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Cote: CLT/CPD/DIA/2008/RP/84 Titre: Histoire des Sciences : Enseignement et vulgarisation. Conférence Internationale sur l’Introduction de l’Histoire des Sciences dans l’Enseignement Supérieur des Pays Arabes et Musulmans. Date de publication: 01/2006 Secteur d'origine: CLT/CPD

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Histoire des Sciences : Enseignement et vulgarisation. Conférence Internationale sur l’Introduction de l’Histoire des Sciences dans l’Enseignement Supérieur des Pays Arabes et Musulmans. UNESCO

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Page 1: Histoire des sciences et vulgarisation

Cote: CLT/CPD/DIA/2008/RP/84

Titre: Histoire des Sciences : Enseignement et vulgarisation. Conférence Internationale sur l’Introduction de l’Histoire des Sciences dans l’Enseignement Supérieur des Pays Arabes et Musulmans.

Date de publication: 01/2006

Secteur d'origine: CLT/CPD

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CONFERENCE INTERNATIONALE SUR L’HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES DANS

L’ENSEIGNEMENT DE L’HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES DANS LES UNIVERSITES DES

PAYS ARABES ET MUSULMANS.

15-16 Décembre 2005, UNESCO, Paris.

HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES :

ENSEIGNEMENT ET VULGARISATION

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1. INTRODUCING HISTORY OF SCIENCE IN THE CURRICULA OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN

ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, Professor Ahmad Y. al Hassan Gabarin 1 Introduction The history of science is not new to Islamic civilization. There are celebrated works that are indispensable until now such as the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadīm, Ibn Abī Usaybi`a’s ‘Uỵūn al-‘Anbā’ on the history of physicians, Ibn al-Qift i’s Ta’rīkh al-Hukamā’ and S ā`id al-Andalusi’s T abaqāt al-‘Umam. These are only few examples. We find also the history of certain sciences in works dealing with that particular Science. Thus we learn much about the history of Islamic alchemy and chemistry from the works of al-Jiladakī (especially Nihāyat al-T alab), al –Majrīt ī and al-T ughrā’ī. The importance of the History of Islamic Science was felt in the West from the eighteenth century, and since then several important studies were published on its various aspects. The first general and fair account of the History of Islamic Science, which embodied the results of previous research, appeared in the classic work of George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, of which Volume I appeared in 1927. Another classic work was Aldo Mieli's La science arabe et son rôle dans l'évolution scientifique mondiale, (1938). There are also the more recent works of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam, (1968), and Islamic Science, an Illustrated Study, (1976). In 1996, the Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by Roshdi Rashed, appeared. The most recent work (published in 2003, under UNESCO’s project entitled “Different Aspects of Islamic Culture” ) was Volume IV, Science and Technology in Islam (STI), edited by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, with Maqbul Ahmad and A. Z. Iskandar as co-editors. The last two works are the most comprehensive until now. Among the histories of specific subjects, medicine received more attention than other disciplines. The earliest works to appear are the works of Lucien Leclerc, Histoire de la médicine arabe, (1876); Edward Browne, Arabian Medicine, (1921); and Donald Campbell, Arabian Medicine and its Influence on the Middle Ages, (1926). Since then, several other histories of Islamic medicine have been written in European languages, in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. Next to medicine, mathematics and astronomy received reasonable attention. A classic work in this field is that of Heinrich Suter, Die Mathematiker and Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke, (1900). Much research into this subject has subsequently been undertaken, and a large amount of published material is now available. The work of E. S. Kennedy and the results of his research were the most remarkable in the field of astronomy. His students are now among the leading historians of Arabic and Islamic astronomy. Aydin Sayili wrote the Observatory in Islam which became a classic work. Among historians of Arabic mathematics, Roshdi Rashed was the most active and has made significant contributions. In optics, A. H. Sabra did pioneering work and had edited and translated into English Ibn al-Haytham's Kitāb al-Manāzir. In the field of technology, D. R. Hill was a principal worker. He translated into English the books of al-Jazarī and the Banū Mūsā. The Arabic originals were edited and published by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan. Both al-Hassan and Hill wrote Islamic Technology - An Illustrated History.

1 This is a working document written for discussion at the conference. It is not a research paper, and it represents the deliberations of its writer only.

