towards global breakthroughs in higher education in the muslim world

7/27/2019 Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim World

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KEYNOTE SPEECH

Towards Global

Breakthroughs in Higher

Education in the Muslim

World: A Policy Direction


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Towards Global Breakthroughs in Higher Education in the Muslim

World: A Policy Direction

Prof. Dato Sri Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin

Rector, International Islamic University Malaysia

1. Introduction and Definition of Terms

With a focus on the Muslim world in particular, this paper posits that academic excellence is

necessary for global breakthroughs in higher education. Such endeavours require educational

transformation of the Muslim Ummah, which at the moment, imitates the existing disciplines to

develop its knowledge base. In order to engender such desired transformation, there is a need for

firm foundations for different disciplines, practical goal-oriented vision as well as a clear strategy

and efficient processes. It is pertinent to observe that educational transformation of the Muslim

world is a sine qua non for global breakthrough in research and development.

It is common in the Muslim societies to hear of relics of the contribution of Muslims to the


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breakthroughs in research and development, but minority Muslim communities in non-Muslim

countries also have a role to play in this regard. Transforming their minority communities within

the non-Muslim environments would further project the beauty of Islamic ideals in the eyes of

their host communities.

Against the above backdrop, this paper is broadly presented in three substantive parts. The first

part examines the current state of affairs in the higher education system of the OIC countries.

This is necessary to evaluate the position of higher educational institutions of the OIC countries

in the competitive world. The second part considers the imperativeness of educational

transformation of the Muslim world considering the current socio-political and economic crises

bedeviling the Ummah as a whole. This is followed by an explanation of some important issues

relating to global breakthroughs in research and development and the need to conduct policy-

oriented research that would significantly impact the development of Muslim countries in

general. The paper then proposes a policy direction that would act as a catalyst for the desired

global breakthroughs in higher education in the Muslim world.


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various levels of higher education, there cannot be breakthroughs in research and

development.

2.1 Literacy Rate in the OIC Countries A Comparison

In the measurement of Human Assets Index (HAI) and the Human Development Index

(HDI), one of the major indicators of development identified is adult literacy. Since the

scope of this paper is higher education, we have focused on the adult literacy rate in OIC

countries. Being an indicator for social development, the adult literacy rates in the OIC

countries are still below the desired average. The world average of adult literacy rate is 80%

while that of the OIC countries is 71%.1 Figure 1 below gives a clear picture of the adult

literacy rates in the OIC countries in comparison with other developing countries, developed

countries and the world as a whole.


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Figure 1. Adult Literacy Rates in Comparison

Without a clear policy and well-reasoned strategies on education, that cannot be educational

transformation. Even though one may concede to the argument that the word literacy is

subjective and one may fall prey to value judgment, fundamental Islamic teachings

encourage Muslims to learn the fundamentals as well as beneficial human disciplines and

i tifi k l d


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the level of productivity of such higher educational institutions and the extent of realization

of the much desired transformation in such countries.

In addition, knowledge and innovation are two fundamental catalysts for global

breakthroughs, particularly in the field of science and technology. Advances in innovation

and scientific development are derived from patents and other intellectual property rights

which are products of research and development. Therefore, although not all inventions are

patented, the number of patent applications may be considered as a proxy for the degree of

innovative capability in a country. The SESRIC Report sheds more light on the latest

statistics from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO):

[T]he total number of patent applications around the world in 2010 is estimated

at 1.98 million. With a total of 33,379 patents, OIC member countries

accounted for nearly 1.7% of total patent applications worldwide. Meanwhile,73.5% of global patents are filed by only 4 countries: USA (24.8% with 490,226

patents), China (19.8% with 391,177 patents), and Japan (17.4% with 344,598

patents), Republic of Korea (8.6% with 107,101 parents) and Germany (3.0%with 59,245 patents).

2


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Table 1 - Total Number of Patent Applications by Office: Residents and Non-residents


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2.3 University Ranking

Naturally, the innovative capacity of a University or any other higher institutions is one of

the determining factors for its regional or global rating. Recently, the concept of ranking has

increasingly gained both local and global prominence. Being one of the methods of

identifying and recognizing excellence in higher education, university ranking seeks to bring

out the best out of world institutions of higher learning. World universities are being ranked

by different organizations based on certain criteria that have been laid down to improve

academic excellence and research output. Of late, Times, QS, Shanghai among others

rankings have dominated the scene. In the QS University Rankings 2012, only 9 universities

from the OIC Member States were rated among the top 400 world universities. 3 However, in

the QS University Rankings 2013, there is a slight improvement in the performance of

universities in the OIC Member States. From only 9 universities in 2013, the number has

risen to 11 universities in the top 400 world universities. Table 2 shows the 28 OIC Member

States universities in the top 600 QS World University Rankings 2013.


