientific productivity in
the Muslim world. Turning the tide But while the OIC's findings make for depressing reading,
there are some indicators of a change sweeping across the Muslim world. Iran, Pakistan
and Turkey show a clear upward trend in scientific output (see Table 1) — all
of which have recently made large increases to scientific spending. Pakistan
has, for example, increased funding for tertiary education by 5,000 per cent
over the last 5-7 years. Even after adjusting for secular trends in publication
counts, the number of annual scientific publications has grown in six of the 15
countries listed in Table 1. Several of these are building up their scientific
infrastructure through substantial investments in tertiary education and
research. For example, the Emirate of Qatar, through its Doha
Education City, is trying to become the education and knowledge hub of the
region. Similarly, Nigeria recently announced plans to invest US$5 billion in
science and research over the next decade with the hope of making substantial
gains in economic growth and development. Intelligent policies and patient implementation But, in order to make the most of these — and other less
ambitious — initiatives, the Muslim world will need policies that can support
the use and development of science and technology infrastructure. It must promote academic freedom and set up well-designed
research funding programmes, quality educational and research institutes, and
offer incentives for undertaking and publishing research. Islamic countries also need to promote the value of
science and technology to the general population. And they must learn to use
science to solve socio-economic problems such as disease, resource shortages,
and economic development. Only through an intelligent use of policy, followed by
patient and committed implementation, can the Muslim world move out of the
scientific backwaters to become equal participants and beneficiaries of the
scientific age. Athar Osama is a senior
executive at ANGLE Technology Group in the United States and specialises in
technology-based economic development. http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=535&language=1 |
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