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In physics, we do not have one work devoted to the whole subject, but we find important articles in the collected works of Eilhard Wiedemann, whose original papers appeared between 1876 and 1927. In chemistry and alchemy, we also do not have a single work, but important material is found in the works of E.J. Holymard, H. A. Stapleton, Julius Ruska, Von Lippmann and others. All of them were active in the first thirty years of the twentieth century. Islamic science was discussed also in many other works dealing with the general histories of science, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, technology and other specific subjects. Here we find the names of several illustrious historians of science who sometimes gave Islamic science a fair amount of attention. Among the basic reference works on the history of Islamic science are the histories of Arabic literature of Carl Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, which appeared between 1898 and 1942, and of Fuat Sezgin, Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums, which started to appear in 1967. These two works are necessary tools for historians of science in their search for information on Arabic manuscripts and the biographies of Islamic authors. Developments in the methodology of the History of Science – A concise note The distinct academic discipline of the History of Science and Technology did not occur until the 20th century. It was once exclusively the domain of the retired scholar and the rare specialist. However in the decades since the end of World War II the field has evolved into a full academic discipline, with graduate schools, research institutes, public and private patronage, learned journals, and professional societies. The founding figure of the discipline in the United States was George Sarton. Though the majority of modern scholars no longer share Sarton's views - Sarton saw the history of science as the only genuine example of human progress, the tools he left to the field - the journal Isis and the annual volume Osiris- provided the base of the discipline in the United States. In 1931, the Second International Congress of the History of Science was convened in London. Boris Hessen, from the USSR, delivered a paper entitled "The Social and Economic Roots of Newton's Principia," in which he asserted that Isaac Newton's most famous work was created to cater to the goals and desires of 17th century industry and economy Hessen's thesis had a wide effect in Western History of Science. Its focus on the relationship between society and science was seen as novel and inspiring. It was a challenge to the notion that the History of Science was the history of individual genius in action. Among those who were influenced by his approach were J. D. Bernal and Joseph Needham in England. This method of doing the history of science became known as externalism, looking at the manner in which science and scientists are affected and guided by their context and the world in which they exist. The method of doing history of science which preceded externalism became known as internalism. Internalist histories of science often focus on the rational reconstruction of scientific theories and

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showing the development of science as being a process taking place wholly within the scientific world, one idea leading to another. In practice, the line between internalism and externalism can be extremely unclear. Neither of these approaches in their extremes gives a wholly complete picture The sociologist of science Robert K. Merton produced several works following Hessen's thesis, which can be seen as reactions to Hessen’s argument. In his work on science, technology and society in the 17th century England, (1938), Merton sought to introduce an additional category - Puritanism - to explain the growth of Science in this period. Merton worked to split Hessen's category of economics into smaller subcategories of influence, including transportation, mining and military technique. Of course some historians of science who were keen on maintaining the dominance of traditional internalist studies were not happy with these developments. In 1979, Charles C. Gillispie attacked powerfully those who accepted the new methodologies in the field. He warned that "the history of science is losing its grip on science, leaning heavily on social history, and dabbling with shoddy scholarship". He attacked those who discussed scientific problems but who had little or no scientific training. Despite this strong opposition by historians of science such as Gillispie, the social history of science had established itself within the discipline. The field moved beyond its earlier emphasis on internalist, technical developments, and more historians began to think that the traditional practices of analyzing theoretical developments within the sciences need to be supplemented by the study of the changing social foundations of scientific activity. This development resulted in a rising new interest in science and religion, the social setting of science and even the pseudo-sciences. According to some historians of science who rejected Sarton’s positivism, the Scientific Revolution could not be explained without an understanding of religious themes and mysticism evident in the works of the period. We mentioned above how Hessen explained the economic factors behind Newton’s Principia, One later historian of science gave a different explanation by introducing the factors of religion and mysticism. This is his explanation: When historians of science were studying the Scientific Revolution a few decades ago they confined themselves almost exclusively to science. The fact that Newton wrote almost as much on alchemy as he did on mechanics, that he published a book on the prophecies of Daniel, and that he discoursed on the chronology of ancient kingdom, was ignored in the past because these subjects were not "science". Today we know better. We cannot understand Newton unless we understand the total Newton, the mystic as well as the founder of classical mechanics. Indeed, it would seem that his search for world order, world harmony, was spurred by his mystical bent. There are those who argue that his physics may have been dependent upon it. In conclusion, we say that during recent decades, study of the history of science has proceeded in two complementary directions, reflecting its interdisciplinary nature. On one side science is approached as an intellectual system of ideas and methods which defines its own internal history; on the other side, it is regarded as being closely entwined with social, economic, and political influences.

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Why teaching the History of Science is important for Islamic countries During the twentieth century several popular books had appeared about the achievements of Islamic civilization. Some were written by Western scholars who were admirers of Islamic civilization, such as the book of Gustave Le Bon on Arab Civilization and the book of Siegfried Honke on the same subject. Islamic authors wrote also numerous popular books and articles praising the past glories of Islamic achievements. These writings had created sometimes a negative reaction. And some educated Muslims started to wonder why do we speak about the past? Such negative attitudes against the history of Islamic science are exemplified in the following official statement about the theme of the International Conference on Science in Islamic Polity in Islamabad (1983), to which international academic figures were invited. The organizers wrote: the Conference will serve its real purpose only if the delegates, instead of dwelling on the past and merely reflecting the erstwhile glory of Islam, they would concentrate on the present and recommend concrete action program for the resurgence of scientific thought and the spirit of discovery in Islamic Polity, with a view to bringing the Islamic countries at par with the West in the matter of Science and Technology, in as short a time as possible. On the face of it, the objectives are noble. But they are in fact shrouded with a gross error. Let us then discuss briefly why history of Islamic science is important for the advancement of modern science in the Muslim World: Generally speaking, history is essential for an understanding of the present, and if we do not understand the present it will be very difficult for anyone to plan for the future. And In the words of Sarton: “The past cannot be separated from the present without grievous loss, and the present without the past is boring and meaningless” History of science is already an established academic branch of learning in most institutes of education in advanced nations, and for Muslim countries it is even of more importance. Compared with the great achievements of Muslim civilization in science, technology and medicine in former centuries, the Muslim world today is in great need to follow science policies that will speed up their science development. Therefore teaching the history of Islamic science is vital in inspiring confidence in the minds and souls of the educated persons. The gap between the state of science in advanced countries and the Muslim world is creating a disposition of despair among them. But when they learn that science is international and is for all humanity, and is in the reach of all nations, and when they learn about the great achievements of Islamic scientists whose works were the foundation upon which the European renaissance was built, then the educated persons in Muslim countries will be able to advance with confidence the cause of modern science in their respective countries. Historical factors that should be considered in planning for a curriculum Following the international trends, the History of Science in Islamic countries should adopt a balance between the history of the individual sciences and the social context. However, the curriculum will be designed to take into account the special conditions peculiar to the History of Islamic civilization. In the fourteenth century, Ibn Khaldun gave in his Muqaddima a theory on why science thrives in one society and declines in another. In his theory he preceded Hessen and Merton by six centuries. Ibn Khaldun’s theory is still valid today, and it is outlined in the Epilogue to Volume IV, Science and Technology in Islam (STI). Very briefly Ibn Khaldun says that science flourishes with the