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Table 3 The Adopted Criteria and Indicators for the Ranking of OIC Universities


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to determine its value; and the goal of higher education in the Muslim world must be measurable

based on setting criteria.

3. Educational Transformation of the Muslim World

There is a constant desire to improve the quality of education across the world to ensure that

academic excellence is pursued to the maximum and industry-tailored graduates are produced by

the higher educational institutions. This significant desire is not only limited to the Muslim world

but it is considered an important objective of all leading higher educational institutions across the

world. In fact, policymakers in most countries have continuously focused on educational

transformation of their respective countries through different successive strategic plans and

policies on education. For instance, Malaysia revealed its National Higher Education Strategic

Plan Beyond 2020 recently with a view to turning the country to an academic hub by the year

2020.


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other accountability frameworks designed to accommodate greater stakeholder

scrutiny;

2. declining investments of public funds to subsidize student fees and service costs,

and the requirement to do more with less (e.g. massification of access at

existing or reduced levels of funding).

3. the dominance of managerial and entrepreneurial approaches to and within

higher education, resulting in the tendency to run higher education institutionslike income generating businesses.

4. the privatisation of higher education in encouraged competition with public

institutions or within public higher education itself (not only of service aspectslike catering or cleaning but also specialised fields of study like business

studies).

5. the increasing development of labour market responsive curriculum reforms

intended to appeal to employers and students as customers and clients, the

shift of public and private funding from basic to applied research, increasedemphasis on academic/industry links, and greater concern with issues of

intellectual property rights and the prioritisation of research for product

development and commercialisation.5

Naturally, educational transformation is a stepping stone towards global breakthroughs in higher

education. While there have been a number of initiatives across the Muslim world to reposition


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In the traditional Islamic sciences, there are numerous evidences of the disciplines previous

scholars have studied closely from the Islamic perspectives. Such disciplines include political

science, economics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, history, literature and even applied

sciences. These disciplines were not studied in isolation. Works of previous scholars such as

Al-Khwrizm, Ibn Sn, Ibn al-Haytham, al-Farghn, and Al-Kindi provide a good basis for

modern transformation of the higher education sector in Muslim countries. Though there has

been too much lethargy on the part of the Muslim world with centuries of intellectual torpidity,

there is still room for a paradigm shift that would spearhead the much desired turning point in

higher education.

The above analyses have laid the foundation on the imperativeness of educational transformation

in higher education in the Muslim world. As a natural corollary to such analyses, this section

explores issues that would spur global breakthroughs specifically in research and development

and some disturbing data on higher education in the Muslim world. Admittedly, current practices

and trends in the higher education sector in Muslim countries are not encouraging considering


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A careful study of the underlying building blocks of Islamic education, which in its unique

manner, is inclusive of any form of education that brings benefit to humankind could bring about

a renaissance in higher education in the Muslim world. This is where the Islamization of human

disciplines comes into play. More recently, during the IIUM First World Congress on

Islamicization, the word Islamicization was used to depict the inherent character of Islamic law

and ethics in shaping human disciplines.

3.2 Practical Goal-Oriented Vision

In constructing the foundational basis of modern educational system imbued with Islamic ethics,

developmental needs, and beneficial potency of certain ideals embedded in the Quran and

Sunnah, the stakeholders must have a practical goal-oriented vision. This should be cascaded

from the top to bottom in the educational system of a country. It is disheartening to observe that

many institutions in the Muslim world still adopt the rote learning method which discourages

creativity and innovation, particularly in higher education. Academic theory must be combined


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According to the latest statistics on expenditures on research and development, it is revealed that

over 76% of the total R&D expenditures across the world is spent by the developed countries,

while the OIC countries account for only 2.1%.10

Figure 2 below shows the top 10 OIC

Countries by Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D by million USD.

