Fundamentalist Islam & Science
In Claire Berlinski's recent posting about God, I posted the following comment:
"I am troubled by faiths that demand total submission. I believe that runs counter to human nature and crushes imagination and the desire to explore the world around us and perhaps become enlightened in ways we never expected. I believe this is why Islam has sadly lagged significantly behind other faiths in producing Nobel Prize Winners or contributed to as many advances in science or medicine. I am hopeful that someday Islam will go through a similar reformation as Judaism and Christianity has."
The video of the Muslim cleric arguing that the Earth is flat, that the Sun is smaller than the Earth essentially proves my point.
Here's a comparison of Arab and Jewish Nobel Prize Winners (courtesy of www.jewishmag.com)
Please note that this information is seven years old. So, the numbers of recipients are not up to date but I believe still illustrates the point.
Arab/Islamic Nobel Prize Winners - From a pool of 1.4 BILLION Muslims which are 20% of the world's population (2 out of every 10 people)
Literature - 1988 - Najib Mahfooz
Peace - 1978 - Anwar El-Sadat, 1994 - Yasser Arafat *, 2003 - Shirin Ebadi
Chemistry - 1999 - Ahmed Zewail
Physics - Abdus Salam
* NOTE: Norwegian, Kaare Kristiansen, was a member of the Nobel Committee. He resigned in 1994 to protest the awarding of a Nobel "Peace Prize" to Yasser Arafat, whom he correctly labeled a "terrorist."
Jewish Nobel Prize Winners - From a pool of 12 million Jews which are 0.2% of the World's Population (2 out of every 1,000 people)
Literature -1910 - Paul Heyse, 1927 - Henri Bergson, 1958 - Boris Pasternak, 1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon, 1966 - Nelly Sachs, 1976 - Saul Bellow, 1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1981 - Elias Canetti, 1987 - Joseph Brodsky, 1991 - Nadine Gordimer, 2002 - Imre Kertesz
World Peace - 1911 - Alfred Fried, 1911 - Tobias Asser, 1968 - Rene Cassin, 1973 - Henry Kissinger, 1978 - Menachem Begin, 1986 - Elie Wiesel, 1994 - Shimon Peres, 1994 - Yitzhak Rabin, 1995 - Joseph Rotblat
Chemistry - 1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer, 1906 - Henri Moissan, 1910 - Otto Wallach, 1915 - Richard Willstaetter, 1918 - Fritz Haber, 1943 - George Charles de Hevesy, 1961 - Melvin Calvin, 1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz, 1972 - William Howard Stein, 1972 - C.B. Anfinsen, 1977 - Ilya Prigogine, 1979 - Herbert Charles Brown, 1980 - Paul Berg, 1980 - Walter Gilbert, 1981 - Ronald Hoffmann, 1982 - Aaron Klug, 1985 - Herbert A. Hauptman, 1985 - Jerome Karle, 1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach, 1988 - Robert Huber, 1989 - Sidney Altman, 1992 - Rudolph Marcus, 1998 - Walter Kohn, 2000 - Alan J. Heeger, 2004 - Irwin Rose, 2004 - Avram Hershko, 2004 - Aaron Ciechanover
Economics - 1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson, 1971 - Simon Kuznets, 1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow, 1973 - Wassily Leontief, 1975 - Leonid Kantorovich, 1976 - Milton Friedman, 1978 - Herbert A. Simon, 1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein, 1985 - Franco Modigliani, 1987 - Robert M. Solow, 1990 - Harry Markowitz, 1990 - Merton Miller, 1992 - Gary Becker, 1993 - Rober Fogel, 1994 - John Harsanyi, 1994 - Reinhard Selten, 1997 - Robert Merton, 1997 - Myron Scholes, 2001 - George Akerlof, 2001 - Joseph Stiglitz, 2002 - Daniel Kahneman, 2005 - Robert (Israel) Aumann
Medicine - 1908 - Elie Metchnikoff, 1908 - Paul Erlich, 1914 - Robert Barany, 1922 - Otto Meyerhof, 1930 - Karl Landsteiner, 1931 - Otto Warburg, 1936 - Otto Loewi, 1944 - Joseph Erlanger, 1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser, 1945 - Ernst Boris Chain, 1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller, 1950 - Tadeus Reichstein, 1952 - Selman Abraham Waksman, 1953 - Hans Krebs, 1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann, 1958 - Joshua Lederberg, 1959 - Arthur Kornberg, 1964 - Konrad Bloch, 1965 - Francois Jacob, 1965 - Andre Lwoff, 1967 - George Wald, 1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg, 1969 - Salvador Luria, 1970 - Julius Axelrod, 1970 - Sir Bernard Katz, 1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman, 1975 - David Baltimore, 1975 - Howard Martin Temin, 1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg, 1977 - Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, 1977 - Andrew V. Schally, 1978 - Daniel Nathans, 1980 - Baruj Benacerraf, 1984 - Cesar Milstein, 1985 - Michael Stuart Brown, 1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein, 1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini], 1988 - Gertrude Elion, 1989 - Harold Varmus, 1991 - Erwin Neher, 1991 - Bert Sakmann, 1993 - Richard J. Roberts, 1993 - Phillip Sharp, 1994 - Alfred Gilman, 1994 - Martin Rodbell, 1995 - Edward B. Lewis, 1997 - Stanley B. Prusiner, 1998 - Robert F. Furchgott, 2000 - Eric R. Kandel, 2002 - Sydney Brenner, 2002 - Robert H. Horvitz