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flourishing of civilization and declines when civilization declines. His theory is nearer to that of Hessen, than to Merton. The personal religious beliefs of a scientist were not considered to be a factor in his scientific achievement. It is the affluent civilization with a strong economy that is the proper breeding soil for the flourishing of science. In the case of Islamic science we do not know precisely the personal social environment, the religious, or the mystical affiliation of such great scientists like Ibn al-Haytham, al-Bīrūnī, Ibn Sīna or any other great Islamic scientist, and whereas Newton had lived in the seventeenth century, Muslim scientists had lived between seven to nine centuries before. The task of studying the personal environment of each one would make the task of the history of Islamic science an impossible one. On the other hand we should discuss the general positive factors that were behind the rise of Islamic science. The UNESCO’s STI devoted two chapters to discussing these factors. Of course, such a topic should be elaborated with more research and it should be included in the core curriculum of the history of Islamic science. Until this is done the chapters in STI can be useful. An important criticism that is raised by Western historians of science is the lack of discussion by contemporary Islamic scholars of the period that followed the fifteenth century. They often raise the question on why did Islamic science loose its lead and why the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century did not affect the lands of Islam? These historians give their own interpretation accusing the Muslim religion, represented by al-Ghazālī, to be responsible for the decline. This interpretation is of course naive and is far from reality. A comprehensive discussion of the factors behind the decline of Islamic science after the fifteenth century is given in the Epilogue to STI. Again we must assert that this topic should be part of the curriculum of the Islamic history of science. The Epilogue in STI can be taken as the starting thesis for this important topic until more comprehensive research on this problem is undertaken. The History of Science in Some Islamic Countries The study of the history of science in most Islamic countries is of recent origin. Research institutes have been established during the seventies of the 20th century in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and in other countries. Interest in the history of science in Egypt goes back to the forties of the twentieth century. Mustafa Nazif and Ali Mustafa Mashrafa are two celebrated scientists who were pioneers in their research in this field. In Turkey the name of Aydin Sayili comes to mind and also of Sevim Tekeli. There are of course other eminent historians of science in other Islamic countries who were pioneers in this field Learned journals started to appear, some with international status, and the number of published works on Islamic science and of edited Arabic scientific manuscripts is increasing. History of Islamic science is being taught currently at the Institute of Arabic science in Aleppo without the regional aspect. It is being taught also in Turkey with emphasis on the Ottoman period. These are only examples, and a survey should be undertaken on the current status of teaching the history of science in other Islamic countries. A key question is whether history of science should be taught at an institute for the history of science or at a history department. In several Western universities it is taught in a history department, while at others it has its own institute. This question should be discussed at the conference. But the trend until now in Islamic countries is to have an independent institute or department for the history of science.

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List of possible courses The list below is for discussion purposes only, and a working curriculum can be recommended by a special committee. The asterisk (*) beside each topic indicates that a basic course can be adopted from Volume IV, Science and Technology in Islam, STI, (Parts I and II). A- Fundamentals courses in the History of Islamic science -Fundamentals of the History of Mathematics (*) (For a more detailed treatment of the history of mathematics, see the Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, EHAS, Vol. 2, ed. Roshdi Rashed) -Fundamentals of the History of Astronomy (*) (For a more detailed treatment of the history of astronomy see the Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, EHAS, Vol. I, ed. Roshdi Rashed) -Fundamentals of the History of Physics (*) -Fundamentals of the History of Natural Sciences (*) (The various topics of natural science are treated individually in STI, Part I.) -Fundamentals of the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (*) -Fundamentals of the History of Medicine (*) (The various topics of the history of medicine are treated individually in STI, Part II.) -Fundamentals of the History of Technology (*) (The various topics of the history of technology are treated individually in STI, Part II.) B- Some Aspects of Islamic Science -Islamic Civilization -The Rise of Islamic Science (*) -Islam and Science (*) - The Translation Movement into Arabic (*) - The Translation of Islamic Science into Latin. (*) - The Transfer of Islamic Technology to the West. (*) - Why Islamic Science Slowed Down after the Sixteenth Century? (*) C- Regional Islamic Science after the sixteenth century -History of Science, Medicine and Technology in the Ottoman Empire (*) -History of Science, Medicine and Technology in Iran during the Safavid Period and Later. (*) -History of Science, Medicine and Technology in the Mughal Empire in India. (*) - History of Science, Medicine and Technology in other Islamic Countries D- Other Histories of Science -The History of Ancient Science -The History of Pre-Islamic Science (*) - The History of Science in China and India. -The History of Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern Science in Europe -The History of Modern Science

