A true picture of modern Muslim A true picture of modern Muslim Countries’ contributions to the modern Countries’ contributions to the modern

worldworld

Muhammad Mokhter AhmadMuhammad Mokhter AhmadAssociate ProfessorAssociate ProfessorInternational Islamic University Chittagong, Dhaka CampusInternational Islamic University Chittagong, Dhaka Campusmokhterahmad@yahoo.commokhterahmad@yahoo.com

Religious duty Advancing science and technology and their

knowledge base in the Muslim countries under OIC

We have a religion that encourages scientific researches. In fact, Islamic medicine and science produced by Muslim scientists led the world for centuries while Europe stagnated in the Dark Ages. 

The first verse of the Quran that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was, “Iqra!” “Read in the name of thy Lord who creates.” This is in fact the beginning of the quest for knowledge, which emphasized the importance of learning in human life.

"The acquiring of knowledge as bounden duties of each Muslim from the cradle to the grave" and that "The quest for knowledge and science is obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman." 

The Qur’an exhorts believers to study nature, to reflect, and to make the best use of reason in their search for the ultimate truth.

We have a historical record in science and technology achievements

The Muslim World made remarkable contributions to science. Muslims introduced new methods of experiment, observation, and measurement. To name but a few: Al-Khwarizmi invented algebra (an Arabic word) and the word algorithm is

derived from his name; Ibn al-Haytham wrote the laws of the reflection and refraction of light and

expounded the principles of inertia (long before Isaac Newton formulated his theories);

Ibn Sina (born in what is now modern-day Uzbekistan) wrote the Canon of Medicine, a 318-page medical text that was the basis for all medical teaching in Europe and the Middle East for hundreds of years.

In the reign of Khalifa Al-Mamun, a scientist named Abul Qasim invented an aeroplane, but crushed while flying and was killed. And the first two martyrs among the conquerors were Muslims.

The science historian, George Sarton

Being imbued by the Quranic commandments of earning knowledge and Prophetic preference of the knowledgeable over the general masses, the Muslims spread over the whole earth for acquiring old and new branches of knowledge.

During the golden period of Islamic civilization, which continued for 07 hundred years (700 to 1500 AD), Islamic science flourished:◦ Thousands of original scientists were produced (al-Jahiz, al-Kindi, al-Razi,

al-Idrisi, ibn Bajjah, Omar Khayyam, ibn Zuhr, ibn Tufail, ibn Rusdh, ibn Sina, ibn al-Haytham etc…)

◦ The Works of the Greek, Indian and the Near East were translated into Arabic, indexed and further developed; and new works were published…

◦ Scores of world class universities, scientific academics, libraries, seminaries, and observatories were established in all the big cities of the Muslim world (Damascus, Cairo, Nishapur, Cordova, Granada, Baghdad, Makkah, Madinah etc…)

◦ These centers of higher education and research were patronized by the Caliphs, Rulers, Ministers, Princes as well as rich men (Bait al-Hikmah by al-Mamun in 813 AD in Baghdad, Khizanat al-Hikmah by Harun al-Rashid, and Bait al-Hikmah by the Fatimids in Cairo as scientific institutions and public libraries, and the scientists and researchers were salaried regularly.

(A) The Muslims stepping into the world of science and technology:

((22 ) )Where were weWhere were we??

There are hundreds of thousands of Islamic manuscripts in the world’s libraries, dealing with scientific works of Muslim countries of the earlier period. There are still 70,000 scientific manuscripts which are not translated yet:

The foundation of modern science has been laid by the Muslims: In Medicine-Ibn Sina and Al-Razi, in physical science- Al-Beruni, in mathematics-Al-Khuwarizmi, in Astronomy-Al-Zarkali and Ulugh Beg, in navigation- Ibn Batuta….

The Arabs studied and developed Algebra, Calculus, Optical Geometry, Navigation, Medical Science…well ahead of European scientists.

The Muslims discovered America 477 years before Columbus, Arabs and Moors traded with the American Continent; and a Muslim was a guide of Columbus.