Physics - 1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson, 1908 - Gabriel Lippmann, 1921 - Albert Einstein, 1922 - Niels Bohr, 1925 - James Franck, 1925 - Gustav Hertz, 1943 - Gustav Stern, 1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi, 1945 - Wolfgang Pauli, 1952 - Felix Bloch, 1954 - Max Born, 1958 - Igor Tamm, 1958 - Il'ja Mikhailovich, 1958 - Igor Yevgenyevich, 1959 - Emilio Segre, 1960 - Donald A. Glaser, 1961 - Robert Hofstadter, 1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau, 1963 - Eugene P. Wigner, 1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman, 1965 - Julian Schwinger, 1967 - Hans Albrecht Bethe, 1969 - Murray Gell-Mann, 1971 - Dennis Gabor, 1972 - Leon N. Cooper, 1973 - Brian David Josephson, 1975 - Benjamin Mottleson, 1976 - Burton Richter, 1978 - Arno Allan Penzias, 1978 - Peter L Kapitza, 1979 - Stephen Weinberg, 1979 - Sheldon Glashow, 1988 - Leon Lederman, 1988 - Melvin Schwartz, 1988 - Jack Steinberger, 1990 - Jerome Friedman, 1992 - Georges Charpak, 1995 - Martin Perl, 1995 - Frederick Reines, 1996 - David M. Lee, 1996 - Douglas D. Osheroff, 1997 - Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, 2000 - Zhores I. Alferov, 2003 - Vitaly Ginsburg, 2003 - Alexei Abrikosov
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Comments :
Jan '11
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Some branches of Islamic theology see scientific statements as heretical because they conflict with the view that Allah is all-powerful and re-creates the universe correspondingly by his Divine will. At the least, this leads to statements like, "If you boil water, it turns into steam if Allah wills it." At extremes - well, I've read that Pakistan quit broadcasting weather forecasts for a couple of years because attempting to predict the weather implied a limitation on Allah's freedom to create any kind of weather he chooses at any moment regardless of the conditions of the previous moment.
Not an attitude that supports research in the sciences.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Wow......the contrast is amazing.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
My dream is that some Israeli finds the cure for cancer and all the Arabs so afflicted have to go to Tel Aviv for treatment. Israel's right to exist would become a Muslim sacrament.
Still, Brian, what do you expect from a group of people who condemn half their population to ignorance, and then put that half of the population in charge of raising and educating the children. Anyone think that sounds like a recipe for success?
Feb '11
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Yes, an unreformed religion is correlated with backwards cultures who do not achieve scientific progress, but what if you’ve got the causation backwards? You are supposing “Adoption of an unreformed religion that demands submission stifles research and innovation.” But it’s possible that the truth is “People who are smart and curious about the world both make scientific discoveries and reform their religions.”
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
I don't know, Cas. If Allah gives you cancer & you attempt to find a way to cure it, aren't you violating Allah's will? It sure would be a drag to go through chemo in Tel Aviv & then return home and be stoned to death.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
It wouldn't really matter. One doesn't negate the other. I'm sure that enlightened individuals have transformed most religions. So, what are the odds that Islam will ever be reformed if the punishment for challenging what's in the Koran can be punishable by death? From an Islamist perspective, the word of Allah is sacred and not to be challenged even it doesn't align with scientifically-tested and observable proof. So, where does that leave the nations of Islam as the world races forward. Should we look to the nations of Islam for the next Einsteins, Salks, Cricks, and Watsons? Or would we be wasting our time?
Feb '11
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Brian Watt
Should we look to [Muslim nations] for the next Einsteins, Salks, Cricks, and Watsons? Or would we be wasting our time? · Feb 27 at 8:58pm
Ultimately that's a question for Muslims to answer. I don't see any hopeful signs though. The watchers of the Muslim world here at Ricochet, like Claire Berlinski may be more optimistic.
Feb '11
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
This reminded me of an old joke. Two blondes are sitting on a park bench looking at the moon. One asks the other, "Which is closer, the moon or Florida." The other replies "Duh?!? Can you see Florida from here?"
Oct '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
One might think there was something to laugh about in the video, sadly not.
What is amusing is Obamas tasking NASA to educate all on the contributions to our betterment by either Muslims or Islam.
Clearly, this soul has blinders firmly set in place. Trust this fella is an isolated case.
May '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
While I agree with the basic point you're making, it's important not to expose ourselves to false-equivalence arguments.