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E- Related Courses -Philosophy of Science -History of the Philosophy of Science -Sociology of Scientific Knowledge -Historiography of Science and Technology -Methods of Research in the History of Science -Islamic Scientific Manuscripts– Methods of Editing

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2. DOCUMENT DE TRAVAIL, PROFESSEUR A. DJEBBAR La situation actuelle est contrastée. Il y a des pays où cet enseignement n’existe pas. Il

faudrait les recenser et analyser les conséquences de l’absence de ce type d’enseignement sur la formation des futurs cadres et des citoyens en général. Mais, il y a quelques pays qui ont pris des initiatives dans le sens de l’introduction de l’histoire et de l’épistémologie des sciences. Dans ce cas, les expériences connues devraient être présentées selon une démarche critique pour en tirer des enseignements et aboutir à des propositions d’amélioration et d’extension de l’expérience.

Il serait également nécessaire d’inscrire d’autres sujets étroitement liés à ce thème

central dans la mesure où ils l’accompagnent et l’alimentent par les activités qui en découlent. En effet lorsque les spécialistes de ce domaine parlent de l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences, ils sont tous d’accord pour dire qu’il repose sur trois piliers : une formation universitaire, une recherche en amont et une production vulgarisée en aval.

En dehors d’une période de démarrage ou de transition, l’enseignement universitaire de

l’histoire des sciences ne doit pas être laissé à des amateurs de cette discipline ou à des scientifiques sans formation spécifique préalable au métier d’enseignant en histoire des sciences. D’où la nécessité de présenter les expériences déjà réalisées dans ce domaine et de les discuter puis de les prolonger par les réflexions et les débats des participants à cette Conférence à propos du profil des enseignants qui seront chargés de la diffusion de l’histoire des sciences dans un cursus universitaire.

Le second pilier est la recherche. Comme dans tous les autres domaines du savoir, elle

permet d’alimenter l’enseignement en informations nouvelles, de corriger les informations anciennes, de mettre à la disposition des enseignants de matériaux originaux indispensables au renouvellement des programmes ou à leur enrichissement. La recherche permet également de prolonger l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences en une formation spécialisée pour ceux parmi les étudiants qui voudraient s’engager dans l’approfondissement d’un thème, dans le cadre de la recherche universitaire.

Le troisième pilier est la vulgarisation des sciences et de l’histoire des sciences. A quoi

sert-elle, comment peut-on la réussir. Quel est son lien avec l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences ? Aujourd’hui, on dispose dans chacun des pays arabe ou musulman d’un certain nombre de revues, d’émissions, d’articles qui traitent des sciences actuelles en essayant de rendre intelligibles leurs différents contenus, leurs découvertes. Mais on constate dans un grand nombre de ces initiatives une absence d’analyse critique du discours scientifique et un traitement insuffisant de la question de la finalité des sciences. Cela ne fait que refléter d’ailleurs le déficit universitaire dans la formation de ceux qui sont chargés de parler ou d’écrire sur les sciences et sur leur histoire. Or ce profil existe dans beaucoup de pays occidentaux : c’est celui de journaliste scientifique. Il faudrait définir ce profil et discuter du contenu et des modalités de la formation de ce relais de la science et de l’histoire des sciences.

Un quatrième sujet aussi important que les trois premiers est celui des outils didactiques

nécessaires à l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences, c'est-à-dire les manuels. La Conférence devrait aboutir à une recommandation consistant à réaliser, au niveau de l’UNESCO, une banque de données des publications et des produits audiovisuels, avec des appréciations sur leurs contenus. Ce qui permet de mettre à la disposition des formateurs et

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des apprenants en histoire des sciences des outils pédagogiques fiables. Comme il n’y a pas une manière spécifique d’enseigner l’histoire des sciences dans les Universités arabes, il serait utile de mettre à l’ordre du jour de cette conférence la question des traductions en arabe des manuels d’histoire des sciences qui existent déjà et qui sont utilisés dans les universités occidentales.

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a) « Popularization of the History of Science in Iran”, Tofigh Heidarzadeh b) “Which history of science and technology do we want to teach in the Islamic

world1?”, Sonja Brentjes

3. CONTRIBUTIONS

a) “Popularization of the History of Science in Iran”, Tofigh Heidarzadeh2

My paper is about the popularization of the history of science in my country, Iran. I want to share my experiences and my observations about the importance of the media in the promotion of the history of science, and at the same time, about the obstacles and problems that such a job may encounters with.

