Pakistan currently ranks 99th on the global innovation index and is one of the most scientifically illiterate countries in the world. Whenever Pakistanis are confronted with the question of the destitute condition of science in the country, we always blame the lack of equipment, resources, and high-tech laboratories. But in reality, the root cause of this backwardness in science is something else than the mere lack of resources.
The origins of this anomaly lay in our approach toward science. Pakistanis and a number of other Muslim nations are falling behind in Science of this Hippocratic attitude towards science. According to one report, all of the scientific work contributed by 50 Muslim states are less than the individual contribution of India and Spain, and also of much lower quality. We have been picky in our stance toward science. We accept what we like from Science and reject what we dislike. But Science does not work in this way. Science is based on objectivity, irrespective of personal preferences and biases.
This hypocritical attitude basically stems from earlier Muslim intellects of the 20th century. Those intellects (Professors, Physicians, and Religious Scholars acquainted with Western Education) in their efforts to bring the Muslims towards modern sciences tried connecting Science and Islam. They tended to use science to justify and validate their religion. Their efforts did bore fruit, as large numbers of Muslims took interest in science resulting in partial harmony towards science. But in reality, this approach sows seeds of a Hippocratic attitude towards science.
If you confront a simple Pakistani with 14 Years of Modern Education on the street with the question, “ Is there a conflict between Science and Religion!”, he will proudly negate the existence of such a conflict. But, if you ask him/her about Darwinian Evolution, his eyebrows would suddenly rise, casting a glance of suspicion. Right then and there, he would reject it by saying, the theory of evolution isn’t scientific. The literates of Muslim countries reject Evolution, claiming it’s only a hypothesis and doesn’t have enough evidence to prove it.
Pakistan and other Muslim countries in terms of science are on a doomed ship, that’s eventually going to wreck. The efforts to harmonize Islam and Science resulted in a number of books and documentaries stating the scientific facts in relation to Islam. The most famous amongst these is Maurice Bucaille’s book “The Bible, Quran and Science” published in 1976, claiming that modern scientific facts have already been described in Quran. The book became a worldwide sensation with Muslims overjoyed, claiming it as a validation of their belief. This opened huge studies, in uncovering relations between modern discoveries and Islam. Saudi-funded Commission on the Scientific Signs in Quran and Sunnah, established in 1984 also worked on this.
A huge literature eventually accumulated, claiming to prove that all the Science including Chemistry, Physics, Embryology, and Astrology is already present in Islam to the finest detail. However, upon logical investigation, one finds out that in order to create some relation of the scientific phenomenon with Islam, a lot of verses are subject to different interpretations and meanings. Arranging and manipulating these individual meanings with dexterity, eventually creating a relationship.
This approach is disastrous to Science, as the basic tenet of science lies in the unavailability of actual truth. Science is performed, by considering the basic tenet, ”The truth lies out there!”. If we accept that Science and all the facts to the finest detail have already been described in an available book, we are basically negating science itself. And another major problem lies in the twisted interpretations of verses to create a connection between them and scientific fact. We, humans, are such creatures, which can create a tonne of different reasons and justifications in order to protect ourselves. Likewise, the so-called intellects tend to arm-twist the meanings in order to create a connection. And upon an unbiased investigation, we come to find that most of these scientific miracles are nothing but common sense things. Using the same twisting meanings approach, it’s worthwhile to note that other religions, especially Hinduism, have gathered a lot of scientific evidence supporting their religion. Thus, it’s clear that by rigorous twisting and reinterpretations, any inscription can be presented as uncovering/supporting a scientific theory.
With these, its hence proved that this illusion of harmony is nothing more than subjective twisting/reinterpretations of Quranic inscriptions. In addition, this attitude kills the need to find truth and grasp reality, as it has already been described in exact detail in religious inscriptions. The Muslims of today, view their Quran not only as a religious book but as a scientific book. Muslims will celebrate and cherish a scientific fact that’s appearing in Quran and reject what doesn’t. Nonetheless, even if a fact absent from Quran becomes too obvious, they can always come up with a new twisted interpretation to include it in their holy book. Thus, their holy book is an authority over Science, sanctifying every new scientific discovery.
Thus, this attitude doesn’t stop Muslims from using new technology and gadgets, as they view these as a means to strengthen themselves and their religion. They would patronize all scientific endeavors to create useful technologies and practical solutions for the public. However, would denounce all efforts to find something new, to find the truth about any existing natural phenomenon. To put it another way, Muslims have become consumers of science and not its producers. And furthermore, why’s there a need to produce Science? Because westerners are always there to produce science. And if this leads to the creation of a new scientific phenomenon, they can always twist and turn some verses to legitimize that discovery.
