My student told me ... 

   The primary educational stage that I passed through during my childhood specifically the elementary and secondary school, shaped an abstract knowledge about my identity as an Arab Palestinian through the history of Arabic culture and science that was introduced in the curriculum. This knowledge could not be grasped not because it was introduced to me in a language that I could not understand, it was in my mother tongue Arabic though, but I could not understand the fact that how this knowledge was produced by genius Arab and Muslim scientists in different fields who lived in the Middle East long centuries ago. Therefore, looking at this history, it is found to be mainly Islamic dominated as it came into being within the Middle Eastern frontiers, which is the area that witnessed the birth of Islam in the Arab Peninsula specifically where our prophet Mohammed (PBUH) set out on his journey of calling for Islamic message to be spread out not only in the place of birth but also wherever possible in this world. Later on, in the following era, some Muslim scientists showed up mostly around Mesopotamia delineating the pillars of science as they produced a unique scientific constellation, which is proved through their theories. That educational phase showed me this scientific constellation of Arab-Muslim, including Persian scientists who generated unique science and theories in different fields; medicine, chemistry, physics, optics, space, math, gravity, etc. So the accomplishment of those prolific scientists long centuries ago became part of our identity, indicating to the illuminating era of Arab Muslim scientific achievements that characterized a specific period which called the Islamic Golden Age that traditionally dates back from the 8th to 14th century. They left to us as a legacy to cherish and build on.

I remember in history materials at the above-mentioned school texts written about those scientists, what they came up with and how narrating their biographies, but without indicating to any fact that their accomplishments have been developed later on by their ancestors within the frontiers where those genius scientists lived or outside. It, therefore, turned out to be a mere task of informing ourselves on those scientists without tangible shreds of evidence that we have tirelessly worked on developing this legacy to cope with the modern scientific movement. Indeed, the following epoch until the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 18th century and during the modern epoch, later on, Arabs had not greatly contributed to developing science to almost nothing worth cherishing or even mentioning. Since then, the science development has been characterizing the Western scientific scene. In Europe, for instance, people had managed to overthrow the church’s hegemony that had controlled the wheel of socio-cultural development during the medieval and then set off on the journey of developing science after the European mind had been liberated from the church’s control.

Therefore, modern science, as we were instructed, was developed in the West and still being developed there to the degree humankind conceive science as European or American or Canadian, etc. ignoring the fact that Arab Muslim scientists and scholars have accomplished in this modern science as well. They had to leave their homelands seeking for better opportunities to invest in their scientific capabilities and develop the scientific movement in the West where they have found a good sanctuary. It might be not that easy matter to spread out the belief that European science is originally European, and it might be not easy to convince the general public that the sophisticated scientific infrastructure in Europe for instance, is diverse consisting of scientists from different nations have contributed to developing it, or it might be unbelievable to explain to people in Europe that Arab or Muslim scientists have made their part in this scientific modernity. 

Of course, might be not possible as long as the growth of this science is taking place within the Western frontiers or if extends out of these frontiers, it is still Western branded, not Arab or Muslim whose groups turned out to be consumers to this modern science. I do not want to dig deeper into how this modern science came into being after it had passed through long processes of circulating premises until it came out in its modern shape. But I want to highlight the fact that why Arabs or Muslims have not been contributing to science since the ascendance of the first cohort of Middle Eastern Muslim scientists during the Golden Age long centuries ago? Why have not they been building on the theories or the premises were shaped by them to generate new science copes with modernity?

Such inquiries did not over my head the first time I learned about those scientists in the curriculum or inquire about the reason why we are being instructed about the fact that science is Western while being encountered by the fact that there was indeed science created by Arabs and Muslims. I do remember at school a patriotic teacher who began the class not teaching English, but showing us how Arab nations are at the lowest rank after they had a chance to staunchly prosper and build on what our genius scientist predecessors of the ancient times left to us, and then he sort of reprimanded all of us including himself saying “we are a backward nation, when would we achieve something to make the other modern nations proud of us?! It is our science in our hands, why cannot we develop anything? Because we are a backward and ignorant nation gave in to its ignorance and backwardness, does not want to develop and do anything! When will we make a new Renaissance?” The same with the other history teacher who used to start the class by making such comments. At the time, I had not understood what was going on until I indeed realized what were those teachers talking about. Their provocative statements are still inscribed in my mind even though were said to me more than 16 years ago. I am therefore quite aware of this reality as an Arab and Muslim. 

In the last Arabic class, my student from the UK told me in Arabic “Muslims have not been contributing to science because they believe that modern science is secular so that they avoid involving in. The other reason is that colonization prevented Muslims from pursuing higher education and developing science.”

I answered in Arabic saying the first claim is complete nonsense! I cannot believe that there are still Muslims believe so; it is a mere pretext that some people pretend that secularism does not fit into Islamic values, or because it was created by Western scientists so that it violates their beliefs. That is an unacceptable argument if it is indeed still believable and an indicator of why Muslims have not been contributing to modern science. The second claim, I said, yes there is conclusive evidence that colonizers destroyed the educational infrastructure of the colonized and so as the occupiers did so to the occupied. I, however, claimed that it should not be a reason to pretend that Muslims or Arabs have not been contributing to modernity specifically in the 21st because of colonization or occupation at all!

Why? In the current era, the physical presence of colonization has vanished, Arabs have lots of capabilities to develop science, France of the UK will not come to them asking for shutting down their universities or labs, etc. and simply command them “You Arabs do not contribute to science! It is our business.” Not at all! There are many Arabs and Muslims developing science in the West who can freely do whatever possible for that purpose in their homelands too.

That opinions sort of stirring up my feeling in a way that I felt that Arabs have not immensely been doing things for science so that they are just consumers. In the office where I am doing my internship, there are many shelves on which lots of books whose titles published under mostly Western names, I did not find any book or publication was done by Arab or Muslim authors, but later on, found very few as the center cooperates with Arabic universities. That reflects that Arabs do not enrich the scientific platforms by their creativity.

This is probably the reason why people across the Western societies do not believe that Arabs have magnificent contributions to science even though many smart Arab scholars and researchers are contributing to science in their homelands or the West. I can see that people will not spend time on searching whether Arab scientists are doing great jobs for modern science in the 21st century or not, they want to see tangible things on the ground; discoveries, innovations, inspiring projects, and so on, so that they can judge differently and change the anachronistic thoughts towards Arabs or Muslims. Otherwise, if Arabs either scientists or policy-makers do not unify their efforts for developing science and enrich the libraries in all sorts of scientific fields, that dark image will keep branding us as consuming unproductive nations.