From 1985 to 1991 I served as the editor of two science magazines in Iran, one named Daneshamand [Scientist], a journal similar to the British New Scientist, with a circulation of about 100,000 copies per month, and four special issues a year, and second, a magazine named Nojum [Astronomy], similar to the American Sky & Telescope which I was the founder member and editor-in-chief from 1991 to 1997, and still I cooperate with its editorial board as an advisor. Nojum which started with a circulation of about 8000 copies per month was the first popular astronomy magazine in Iran, and as far as I know is the only magazine for the amateur astronomers in the Middle East. In each issue of both magazines we had at least one article about the history of science.

In addition, we published four special issues on the history of science and technology, and I have had the opportunity to interview many scholars about science and its history, among them the physics Nobel prize winner Prof. Muhammad Abdus Salam, Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Prof. Edward Kennedy and Prof. Ragep. Obviously, after the publication of each issue, we received a great amount of notes and feedbacks from the readers which about 90% of them were college students, teachers and senior high school students. To analyze all of those responses was a major task for the editorial board which not only helped to maintain our standards, but also was a key source to realize the mentality of our readers on specific subjects. History of science was one of those subjects. However, before explaining my observations I want to give a very brief background of the publications in the history of science in Iran in the last half a century. A review of the publications on the history of science in Iran shows that from the establishment of the first modern university in Iran, around 70 years ago, a variety of articles and books were published either by scientists who were interested in the history or by historians and men of letters interested in science and its history. A very small number of articles also were produced by the religious thinkers stressing on the works of the Muslim scholars. Excluding the latter writings, many of the other publications appeared by the mid twenty century were influenced by the strong nationalistic atmosphere created by the first king of the Pahlavi dynasty. One may find only a few studies that were done in a systematic

2 IRCICA Research Fellow

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way, among them publications of H. Taqizadeh (a man of letters, who lived in England for many years and were in touch with the British scholars and European orientalists) and G. H. Mosahab (a mathematician studied in England). From the mid 1960s, S. H. Nasr, one of the first PhDs in the history of science in the world started to teach on history and philosophy of science at Tehran University. Later he established the Royal Philosophical Society of Iran, which had a section on the history of science. At the same time, Prof. E. Yarshater, trying to publish the Danesh-nama-ye Iran va Eslam (Encyclopedia of Iran and Islam, now Encyclopedia Iranica) paid serious attention on training writers and editors to produce articles on the cultural history of Iran and the Islamic world, including the history of science. During this period, many books and articles about the history of science and technology were translated into Farsi, among them Sarton’s Introduction to the History of Science, Nasr’s Science and Civilization in Islam, Aldo Mieli’s La Science Arabe, and Nallino’s ‘Ilm al-Falak. In addition, Iranian researches such as A. Qorbani, P. Shariyari, M. Mohaqeq, M. Najmabadi and others produced scholarly written articles and books. However, by 1978 neither a department of history of science was established in the Iranian universities nor a specific association or society was created to promote the study of history of science in general, or the history of science in Iran and the Islamic world. In 1978 the Islamic Revolution brought a new mentality and a new atmosphere into the country. Some of the active figures of the studies in the history of science, such as H. Nasr and E. Yarshater left the country and from 1980 for a bout three years, all universities were shut down due to the Cultural Revolution which aimed to re-establish the higher education based on the Islamic values. Under such a cultural climate, and due to the lack of scholarly activities in the history of science, a vulgarized view on history of science in Islam and the history of Islamic sciences were developed and found its way into the mass media. Since the core of this view was the exaggeration of the role of the Muslim scientists in the development of science, it seemed very pleasant for many who were rediscovering their identity by the establishment of an Islamic society. At the same time, due to the growing role of the clergy in all aspects of administration and education, the interpretation of scientific phenomena based on the traditional and sacred texts was promoted. This approach, in its own way, caused new studies to bridge the gulf between the science and religion, and led to the appearance of serious but sometimes funny products: on the one hand, several manuscripts were published in a facsimile format or were critically edited, and on the other hand, it appeared in the news that a college student started a hunger strike asking the educational authorities of Iran to announce that the revolution of the earth around the sun was against the Kur’an. Although from 1983 at least four major institutes (Iran University Press, The Society for Philosophy and Wisdom, The Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, and the Great Encyclopedia of Islam) were active in publishing about history of science or performing research in the field, it was in the mid 1990s that for the first time a proposal was developed to establish a graduate school in the field of history of science in Tehran University [which Mr. Khezri gave detailed information in the morning session]. On the other hand, in some of the traditional schools in Qum, Mashhad and Tehran, with the cooperation of scientists, studies started to deal with the different aspects of abortion, organ transplant, crescent visibility and recently stem cell research, which initiated serious study of the scientific texts in the Islamic period.