For example, you could find many, many videos (including on top-rated cable news shows) of American Christians who are otherwise friendly, reasonable people saying comparably silly things about well-accepted biological and cosmological theories, but I wouldn't interpret that as a discredit to American scientific culture.
I'd rather see comparisons of specific theoretical and technological achievements, rather than anecdotal ignorance and lists of awardees. I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet the majority of those Jewish laureates lived and worked in advanced Western industrial societies like the US, UK, and Germany, whereas there have always been comparatively few Muslims in those countries until recently.
Sep '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Brian,
You're being very hierarchical in your thinking.
Aug '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
I don't know why the heading to the post has the word "Fundamentalist" in it. Surely the dearth of modern scientific, literary and medical progress is a problem for and of all of Islam. Also, would a similar post comparing the exceptional achievements of the Jewish with ANY other group be acceptable? I'm afraid to even suggest other comparators.
May '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Pseudodionysius: Brian,
You're being very hierarchical in your thinking. · Feb 28 at 12:56pm
I didn't know that was a pejorative term!
Dec '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
That's not so much a dream as reality-in-progress.
A powerful appeal for peace, Precious Life explores the challenges and prejudices that must be overcome when officials from conflicting nations attempt to put aside their differences for a noble cause. But even the legitimacy of that cause is called into question due to the complex circumstances at play. Mohammad’s mother, Raida, struggles to address both her desperate desire to protect her son and harsh criticisms from her Gazan community. Her friends and family believe that allowing Jewish doctors, reporters and donors to help her baby marks an affront to their religion. To complicate matters further, Raida fully endorses the use of suicide bombing as a legitimate tool of Palestinian resistance. This forces Eldar – and we as the audience – to grapple with the intricate moral dilemma of saving a child who, later in life, may very well be encouraged to sacrifice his life to kill others.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Well, I didn't want to paint all followers of Islam with a broad brush since some are enlightened intellectuals and scientists with a more worldly view. But I was quite shocked to see the disparity in the numbers of Nobel laureates given the size of each population pool. Obviously it defies statistical probability, so one has to assume that another factor is at play...the lack of freedom of expression or to challenge what's presented in the Koran, without facing dire punishment, is I suspect an overriding factor.
For the purposes of any discussion the comparison of Jewish Nobel laureates to followers of any other faith is perfectly acceptable. In fact, if I run across such information I will gladly post it.
May '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Is there such a thing as a religion that doesn't demand submission? Isn't your question really rather a question of what a given religion requires its adherent to submit to, and on what grounds?
And I have to raise an objection to the suggestion that "unreformed" religion is hostile to science--at least inasmuch as it may be directed toward the Catholic religion, which was a vigorous proponent of science long before the Protestant Reformation.
Finally, I can't resist reminding everyone once again of a classic line from Mark Steyn (which I paraphrase from memory): "I very much fear that Islam has had its Reformation, and jihad is it."
It's a naive mistake to assume that all religious reforms must move in the direction of the Enlightenment.
Feb '11
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
You can make the same kind of comparison between Jews and any other religious, ethnic, or national category and the Jews will win every time. Evidence suggests that this is at least partly due to genetic factors. Ashkenazi (European) Jews have average IQ's almost a full standard deviation above European averages.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0718_050718_ashkenazim.html
May '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Benjamin Finlay: You can make the same kind of comparison between Jews and any other religious, ethnic, or national category and the Jews will win every time. Evidence suggests that this is at least partly due to genetic factors. Ashkenazi (European) Jews have average IQ's almost a full standard deviation above European averages.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0718_050718_ashkenazim.html · Feb 28 at 5:11pm
That's the kind of thing that makes me susceptible to dubious theories like the that the Irish are actually descended from the lost tribe of Dan. I so want it to turn out that I'm at least partly Jewish.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
katievs: Is there such a thing as a religion that doesn't demand submission? Isn't your question really rather a question of what a given religion requires its adherent to submit to, and on what grounds?
And I have to raise an objection to the suggestion that "unreformed" religion is hostile to science--at least inasmuch as it may be directed toward the Catholic religion, which was a vigorous proponent of science long before the Protestant Reformation.
It's a naive mistake to assume that all religious reforms must move in the direction of the Enlightenment. · Feb 28 at 4:55pm
You seem to be making generalities beyond what I've said. I never said that it was a requirement that all religions go through a period of reformation or that the Catholic faith in particular has been hostile to science...although the treatment of Galileo was pretty deplorable and it took some 500 years for the Church to apologize for it.
The word Islam means "submission". I think it's fair to say that Catholicism asks for adherence to Catholic teaching rather than submission to it and non-adherence typically doesn't result in brutal punishment or death.
Jun '10
Re: Fundamentalist Islam & Science
Mark Wilson
Pseudodionysius: Brian,
You're being very hierarchical in your thinking. · Feb 28 at 12:56pm
I didn't know that was a pejorative term! · Feb 28 at 12:59pm
I took it as a compliment.