Dear Colleagues and Friends:
After a hiatus of several weeks, please find the latest weekly newsletter of Muslim-Science.Com. The last few weeks have been terribly exciting - and busy - at Muslim-Science.Com. We are in the process of announcing a number of very exciting initiatives soon. Please watch out this space for more announcements.But for now, some exciting content.
Best,
Athar
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Arab Spring revolutionaries turning to governance must adopt knowledge and innovation as barometers for progress, says Athar Osama.
As revolutions swept countries and shook governments across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year, they created opportunities for greater public voice in governance. Tunisia, for example, recently went through an election, and the Egyptian people are in the process of electing an assembly whose job is to write a new constitution.
And as revolutionaries turn to governance, they will have to address the socioeconomic and cultural challenges facing tens of millions of people: poverty with no prospect of prosperity, a burgeoning young population, poor employment opportunities, a culture of entitlement, and growing radicalism. These will be the real test of their leadership.
Science and innovation must feature high on their agendas. There are promising signs, such as Tunisia's $16.5 million science and technology boost, and the pronouncements of Egypt's caretaker government that it will open Zewail City of Science and Technology, a new science city named after Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail.
But the capability of the revolutionaries and their countries is questionable in one key area. Can they nurture the science needed to create entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs?
Deploying science and innovation to bring prosperity will require deep and long-lasting changes in the way society views science and conducts everyday business.
Looking back
MENA countries are sailing through troubled and uncharted waters, and a peek at other countries' histories could bring some useful insight. The recent experience of post-war Iraq is one example. There, a revolution led from outside has sapped the resources needed to invest in science and innovation.
And there is the not-so-recent experience of neighbouring Iran, where a political revolution created an Islamic republic that allows science to flourish — as evidenced by a 2011 report, produced by the UK's Royal Society, that found Iran had the world's fastest-growing number of papers published in international journals.
To read more, click here--
Also previosuly in Islam Analysis:
What Muslim World can Learn from Egyptian Science? We look at the plans for the Desert Development Corridor in Egypt that promises to be an important first in establishing a Social Contract for Science within the Islamic World.
Other Articles in Islam Analysis (here)
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Athar Osama, PhD (Public Policy)
Editor, Muslim-Science.Com
London, United Kingdom
Email: athar.osama@gmail.com
Internet: http://www.atharosama.com
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* Understanding Pakistan Project: http://www.understandingpakistan.com
* Muslim Science: http://www.muslim-science.com
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