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All of these were reflected in the mass media and my experience is related to this interaction of the media and the education and popularization of the history of science. Although this experience is limited to Iran and Iran had a unique cultural history during the last 25 years, it seems that some of the symptoms that I want to mention here are general for most of the Islamic countries. Thus, to make this talk shorter, I only stress on points that I think are worthy of consideration in any program of history of science in the Muslim countries. The first and most important point appeared for me in the readers’ feedback was a demarcation between the Islamic and the Western sciences. The dominant notion attributed a sacred or divine quality to the works of Muslim scientists which was absent in the science of Galileo or Newton. In other words, a typical reader of my journal was thinking that, for instance, the astronomical works of Abu-Reyhan were different from those of say Tycho Brahe only for the reason that the first one was a Muslim. As a consequence of this idea, they were thinking that the Muslim scholars had ability to solve or did solve most of the difficult scientific problems, and now it is our job to do research and uncover all of their findings. Thus, they were interested to find the first discoverers of modern scientific concepts among the medieval Islamic scientists. On the other hand, they had tendency to extract all modern scientific concepts from the traditional and sacred texts. And finally, most of them were thinking that the non-developed status of the Islamic countries in science and technology is only due to the colonialism and the interference of the superpowers. At the other end of this spectrum, we had readers who were thinking that “Islamic science” was merely propaganda of the regime to attribute a scientific background to its ideology. They were accusing us for promoting an ideological interpretation of the history of science. Obviously, all of these were because of the lack of academic studies in the history of science and its reflection in the formal education sources and in the mass media. In a liberal arts program, the history of science not only can bridge the gap between the different science disciplines, but also it can connect sciences to other liberal art disciplines. In a country like Iran, or any other Islamic country, we can use the history of science as a vehicle to demonstrate the universal nature of science. I advocate to teach our students this important fact that the nature of the activity of a Muslim scientist is the same as the nature of the activity of a non-Muslim scientist. I believe that we have to teach our students to make a demarcation between the scientific activity and politics, not between the scientific enterprises in different cultures or religions. Although it is very difficult to imagine a scientist having no world view or a basic philosophy or religion in his or her mind, we can stress on the moral values common in majority of the religions and philosophies: those values that can advocate peace. History of science in Islam has great examples of the fruitful cooperation of scientists belonging to different religions and sects. As a great aid in this mission, the historians of sciences in the Islamic countries need to make a meaningful connection with the religious thinkers. They can place them in a situation to pay more attention to science and its basic concepts. Our religious thinkers for many centuries have stopped studying scientific texts in a systematic way. And finally, in the research section, I believe we need to study extensively – mostly in an externalist method – the history of science in the Islamic countries during and after the

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introduction of modern science and technology. These kinds of studies can shed light on the social, cultural and political causes of our disability in acquiring modern science and technology.

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b) “Which history of science and technology do we want to teach in the Islamic world3?”, Sonja Brentjes4

The question which history of science and technology do we want to teach can be answered in a variety of ways. The answers depend on theoretical, political, religious, or emotional preferences and choices. Many scholars in particular in what is called the Islamic world continue to believe in modernity and the universality of scientific and technological progress. Such a view tends to support a universal approach to teaching history of science and technology. In addition, there is a strong tendency among different groups across the world, to use history of science and technology for fostering specific ideological or political interests. Such an approach favours often trends to teaching parochial historical narratives. Postmodernist theoreticians as well as critiques of contemporary sciences have made a strong case that there is not and cannot be a single truth about science, technology, and their histories that we only have to look out for objectively, dispassionately, and fairly in order to make the right decisions. In this view, teaching history of science and technology depends on the cultural configuration of the narrator. Moreover, the acceptability of narratives about science, technology, and their histories depends not merely on this narrator and her choices, but on the customers of the narratives. The participation of the customer in choosing the historical narratives, their content, form, and purpose is, however, seen differently by the different groups within academia and outside of it. Traditionally, historical narratives served economic, political, and academic elites. This function caused the exclusion of broad groups of society from the historical narrative both as historical actors and as depositories of histories. Numerous shifts in western historiographies over the last decades have altered the historiographical landscapes in western academia and to some extent among the general public. In addition, the Internet has created huge spaces for academically uneducated customers to interfere into the academically negotiated domain of historical narratives and present their own particularistic views. Muslim voices are particularly strong in this respect.

On the academic level, however, the Islamic world in general has participated little in the shifts and hence profited little from the new approaches and insights. Most of what teachers and students in Islamic countries write or learn about history of science and technology, whether in the so-called West or in Islamic societies, not to speak of regions and periods outside these two cultural spaces, is old-fashioned and backward oriented in at least three ways, in contrast to and deviance from other parts of the so-called developing world.5 A first huge gap between knowledge about history of science and technology available in western academia and accessible by teachers and students in Islamic countries is caused by language deficits and commercial boundaries. Most of the results of research in history of science and technology are found in publications in “western” languages, in particular English, French, and to some extent German, Russian and Hebrew. They are published in

3 I use this term since it is the framework chosen by UNESCO for this discussion. I understand it primarily as a cultural, not as a religious term, designating the geographical space where the majority of inhabitants practices lifestyles that include diverse forms of religious beliefs and activities commonly considered as part of Islamic religion. 4 Expert on Islamic Mathematics and Science. The views stated in this paper are exclusively mine. They do not reflect on any level the views of the Aga Khan University, ISMC, or any of its members. The only partial exception to this claim is my description of the new MA programme of Muslim cultures. 5 The following remarks are based on my more than 20 years of experience with publications from and conferences in Islamic countries with regard to history of science and technology. In this sense, they are sentimental, not analytical. I try to describe general trends. Hence, my remarks are not meant to apply to each and any colleague working in the Islamic world.