Students from France, England, Portugal, Italy and Germany came to Grenada, Cordova, Madrid..of Muslim Spain to study Astronomy, Medical Science, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics…and brought Protestant, Reformation, Industrial and Renaissance Movement to Europe…

Roger Bacon, the father of modern science was a student in Muslim Universities, Copernicus, the great Astronomer, borrowed many ideas from Muslim astronomers, Newton read the book of Muhammad bin Musa on motion of celestial bodies and force of attraction..Great Emperor Charlemagne sent his son to Muslim Cordova…

Many centers for translating Islamic books into Latin and other native European languages were there….including many dictionaries to facilitate translation..

The Muslims first established Laboratories and Observations whereas Aristotle, Pythagoras, Galen, and Aristocrats did not possess any laboratory for observation ..

(B) Some Muslim Contributions in science and

technology:

((22 ) )Where were weWhere were we??

First Scientific Era Furthering the Causes of Science Foundation of Physical Science Subservience of Nature and its elements Nature’s Exploration and God’s glorification Reason: The Test of Faith Education made compulsory Persecution of the Scientists in the West Western Civilization: Direct Offspring of Arab

Civilization Intellectual Achievements of the Early Muslims and

Islamic Science

(C) History of the foundation of Islamic Science/s:

It is also true that during our middle ages the Muslim world was considered more or less like America now I.e. the world to which one had to go perfect oneself in science and technology.

'When Europe was lying torpid in the depth of intellectual obscurity and gloom in the dark ages, culture and civilization were spread in the Islamic states under the high patronage of the Caliphs of Baghdad and Cordova, and at a time when the Barons and Ladies of Medieval Europe could not even sign their names, almost every adolescent boy and girl in Islam could read and write freely and with ease.’

Alessandro Bausani

It must be owned that all the knowledge, whether of physics, astronomy, philosophy, or mathematics, which flourished in Europe from the 10th century, was originally derived from the Arabian schools, and the Spanish Saracen may be looked upon as the father of European Renaissance.’

Dr Campbell

John Davenport

Despite being ……◦ 22-23 per cent of the world population◦ having 70 per cent of energy resources◦ 40 per cent natural resources

The contribution of OIC countries towards world income is only 8 per cent.

39 per cent of population lives below the poverty level 22 of the 50 least developed countries in the world are

OIC Member States. It is sad to admit to the fact that gross national product of

the Islamic countries collectively was about US$1,200 billion, less than one quarter the figure for Japan with no natural resources, and only just higher than the GDP of Germany.

(A) Status of science and technology in OIC/IDB member (A) Status of science and technology in OIC/IDB member countriescountries

Less than 1% of its scientists who generate less than 5 % of its science and make barely 0.1 % of the world's original research discoveries each year.

The Islamic countries have a negligible percentage of patent registrations in US, Europe and Japan.

The Research and Development manpower of Muslim countries is only 1.18% of the total science and technology manpower.

Only two scientists from Islamic states have won Nobel Prizes, Abdus Salam, a Pakistani (Physics, 1979) and Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian (Chemistry, 1999). Both carried out their research outside Islamic countries. Today's Muslim societies have generated few scientists of international repute.

Islamic countries, as a whole, have approximately 275 researchers per million population against 850 per million in the developed West.

The entire Muslim world constituting one‐fifth of humanity, contributes barely 1000 research articles out of 100,000 science books and 2,000,000 research articles published annually.

While the West has an average of 3000 science PhDs per million of its inhabitants, the number in OIC/IDB member countries is so dismally small that not even the statistics are available.

Countries that are predominantly Muslim are characterized by low spending on Science, small scientific communities, and poor‐quality universities.

Whereas Japan, the United States, Germany, and other Western countries spend 2 % - 4% of their gross domestic product (GDP) annually on research; no Muslim country spends more than 0.5% of its (much lower) GDP on research.

The OIC countries have about 1000 universities in total compared to 1,000 in Japan, including 120 in Tokyo alone.

Only 100 researchers per million African Muslims 445 for one million Arab populations For Asians it is 569 researchers per million people. The disparity between the Third World and Muslim nations in

the number of scientists and engineers is quite striking. Despite similar levels of development, there are more than

twice as many scientists and engineers in the Third World as in the Muslim countries, and almost eleven times as many in the industrialized nations.