And furthermore, Bucaillism (Finding Scientific evidence in holy scriptures) was followed by an effort to collect and popularize the scientific contributions/works of Muslims from medieval times. These included large commentaries and worldwide appraisals of early
Muslim scientists like Ibn-e-Sina, Al Jazzari, and Ibn-al-Haytham. The term, Islamic science
became quite famous in this regard, claiming that all of the existing science is a result of Islam’s efforts. And you would today find depictions and names of these medieval Muslim scientists in all institutions across the Islamic world. Muslims tend to boast of their predecessors, saying that we Muslims were the original bearers of science. According to them, westerners stole all the knowledge from Muslims. They stress the study of science in their institutions planning to bring an Islamic renaissance. They dream of a revival of Islam’s golden age, which according to them is only possible in the case of reigning science once again as they did 800 years ago.
Thus, one comes to see that Muslims have assigned a particular purpose to science. They aren’t doing science only for the sake of science, or to find the truth, rather they are doing it in order to gain superiority over the western world. However, this approach is entirely against science because science isn’t done solely for a benefit. It does bring benefits, but not necessarily.
Recently I came across a website miraclesofQuran.com that has a whole catalog of Scientific facts present in the Quran ranging from volcanoes, Chemicals, and stars to DNA. Upon selecting “Silver”, I came to know that the presence of Silver in Islam can be proved that two verses that mention silver are separated by 82 verses. And this 82-verse distance
correlates with 82-degree centigrade, which is the melting point of silver. An even more sophisticated approach is used by these intellects to prove the existence of the exact Speed of light in the Quran. Thus, in these odd ways, relations are being devised between scientific phenomena and Islam.
Muslims and proponents of this Islamic science tend to romanticize the Muslim scientists of the medieval ages. But it’s worthwhile to note that all those scientists; Ibne Sina, Al Jazzari, and Ibne Rushd, whom Muslims revere so much were labeled as heretics. In the 800s-the 1100s, the Muslims had become quite adept in philosophy and were making huge contributions to Science. However, at that time religious circles tended to disgust philosophy, to the extent of labeling all philosophers as heretics. During the 1200s the philosophers all across the Islamic world were purged and their books burnt. The most
famous philosopher of this era was Ibne Rushd, a philosopher who tried to defend philosophy but he eventually lost to the religious cleric Al Ghazali. Ibne Rushd’s defeat permanently closed the doors of philosophy and science in the Islamic world. After the Mongol Invasion of the Islamic world, the remaining institutions also drifted solely towards religious studies due to political reasons as compared to natural sciences. Thus, Muslims of today tend to be Hippocrates, on one hand, boasted of the scientific contributions and ignored the harsh treatment they gave to scientists themselves.
If we see today, the circling of Earth around the Sun is widely accepted all over the Muslim world. But this too was considered wrong and contrary to Islam for about 40 years earlier. The religious clerics for long protested the concept of the Earth circling the Sun. But when this phenomenon became too common and had large evidence to support it, the religious circles embraced it. They claimed that this scientific concept is in complete agreement with Quran., which actually they themselves were falsifying a few decades earlier. It’s an easy example, of how Muslims tend to bend Science to validate their religion.
A few decades into the future, it might be possible that Darwinian evolution, which Muslims negate unanimously might become accepted in Islam. Just as today, no Muslim is shocked to hear that Earth revolves around Sun. Likewise, a few decades into the future, they might not be surprised to hear that humans evolved from apes. Just as they sanctified Earth’s rotation, via reinterpreting some verses, Muslims could likewise do in the case of evolution.
An Iranian writer, Vali Reza Nasr also mourns this as most Muslims are quick to adopt the fruits of Sciences but simply refuse to acknowledge the rational scientific mindset behind these sciences. Using science as a validation of personal belief is a disaster for both Science and Religion. What Muslims are doing today, to use Science to prove their religion, has already been done by Christians and Hindus. The most notable of these are Johannes Heinrich’s Scientific vindication of Christianity (1887) and Mohan Roy’s, “Vedic Physics: Scientific Origin of Hinduism”. We have still time to correct this anomaly laid in The 1970s-90s, and save Muslims all across the world from confusion and disillusionment. We need to consider that Quran is a book of Religion and not a book of science. Quran no doubt encourages the study of nature and a critical investigation, but this doesn’t establish it as a scientific book.
The Pakistani Physicist and Nobel laureate, Abdus Salam also disapproved of this attitude towards science. Salam upon this subject says: “There is only one universal science, its problems and modalities are international, and there is no such thing as Islamic science, just as there is no Hindu science, no Jewish science, no Confucian science, nor Christian Science.”