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leading journals, series, and monographs edited and produced in the US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and Israel. They are often physically unavailable to readers in Islamic countries and if available in bookstores often too expensive for the individual as well as for the institutional client.

The second huge gap caused by political and social factors in addition to the previously mentioned physical and economic factors consists in the domain of methodology and conceptual approaches. The enormous changes in the humanities and social sciences that took place within academia under the influence of feminism, literary criticism, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, or postmodernist theories of language, representation, and visualization are not part of teaching and research in large parts of the Islamic world, at least in the domain of history of science and technology. As a result, older narratives of objectivity, the “Golden Age of Arabic Science”, and religion and science continue to dominate the field.

The third huge gap that characterizes the current situation of history of science and technology in Islamic countries is the impact of various trends to break with “western science” and extend the control and guidance of “Islam” – whatever the individual author believes “Islam” is – with respect to “science”. These trends have not sponsored a deeper and more critical understanding of the histories of the sciences and technologies in different Islamic societies in the past or the present. They rather erected obstacles to such a critical debate caused by a lack of professional knowledge and understanding of the sciences and their histories as well as “Islam” and its histories. As a result, an increasing number of authors attacks “science” for its “secularism”, tries to police scientific theories that contradict creationist beliefs, and argues for the Qur’an as the fundamental source book of science. In addition, fatwas have been issued that give pronouncements against scientific research in a number of domains such as medicine or biology. But there is no effort worthwhile its name to critically analyse these and other processes with regard to contemporary science and technology in Islamic countries.

In the face of this kind of specific under-development in the Islamic world with regard to history of science and technology, which history of science and technologies then should we recommend introducing into the universities of these countries? 1. History of Science and Technology at ISMC

The Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations (ISMC), London, that I am currently affiliated with, is part of the private, non-denominational Aga Khan University, Karachi. It opened its doors in 2002, nineteen years after the foundation of the university. The university started as an institution for training doctors and nurses. In 1989, an institute for educational development, training teachers in various disciplines, among them mathematics and the sciences, was added. Currently the university runs its medical and educational programs at seven campuses in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with additional programs in Syria and Afghanistan. Further new branches such as a faculty of Arts and Sciences are in the planning stage.

Within the university, there is a high appreciation for modern technologies, but relatively little attention to basic scientific research. A major reason for this emphasis on applied aspects of science is the overall orientation of the network to which the university belongs – the Aga Khan Development Network. This network sees its major duty to focus on improving the conditions of people, in particular poor people, in developing countries, and in

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particular in the Ismaili communities around the globe. This huge task shapes the approach to investment, intellectual politics, and priorities.

A second major reason for the relative disinterest in basic scientific research is the overall intellectual and political climate in Pakistan. The Aga Khan University is, according to my experience with several of its leaders as well as current and former employees, a conservative institution that does not aim to challenge the current status quo in Pakistan independent of the aspects that may be in need of a challenge, i.e. the conservatism of the university is not exclusively or primarily a political stance, but an overall institutional renouncement of critical engagement with the society in which it operates. The focus of the institution is on technical, economic, and narrowly defined social improvement. With respect to basic scientific research, this attitude means to accept the prevailing view of the Pakistani elite which my colleague Noman ul-Haq has described in an article in the Dawn in July 2005 as “scientistic”. He uses this term to characterize the narrow focus of the Pakistani elite on commercially and militarily profitable aspects of technical applications of scientific research results mostly imported from abroad. Such a focus devaluates basic scientific research due to its substantial lack of commercial or military immediacy.

A third major cause for the lack of attention to basic scientific research is the authoritarian structure of Pakistani society at large. It cannot but permeate Aga Khan University and its academic culture. Spaces for intellectual and civil freedoms are narrow. The boundaries of these spaces in the institution are defined by its leadership rather than by all of its members. The structure of the university contains an inbuilt conflict between a non-denominational academic institution devoted by its charter to the principles of academic freedom and the focus of the decision-making process upon the principle of a single leader. Such structural aspects are not very conducive to basic scientific research. The general climate in Pakistan has a direct impact upon teaching methods and the limited success of educational innovation. Although questioning and critical thinking have a privileged place in the institutional rhetoric, the students I have encountered have substantial difficulties learning and practicing them.

The situation at ISMC in London, while structurally identical with the overall picture, is in its details to some extent different. Its spatial and intellectual distance to Karachi is the first main reason for the difference. The Institute’s location in an altogether different society and academic culture allows for a higher degree of intellectual independence. This higher degree of intellectual independence, in contrast to universities in other cultures across the world, often needs to be negotiated directly with AKU leadership and other groups affiliated directly or indirectly with ISMC and AKU. The principle of a single leader shapes the form of such negotiations and often their final results.

The second and, in my view, constitutive reason for the higher degree of intellectual independence is the motive that led to establishing ISMC almost four years ago. According to the foundational documents of the institute, it is meant to develop a new approach towards teaching and researching Muslim cultures in their past and present diversities, an approach that is grounded in the historicity of human acting, not in the normativity of religious doctrines. This approach has created some space for a shift in academic perspectives the limits of which, however, are not stable, but subject to a continuous process of negotiation of the kind outlined before. Within this newly created academic space, ISMC has developed a curriculum for the first MA in Muslim cultures.