The rate of enrollment in higher education for Muslim is fully 45 % lower than that for the Third World countries, a state of affairs that could be regarded stunning.

Of the 28 lowest producers of scientific articles, according to the US National Science Foundation in 2006, half are OIC/IDB member countries.

In 2003, the world average for production of articles per million inhabitants was 137; the average of OIC/IDB member countries was only 13 with the highest publication rates being in Turkey and Iran.

And according to the World Bank Development Indicators of 2006, the OIC/IDB member countries produce so few patents that they are invisible on a bar chart in comparison with other countries.

Of the top 15 countries which have submitted international applications under the patent cooperation treaty, not one of them are Muslim country.

Leaders Potential leaders Dynamic adopters Marginalized countries.

1. Only Malaysia and Turkey are classified among potential leaders.

2. The rest of the OIC countries fall under the category of marginalized countries.

Scientifically advanced Scientifically proficient Scientifically developing Scientifically lagging countries.

1. Only 8 OIC countries namely, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkmenistan and Indonesia, were classified as scientifically developing countries.

2. The remaining 49 OIC countries were classified as scientifically lagging countries.

At present there are 57 Muslim States, members of the OIC/IDB, and the total number of universities and institutions of higher education and research in the Muslim world is only just above 1000 (The Federation of Universities of the Islamic World has membership of 217 universities).

This will help academic and higher education policy makers in identifying the weakness and constraints that IDB-based universities are facing in terms of quality and efficiency as well as identifying best practices from highly performing world class universities.

Two scientists from Islamic Two scientists from Islamic states have won Nobel Prizes states have won Nobel Prizes

in Sciencein Science Since the Nobel Prize was introduced by the will of the Swedish chemist

Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in 1895, incorporating prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace and were first awarded in 1901 (the Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, while the other prizes are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden), only two Muslims won Nobel Prize, contrary to the Jews who are 12 million which are 0.2% of the World's Population (2 out of every 1,000 people) but won 165 Nobel Prizes. Abdus Salam, a Pakistani (Physics, 1979) Ahmed Zewail, an Egyptian (Chemistry, 1999).

From a pool of 1.4 BILLION Muslims which are 23% of the world's population (2+ out of every 10 people), only 06 Muslims won Nobel Prizes (upto 2006) in Literature (1988 - Najib Mahfooz), Peace (1978 - Anwar El-Sadat, 1994 - Yasser Arafat, 2003 - Shirin Ebadi), Chemistry (1999 - Ahmed Zewail), Physics (Abdus Salam)

According to 2007 academic ranking of the world universities, 2 universities from Islamic world that are listed in the top 500 universities are the following:

World rank

Institutions

Region regional rank

Country

national rank

402-508 Univ. Asia-Pac 65-99 Turkey 1http://www.istanbul.edu.tr/english/ 402-508 Cairo Univ. Africa 3 Egypt 1http://www.cu.edu.eg/english/

According to 2009 academic ranking of the world universities, 2 universities from Islamic world that are listed in the top 200 universities are the following:

World rank

Institutions

Region regional rank

Country

national rank

181 Univ. Asia-Pac MalaysiaUniversiti Malaya (http://www.um.edu.my/)

According to 2009 The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) 'QS World University Rankings', below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 400 universities.

Rank  Institutions Country201 University of Indonesia Indonesia247 King Saud University Saudi Arabia250 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia266 King Fahd University Saudi Arabia291 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia314 Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia320 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysia345 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia350 National University of Science and

TechnologyPakistan

351 BANDUNG Institute of Technology Indonesia360 Bilkent University Turkey386 University of Teheran Iran374 United Arab Emirate University UAE

According to 2011 ‘The Times Higher Education Supplement’ 'QS World University Rankings', only King Saud University of Saudi Arabia (http://www.ksu.edu.sa/Pages/default.aspx) ranked among top two hundreds (ranked as 200th) and no other universities are listed among the top 200.

