The Myth That Islam Encourages Scientific Inquiry
How is it possible for so many Muslims to believe with delusional fervor that their religion encourages scientific and intellectual inquiry despite the paucity of Muslim achievements in any field of science whatsoever?
Do they not notice that even though they are one-fourth of the entire world population, Muslims have garnered the fewest Nobel Prizes, were issued the least number of patents, and publish fewer books in one year than tiny Norway does in a week?
Look, I don't toss in my bed all night pondering this stuff, but I have to wonder where they learn such nonsense as in the following reader comment left by 'Anyma' (from London, UK) in response to my article Muslim IQ:
The idea that Islam squelched Arab science and intellectualism is ridiculous; Islam spurred scientific and intellectual development in many parts of the word. Islam encourages scientific and intellectual inquiry.
'Anyma' also included a link to Dar al-hadith Cultural-Scientific Institute which supposedly substantiates her assertion that Islam reveres knowledge and learning. Here are some of the pithy quotes from various ahadith:
Amali al-Tusi, p. 488, no. 1069
The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The quest for knowledge is incumbent upon every Muslim… by virtue of it the Lord is obeyed and worshipped, consanguinal relations are maintained, and the lawful is distinguished from the prohibited.
Obviously the knowledge that is being promoted here is knowledge of how better to serve God, not scientific or engineering knowledge.
al-Mahajjat al-Baydha, v. 1, p. 14
The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The people who are closest to the rank of prophethood are the people of knowledge and striving.’
Striving here means striving in the path of God. And I doubt that knowledge about astronomy and chemistry is what they have in mind which will bring one close to prophethood.
Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 536
Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Knowledge is the lamp of the intellect.’
A trite observation - hardly inspiring enough to goad a person into becoming a molecular biologist. But a smart man can save on light-bulbs I suppose.
Are these supposed to be examples of how Islam encourages scientific and intellectual inquiry?
How about this piece of gibberish:
Rawdhat al-Wa`aizin, no. 17
The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The knowledgeable man is superior to the [mere] worshipper by seventy degrees, the distance between two degrees spanning the gallop of a horse for seventy years; and this is because Satan plants an innovation amongst people which the knowledgeable man notices and prohibits, whilst the worshipper attends to his worship neither taking any notice of it nor recognising it.’
Now if I read the last line correctly, the man of knowledge forbids innovation because it is the work of the devil. But I suppose if one can figure out that a man of knowledge is 2450 years more advanced than a mere worshipper, then perhaps this kind of writing encourages one to study math just to decipher this nonsense.
Yes, there was a time when Arabs were invading great centers of learning in Persia, Syria, Egypt, etc. and were inspired by their conquered subjects. But in time, the Arabs became less Arab and more Islamic in their culture until all learning outside of the Qur'an was discouraged.
So I'm not convinced 'Anyma' - nothing in the ahadith could possibly encourage one to engage in any intellectual pursuit. If Islam encouraged true intellectual inquiry, then why is the entire Muslim world the least educated, the least literate, the least innovative, the least tolerant, the most backward, the most belligerent, the most bigoted, the most diseased, the most anti-Semitic, the poorest, the most un-enlightened, the most deprived ... well, you get it.
Islam encourages science and innovation, eh? Now you're just blowing smoke up my ass.