Figure 2 - Top 10 OIC Countries by GERD (Million USD)

9,582

6,434

2,091

2,066

1,064

998

809

765

646

504

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000

Turkey

Iran

Malaysia

Pakistan

Tunisia

Egypt

Indonesia

Morocco

Nigeria

Saudi Arabia


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Member States to ensure that their individual contribution is not [less than] half of this

percentage.11

There is no doubt that innovation is driven by research and development, and

without enough funds, such R&D efforts cannot be undertaken. Rather than being consumers of

technological innovations, the vision of the higher education system in Muslim countries should

be directed towards innovative technology that will positively transform the world.

3.3 Clear Strategy and Efficient Process

While it is important to have firm foundations and practical goal-oriented vision in educational

transformation, such endeavours must be driven by clear strategy and efficient process for

maximum utilization of meager resources to produce groundbreaking research. In doing this, the

Muslim world should come up with its own Key Performance Indicators and ensure they fulfil

the needs of both worlds. In addition, the strategy for improving the quality of teaching, learning

and research should be clearly outlined. The higher education sector needs to streamline and

improve its internal processes for maximum output. It must imbibe the quality culture expounded

in the Quran and Sunnah and ensure it is part of its core identity. From the very declarations in


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Hadith: Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you does a job he should

perfect it".13

Such a quality entails a lot from the human and spiritual perspectives. Transposing such quality

to academic excellence in higher education, Muslims are expected to be at the forefront in terms

of efficient processes and clear strategies for educational transformation. The Islamic paradigm

perfectly combines what Harvey & Stensaker14 describe as an intersection between quality

definitions and the elitist and democratic concepts of culture as described in Table 5 below.

Table 5 - Intersection of quality definitions and elitist and democratic concepts of culture

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Culture

Quality Elitist Democratic

Excellence Creating an environment in

which the best prosper

irrespective of others

Developing a set of shared,

lived understandings of how to

project, support and aspire toexcellence

Consistency Making sure that areas of high

reputation performconsistently

Everyone takes responsibility

for ensuring their own workmeets expectations and

specifications

Fitness for purpose Specifying an elitist purpose A common understanding of


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and that top researchers arefully supported and enabled to

attract and deliver majorresearch projects

prioritising the developmentof participants in the learning

and knowledge developmentprocess

Such quality culture is expected to gradually transform the higher education system in the OIC

countries with a view to nurturing world-class universities. The role of these universities in the

society and the economies of the countries where they exist must be emphasized. The UK

Jewels in the crown report identified the following seven major roles of world-class

universities.16

1. Generating impacts through a large volume of excellent research. Aiming towards

attaining the world-class university status requires large volume of quality researches that

have significant impact on the society and economy. Standards must not be comprised in

the drive towards producing excellent research that can stand any form of academic

scrutiny from any part of the world. Mass productivity must be matched with academic


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research infrastructure, educating more students, and coming up with cutting-edge

research outputs.

6. Exploiting the findings of research and technological breakthroughs. This should be the

major focus of world-class universities in their quest for global breakthroughs. Findings

of research must be related to problems identified and must have practical implications

on the society and the economy. Intellectual property should be commercialized

promptly. Engaging in such cutting-edge research that will lead to patents has the

potential of creating a source of income for the higher educational institutions in the OIC

countries.

7. Producing highly skilled graduate and postgraduates. Improving the quality of teaching

and research productivity will enhance the ranking of the university. And this has the

tendency of attracting the best brains from across the world. Such young talents attracted

from all over the world have the tendency of producing innovative research outputs that


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education that will bring about educational transformation and global breakthroughs for

immediate implementation in its Member countries:

V. Higher Education, Science and Technology

1. Effectively improve and reform educational institutions and curricula in all

levels, link postgraduate studies to the comprehensive development plans of theIslamic World. At the same time, priority should be given to science andtechnology and facilitating academic interaction and exchange of knowledgeamong the academic institutions of Member States, and urge the Member Statesto strive for quality education that promotes creativity, innovation, and research

and development

2. Assimilate highly-qualified Muslims within the Muslim World, develop acomprehensive strategy in order to utilize their expertise and prevent brain

migration phenomenon.

3. Entrust the General Secretariat to study the creation of an OIC Award for

Outstanding Scientific Achievements by Muslim scientists.

4. Call upon Islamic countries to encourage research and development

programmes, taking into account that the global percentage of this activity is2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and request Member States to ensure

that their individual contribution is not inferior to half of this percentage.