According to 2007 ‘The Times Higher Education Supplement’ 'QS World University Rankings', below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 400 universities.Rank  Institutions Country

307 University Sains Malaysia Malaysia

309 University Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia

304 University Putra Malaysia Malaysia

369 institute of technology Indonesia

390 Technical university Turkey

395 University of Indonesia Indonesia

According to 2011 ‘The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)’ 'QS World University Rankings', below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 500 universities.

Rank  Institutions Country

217 University of Indonesia Indonesia221 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Saudi Arabia279 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia266 American University of Beirut Lebanon335 Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia342 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia370 King Abdul Aziz University Saudi Arabia377 Sultan Qaboos University Malaysia401 Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Kazakhstan 403 Bilkent University Turkey413 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Kazakhastan421 National University of Sciences And Technology Pakistan440 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysia

452 Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Indonesia

458 International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Malaysia

460 King Khalid University Saudi Arabia

471 Sabanci University Turkey

According to 2012 'QS World University Rankings', below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 500 universities.

Rank  Institutions Country

156 University of Malaya (UM) Malaysia197 King Saud University Saudi Arabia208 King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Saudi Arabia250 American University of Beirut Lebanon261 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Malaysia273 University of Indonesia Indonesia326 Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia334 King Abdul Aziz University Saudi Arabia358 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Malaysia360 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia369 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Kazakhastan370 United Arab Emirates University UAE390 Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Kazakhstan 392 American University in Cairo Egypt

401-450 Al-Imam Mohamed Ibn Saud Islamic University Saudi Arabia401-450 American University of Sharjah UAE401-450 International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Malaysia401-450 Sultan Qaboos University Oman401-450 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia450-500 Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Indonesia501-550 Abu Dhabi University UAE

According to 2012 'QS Asian University Rankings', below are the Muslim universities mentioned in the list of top 500 universities.

Rank  Institutions Country

35 University of Malaya (UM) Malaysia58 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Malaysia59 University of Indonesia Indonesia74 Universiti Sains Malaysia Malaysia76 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Malaysia

113 Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) Indonesia118 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia135 Airlangga University Indonesia150- International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Malaysia

161-70 Universiti Malasia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Malaysia181-90 Bogor Agricultural University Indonesia

191-200 Padjadjaran University Indonesia191-200 Multimedia University Malaysia191-200 University of Karachi Pakistan201-250 Aga Khan University Pakistan201-250 Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Malaysia201-250 Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Petronas) Malaysia201-250 University of Brawijaya Indonesia201-250 University of Dhaka Bangladesh201-250 University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Pakistan251-300 Diponegoro University Indonesia

The key problem facing scientific achievement in the Muslim world. results from the cumulative effect of multiple factors, and not from a single dominant cause. Here are some ten of those factors:Demographics:Demographics: The number of research scientists and engineers remains well below that of rich countries as well as Latin America and South and East Asia. Science and engineering students are drawn primarily from urban middle-income backgrounds; few of the much larger number of poor students can pursue research careers. Only a handful of mostly urban, middle-class male students have sufficient exposure to science to even consider making it a career.Language: Language: With an estimated 80 percent of the world's scientific literature appearing first in English, the literature in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and other languages is inadequate for teaching students as well as researchers. Scientific work, therefore, requires a competence in reading, writing, and comprehending English, an area in which Muslims overall lag behind other peoples.

Education:Education: Universities emphasize teaching rather than research. Few strong doctoral programs or research centers of academic excellence exist. Overcrowded, underfunded, and turbulent universities have been unable to protect space and resources for research.

Research:Research: The Muslim world suffers no shortage of scientists and engineers, but it does have an acute scarcity of career researchers. While several countries boast outstanding individual researchers and projects, there is little mentorship or in-house ability to train young researchers.

University-industry alliance:University-industry alliance: Given the increasing links between science and technology, state-owned corporations have a potentially important role. They have neglected science and unwilling to build linkages to university researchers .

Professional societies:Professional societies: Professional societies of physicists, engineers, dentists, physicians, and other disciplines generally sponsor journals and meetings but have no structures or resources for research.

Resources:Resources: A lack of financial resources and incentives has been a major barrier to research except in some oil-rich states. Even where funds are available, research-management capabilities are in short supply. The prospects for stable research funding and effective institution-building are both poor.

