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Science 8 August 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5890, p. 745
DOI: 10.1126/science.1162825
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Editorial

Science in Muslim Countries

Ismail Serageldin

With more than a trillion dollars in cash and a population of over a billion people, the Muslim world should be poised for a remarkable scientific explosion. Yet despite some very high-profile projects in the Gulf, including the building of massive state-of-the-art facilities for research across all disciplines (and serious efforts elsewhere), the reality is that Muslim countries tend to spend less on scientific research itself, as distinct from buildings and equipment, as compared to other countries at the same income scale. Furthermore, even where funding for science has been available, the results in terms of output--research papers, citations, and patents--are disappointingly low. Why?

Ismail Serageldin is the director of the Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)