5. Take advantage of the important results of the World Summit on Information

Society, held in Tunis, in which all Muslim States actively participated with a


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for Literature. However, that of Sciences remain significant and it is always associated with a

major global breakthrough in physics, chemistry, biology or any other aspect of sciences. The

Table in Appendix I provides the list of Muslim Nobel Laureates from inception in 1901 to 2012.

It shows there have been six Nobel Peace Laureates and two Nobel Prize Laureates for

Literature. Under the science category, the whole Muslim Ummah has only got one each for

both physics and chemistry. While the Peace and Literature categories may not be regarded as

major breakthroughs because they are subject to political expediencies, one may reasonably

conclude that the Muslim Ummah has had just two global breakthroughs in sciences and

technology for over a century. These two scientists are Pakistani Scientist Abdu Salam19

and the

Egyptian-American Ahmed Zewail.20

Moving forward, in order to ensure that quality research and academic excellence are directed

towards breakthroughs that will positively impact the whole world by solving some emerging

problems, policymakers should focus on this threefold proposal: Governance of higher

education, Priority setting at the regional level, and Direction and funding of research.


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4.1 Governance of Higher education

Governance is of paramount importance in giving the strategic direction for higher education in

the Muslim world. This involves both the macro and micro levels of governance within the

higher education sector of a country. In essence, for us to have world-class universities in the

Muslim world, favourable governance that will encourage research and innovation is needed.

From the UK perspective, the critical success factors of a world-class university highlighted in

the UK Jewels in the crown report, are:

a high concentration or critical mass of talent, both faculty and students

sufficient resources to provide an extensive, comprehensive learning

environment and a rich environment for advanced research

favourable governance allowing and encouraging autonomy, strategic

vision, innovation, efficient resource management and flexibility.21

Both critical mass of talent and sufficient resources require favourable governance in

defining the strategic direction of the higher education sector. The OIC member countries must

leave their comfort zones and embrace change in a highly competitive world. This can only be


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making global breakthroughs. For this purpose, we adopt the following definition of world-class

university:

[A]n institution that has a high concentration of excellence, talent and modern

infrastructure, that is utilised with vision and creativity to deliver excellentlearning and research in order to make a significant contribution to the worlds

knowledge, health, wealth and well-being.22

The above definition anchors the role of a world-class university to significant breakthroughs

that have the potential of positively impacting the world. Such universities maximally exploit the

findings of research and technological breakthroughs to deliver benefits to the society and the

economy of the countries within which they exist.

4.2 Priority setting at the regional level

Just like the OIC Action Plan which significantly addresses higher education in the Muslim

world, there is a need to set our priorities at the regional level for educational transformation that

will bring about meaningful breakthroughs in all disciplines. We may need to reassess our

priorities and reposition our roles within the national and ummatic aspirations. This involves


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breakthroughs? Addressing these practical issues is expected to prepare the higher education

sectors in the Muslim countries for the much desired breakthroughs in research and development.

4.3 Direction and funding of research

As indicated above, the OIC countries are still lagging behind in the aspect of direction and

funding of research. Research funding is essential in generating impacts through excellent

researches that are directed at specific challenges of the local and global communities. Global

challenges can be tackled with interdisciplinary research where hi-tech innovation clusters from

across the Muslim world are established and jointly funded to achieve an identified objective.

However, one must not shy away from the fact that funding remains a major challenge in

Muslim countries, particularly in their higher education sectors. Therefore, it is proposed that

Universities should establish successful businesses in their own right to ensure financial

sustainability, and encourage the alumni to give back to their Alma Mater. The Harvards

Endowment Fund, which has been relatively successful, may be closely studied as a model to be

adapted by the Universities in the Muslim world.


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researchers should be identified from all disciplines and constituted in what may be referred to as

a Breakthrough Team or H-tech Team which should be saddled with the responsibility of

studying existing issues, problems, and challenges facing any sector in the world, and coming up

with sustainable solutions that will make significant difference to the world. The hi-tech team

must be motivated to produce earth-shattering research. While it is admitted that there are

different breakthrough models that have the potential of bringing about transformative change in

higher education, it is pertinent to emphasize that whatever model adopted by the higher

institutions in the Muslim world, it must reflect three important stages: first, identify a select

group of proven researchers from different fields and constitute a number of teams; second,

invite accomplished scientists and innovators to motivate them and stimulate their creative

acumen for transformative change; and third, invite each of the teams to come up with a major

breakthrough in their respective fields. Such endeavours should reflect the unique Islamic ideals

since they are required to also be the torchbearers of Islam while contributing positively to the

world around us.