Regional cooperation:Regional cooperation: It makes eminent sense in principle, for a handful of countries (like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) are oil-rich and short of researchers, while other countries (Egypt and Pakistan) export them. Also, the similarity of applied-research needs and priorities, such as solar energy, desertification, and desalination, should produce shared interests. Meetings held over two decades to coordinate regional research have produced many statements and little action.

Government incompetence:Government incompetence: Applied-research units in government ministries, such as agriculture or construction, have often become sinecures for political appointees with little or no interest or capabilities for research.

Some examples for science capacity in OIC\IDB member countries: Islamic University of Technology Asian institute for scientific research & technology Saudi Arabia ranked 7th in higher education Malaysia to lead South-South collaboration Libya….and ground water research. 'Higher education city' in Bahrain … a boost for

Middle East science The Dubai International Academic City Foundation to narrow 'Arab knowledge gap'

Iran stands 11, 13, 15, 19, 22 and 32 in the world rankings of the scientific fields of math, mechanic, polymer, chemistry, chemical engineering and physics, respectively. Iran published 9,000 ISI papers in international scientific journals in 2007, showing a 17% growth rate.

Iran in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) plans to set up an UNIDO center for South-South Industrial Co-operation in Tehran.

The center will promote south-south cooperation in science, manufacturing, technology, and industrial innovation as well as providing assistance to developing countries in their efforts to strengthen their scientific, technological and innovative capacities.

The proposed institute will be responsible for identifying technological, research and scientific capacities of Asian countries and collecting and disseminating information in this respect. It will also hold seminars and conferences and establish inter-governmental joint research centers with the participation of Asian countries in proportion to their capacities. Iran has proposed the establishment of an Asian scientific, research.

British magazine The Economist has placed Saudi Arabia on seventh place ahead of France, Russia, Italy, Spain, Malaysia and many other countries in the field of higher education and scientific research.

Several factors helped in enabling the Kingdom to occupy this position. The amount spent on each student in the field of higher education, the percentage of allocations for higher education in the general budget, the total number of external students,

and the number of business administration institutes were among the other criteria for making the Kingdom occupy top position.

Another significant initiative is the launch in Fall 2009 of a graduate university in Saudi Arabia, The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which will have a US $ 10 billion endowment – the sixth largest in the world. Many new such universities are being established now.

The UN has announced an international centre for South-South cooperation in science, technology and innovation based in Malaysia.

The plan was approved by the executive board of UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on 24 April 2007.

The centre will seek to create a network of national centers of excellence. This will promote research collaboration, technology transfer and the development of industries in fields such as information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology.  

It will also offer fellowships to scientists, institution managers and policy makers to attend training in science policy making.

UNESCO has also agreed to establish a centre in Libya to encourage networking and the transfer of knowledge between scientists from Africa and the Middle East.

The centre will promote scientific research, education, and sustainable development in the region. In particular, it will help develop policies to promote and coordinate cooperative research on technology to access shared groundwater. 

Bahrain has announced plans for a centre to promote science, technology and innovation in the Middle East.

The facility, opened in early 2010, eventually included laboratories, an international centre for research, a specialist academy as well as a branch of a United States-based university. 

It would provide students with the engineering skills needed to serve the energy and key economic sectors, as well as offer much needed courses in the business and science disciplines.

It will comprise universities and research and development centres from developing countries, such as India, Iran and Pakistan, as well as industrialized countries, such as Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Plans for a science 'plaza' in Abu Dhabi. The Plaza of Intelligence and Innovation City will promote science-related activities and include a research centre for space sciences, a space and science museum and an academy for maths and science teachers.

The prime minister of the United Arab Emirates has announced the creation of a US$10 billion foundation to narrow the gap in scientific knowledge between Arab states and the developed world.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation will be based in the United Arab Emirates.

Starting later this year, the foundation will establish scientific research centres in Arab universities, offer research grants to Arab researchers and from 2008 will provide scholarships to students.  

It will undertake concrete initiatives to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the region, thus creating significant new employment opportunities and providing hope for the region's youth.

A database for Muslim scientists in the west is being developed to be used as a tool for the transfer of science and technology to IDB member countries.

