Islam, Science and the Quest for Modernity in the 21st Century

A half century ago, the pioneering research of Hussein Alatas demolished the stereotypical European colonial myths of various native peoples as inherently indolent, irrational, and unscientific. And yet, to quote Nobel Prize winning physicist Abdus Salam, science is weakest in the lands of Islam — a far cry from the glories of 800 years ago.

In this 5th Syed Hussein Alatas Memorial Lecture, the speaker Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy will attempt to understand how various parts of the Muslim world are reacting to manifest backwardness in science and the challenges of 21st century modernity through adjusting their epistemological frameworks, political systems, and cultural mores.