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the Muslim countries now need to walk the talk and engineer meaningful changes in nurturing

world-class higher educational institutions.


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APPENDIX I

LIST OF MUSLIM NOBEL LAUREATES (1901 2012)

CATEGORY: PEACE

Year Bio and Profession Rationale Comment

1978Anwar Al-Sadat, born 25

t

December 1918 died 6th

October 1981

Egyptian Policymaker

He, along with Menachem Begin was awarded 1978 Nobel PeacePrize for their contribution to the two frame agreements on peace inthe Middle East, and on peace between Egypt and Israel, which were

signed at Camp David on September 17, 1978

The first Muslim to receive the NobelPrize

1994

Yasser Arafat (24 August 1929 11 November 2004)

Palestinian Politician

The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Arafat, ShimonPeres and Yitzhak Rabin for their efforts to create peace in the

Middle East

Called by some "the first Palestinian toreceive a Nobel Prize" though his father

was of Egyptian bloodlines and thatArafat was actually born in Cairo, notPalestine

2003 Shirin Ebadi (born 21 June1947)

Iranian Human Right Activist

The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ebadi for her efforts fordemocracy and human rights. She has focused especially on thestruggle for the rights of women and children

The first and only Iranian to receive aNobel Prize. She was also the first Muslimwoman to receive such an honor

2005 Mohamed El Baradei (bornJune 17, 1942

Egyptian Policymaker

The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to El Baradei andIAEA for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for

military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peacefulpurposes is used in the safest possible way

He was the second Egyptian to beawarded Nobel Peace Prize (2005)

2006 Muhammad Yunus (born 28June 1940Bangladeshi Economist andfounder of Grameen Bank

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Yunus andGrameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and socialdevelopment from below

The first Bangladeshi and Bengali MuslimNobel laureate, and overall, the thirdperson from Bengal to win a Nobel prize

2011 Tawakul Karman, (born 7February 1979)

Human rights activist based inYemen. A prominent leader inthe Arab Spring.

The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly given to Ellen JohnsonSirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Karman for their non-violent strugglefor the safety of women and for womens rights to full participation in

peace-building work.[

The first Arab woman and first and onlyYemeni to receive a Nobel Prize. She isalso the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Beginhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Pereshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Pereshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_El_Baradeihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_El_Baradeihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Agencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_defenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Springhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleafhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleafhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leymah_Gboweehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yemenishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Laureatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Laureatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Yemenishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim_Nobel_Laureates#cite_note-38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leymah_Gboweehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleafhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Johnson_Sirleafhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Springhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_defenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Agencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_El_Baradeihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_El_Baradeihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Pereshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Pereshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Peace_Prizehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Begin


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CATEGORY: LITERATURE

1988

Naguib Mahfouz

(11 December 1911 30

August 2006)

Egyptian author, noted for hiscontribution to modern Arabicliterature

The 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature was given to Naguib Mahfouzwho, through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic,

now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that

applies to all mankind

The first Muslim author to receive such a

prize

2006

Orhan Pamuk(born 7 June1952)

Turkish author famous for hisnovels My Name Is RedandSnow

The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Orhan Pamukwho in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city hasdiscovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures.

The first and only Turkto receive the NobelPrize

CATEGORY: SCIENCE

Physics

1979

Abdus Salam

(29 January 1926 21November 1996)

Pakistani Physicist

The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Sheldon LeeGlashow, Salam, and Steven Weinberg for their contributions to thetheory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction betweenelementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weakneutral current.

He is the first and only Pakistani and secondPunjabi to receive the award. He is also thefirst Muslim scientist and only Muslim

physicist to be awarded the Nobel Prize

Chemistry

1999 Ahmed Zewail

(born February 26, 1946)

Egyptian - American scientist

The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ahmed Zewailfor his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions usingfemtosecond spectroscopy

He is the only Muslim chemist to date to beawarded the Nobel Prize and the secondMuslim scientist

Source: Data mined from Wikipedia, and verified through other datasets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orhan_Pamukhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Redhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_(Pamuk_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdus_Salamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Physicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Lee_Glashowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Lee_Glashowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Weinberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistanihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Weinberghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Lee_Glashowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Lee_Glashowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Physicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdus_Salamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_(Pamuk_novel)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Redhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orhan_Pamukhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouz

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