Academies...

Academies, associations, and research institutes are working in the field of science, history, philosophy, fine arts, and literature in general. There is no dearth of talent. In fact, the progress that Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Republic, and some other countries have made in the field of thought and education during the last one decade is remarkable.

In Pakistan, for instance, there were only two well-established universities at the time of the partition of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent in 1947. Now there are seven including one agricultural university and the number is rapidly going up. There are plans to establish an engineering university in the near future. Some of the scholars have held professorships in universities considered to be amongst the best in Europe and America. To quote a few instances, Dr.

Ishtiyaq Husain Quraishi was for some time a Professor at Columbia University, and after finishing a brilliant ambassadorial career, Mr. Burke worked as Professor and Consultant in South Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis in the United States of America. Dr. Abdus Salam, Professor of Mathematics at the Imperial College of Science, London, at a comparatively young age, has brought fame to his country. Another young scholar Dr.

Fazlur Rahman lectured for several years in Durham University, and has recently joined the Institute of Islamic Studies in McGill University, Canada, as an Associate Professor. Many scholars from other Muslim countries are also engaged in teaching in Western universities under exchange programmes. Given zest for knowledge and peace for a couple of decades, the Muslims should be able to catch up with the advanced nations of the West.

If the entire material resources of each Muslim country are pooled together, sub­stantial progress can be made within a short period. If one thousand promis­ing scholars are sent abroad by a Muslim country for higher studies to the world’s best universities and, what is no less important, are given on their return the facilities needed for carrying out research undisturbed, they should be able to raise to a very considerable extent the intellectual level of their fellow countrymen.

The intellectual renaissance of Japan affords a remarkable example of such a phenomenal advance.