A database for science and technology institutions in IDB member countries is being developed to be used as a step for the establishment of Islamic union for science and technology centers.

It will be used for a number of purposes such as:◦ Choosing research institutions for IDB scholars.◦ Facilitating the scientific and technological

collaboration among IDB-member states for the development of knowledge-based economy.

It includes the following: Directory for world class universities

It is ongoing effort to provide scientists, technologists, educationalists and policy makers in IDB-based universities and higher learning institutions with an invaluable information resources about the top 50 World class universities in international ranking systems located outside IDB member countries and foreign universities with branches located in IDB member countries to identify best practices from highly performing world class universities.

Directory for S&T associations, societies and networks Directory of science and technology parks, incubators and cities in IDB

member countries E-bulletin (Achieving excellence in science and technology "S&T" higher

education)

A monthly bulletin that monitors the development of S&T within higher education sector in IDB Member Countries and disseminates information and knowledge generated from the QW project as well as promotes cooperation between learning institutions and industry to establish sustainable and innovation-based S&T higher education system for development in the Islamic world.

It is ongoing effort to provide IDB-based universities with an invaluable tool for tracking changes over time in their regional and international standing and help academic and higher education policy makers in identifying the weakness and constraints that IDB-based universities are facing in terms of quality and efficiency as well as identifying best practices from highly performing world class universities.

It includes the following:

(A) Regional ranking Ranking of SESRTCIC “Turkish-based Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic CountriesRanking of COMSTECH "Pakistan-based OIC standing committee on scientific and technological cooperation"

(B) International ranking Academic Ranking of World UniversitiesQS World University RankingsWebometrics RankingScientific research performance rankingWeb-based popularity ranking

A model to promote links between selected universities and private sector in the fields of agriculture, nanotechnology and information & communication technologies.

At the implementation stage, The QW Project should establish a mechanism for screening science and technology information to help universities to cooperate with the private sector for presenting models for scientific creative ideas that could be transformed into products and processes as well as setting up commercially viable science-based enterprises.

Once the following roadmap(s) is completed and cleared by the IDB Management…..

General roadmap for excellence in science and technology.

Customized roadmaps◦ Agriculture◦ Nanotechnology ◦ Information and communication technologies

We will start the gap analysis followed by the development of Pilot Projects in S&T Higher Education.

IDB/OIC has a religion that encourages scientific researches.

IDB/OIC has a historical record in science and technology achievements

IDB/OIC has a good present record of science and technology investment

IDB/OIC has been blessed with enormous natural resources like: fertile lands, water, gold, oil, uranium, and minerals.

The 57 predominantly Muslim countries have about 23 % of the world's total population but less than 1% of its scientists who generate less than 5 % of its science and make barely 0.1 % of the world's original research discoveries each year. The Islamic countries have a negligible percentage of patent registrations in US, Europe and Japan. Even more serious is the fact that the Research and Development manpower of Muslim countries is only 1.18% of the total science and technology manpower.

o Be committed to your religion and act as a competent professional.

o Be a good ambassador to your country, your Ummah and your religion.

o In this increasingly globalized world, knowledge is fast replacing physical resources and cheap labor as the driver of growth…..

o Acquire as much knowledge as you can but don't forget the problems that your ummah is facing.

o Learn how you develop ideas into successful new products or services within existing companies, large or small, and to spawn new commercial enterprises.

o Learn and practice new ways to effectively commercialize new technologies.

o Acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to transform technical expertise into commercial success.

The OIC (through Islamic Development Bank) announced a new policy in 1426H (2005), under which will consider approving at least 10 percent of a member country’s annual programme in the science and technology sector. IDB Science and technology programmeIDB prizes for science and technologyCenters of excellence cooperation schemeScience and technology expatriate nationals' schemeSupporting scientific projects, conferences, and workshops.

Science and technology are today components of power in the world, considered pillars of any country's independence, and cornerstones for its development

Today, technology has the first say and even more powerful and influential than military and economic might in the world

You have a religion that encourages scientific researches. You have a historical record in science and technology

achievements. IDB member countries have a good present record of science and

technology investment.

We are here for supporting and helping you…Thus, IT'S YOUR TURN