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Before I outline the major distinct features of this new curriculum, I wish to mention a third reason for the difference in intellectual climate between AKU in Pakistan and ISMC in London. Its international faculty with its colourfully different experiences actively appropriated the space opened up by the Institute’s foundational documents, extended its boundaries according to his and her individual understandings of academic principles and norms and infused it with ideas and visions brought from their respective previous environments. The process of cooperation, while occasionally fraught with difficulties, proved, by and large, productive and successful as my summary of the new curriculum will demonstrate.

This curriculum possesses four distinct features when compared to the numerous other teaching programs available around the globe. Firstly, it situates Muslim past and present squarely within world cultures past and present, i.e. it aims to overcome the exclusivity of Muslim representation either in its binary self-perspective “we and the others” or in its binary presentation as the major “other” of Christianity, the West, or “our values”. Within this framework of world cultures, ISMC’s curriculum questions also the dominant “Western” historiographical narrative of the exclusivity of the Graeco-Roman world and its direct ancestry of the ethical, intellectual, and behavioural identity of the “West”. It aims to reconstruct earlier geographical and cultural worlds in their own, local cohesion and to place the emergence of Muslim cultures within this new world perspective.

Secondly, the new curriculum approaches Muslim past and present conceptually as cultures, i.e. as a broad complex of human activities which bring together experiential, doctrinal, symbolic, productive, and structural aspects of human life. This identification of the content of the MA as the study of cultures leads to a holistic concept for studying Muslim past and present. The core course on the formation of thought in the foundational period, for instance, will teach the evolution of the religious sciences, the ancient sciences, and the philological sciences as conditioning each other and forming together an integral body of knowledge. In a similar vein, the core course on history between thirteen and seventeen hundred will bring to the fore the interdependence between the structural aspects of different forms of power (tribe, urban, slave, family, sufi, ‘ulama) and new forms of cultural policies that appropriated the arts, religious doctrines, magic rituals, and rational sciences for dynastic policy.

Thirdly, the MA sets out to teach Muslim cultures as theoretical and methodological parts of the humanities and social sciences as taught at universities in Europe and America. This has far-reaching consequences. It contributes to diminishing one of the major gaps between current academic conditions in the Islamic world and the rest of the world that I have discussed previously. It establishes fluency in different systems of thought, strengthens the capabilities for critical thinking and choosing in an informed and qualified manner between alternative theories and methods, and reduces the language barriers between different academic cultures. Since the founders of ISMC have diagnosed that the Islamic world in general and the Arab world in particular are suffering under ossification of academia and a return to pre-modern forms of study and analysis, such a principled inclusion of the humanities and social sciences into the MA as its theoretical and methodological basis is a major effort to reform.

The fourth distinct feature of the MA in comparison to other programs across the globe is its integration of past and present, history and contemporary challenges. This feature is based on the understanding that perceptions of the past are constitutive elements of how

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human beings as individuals and groups deal with their lives and master the problems they face. The ways in which they approach such problems influence substantially what they believe about their pasts and what they are willing and prepared to accept as their histories. Introducing students to the various forms of connectivity between past and present is an important step to empower them and give them tools and instruments for critically analysing and deconstructing the worlds in which they live and for enabling them to find new, hopefully more just and workable ways for dealing with the challenges emanating from these worlds.

History of science and technology will be a stable element in this new MA of Muslim cultures. It will be part of three core courses and offered in a series of electives that cover classical themes such as the translation movement, new approaches such as the cultural dimensions of map making or contemporary science and technology policies, and methodological diversity within current history of science and technology at large. This broad range of courses depends crucially on the cooperation between the few academic colleagues who are currently working at ISMC. 2. History of Science courses for universities in Islamic countries – organizational dimensions

Based on this contradictory and in tendency often difficult experience with a university in an Islamic country, I wish to argue for an approach to introducing history of science and technology courses in Islamic countries that empowers local scholars to choose topics according to the need of her or his local academic community. Hence, decentralized structures on all levels are preferable to a top-to-bottom approach. While this may not be achievable in the short run, due to the highly autocratic setup of the academic systems in most Islamic countries, a decentralized approach should be supported in all possible manners. Local, national, and regional societies for history of science and technology that are organized by scholars themselves and hence strengthen access of individual students and scholars to resources and foster a climate of exchange and critical debate have proven to be effective in the Maghrib and in Africa at large. Institutions founded by government bodies, in contrast, have often promoted individuals on the basis of political membership, kinship, or other affiliations and resulted in publications, exhibitions, and websites that do not satisfy academic norms. Examples can be found across the Islamic world.

A second decentralized form for introducing history of science and technology courses in Islamic countries consists of doing it as a carefully limited series of pilot projects that are run over five years and are regularly audited and externally evaluated. The idea for such an approach comes from my colleague Jamil F. Ragep. Islamic countries do not only differ substantially in their cultural histories and current make-up which suggests tailoring history of science and technology courses around their particularities. Their academic systems also differ in regard to the system of decision-making bodies and habits and the type of academic institutions potentially interested in cooperating with UNESCO. My experience in non-Arab Islamic countries taught me that focusing on Arabic and the Arab Middle East when teaching history of science and technology in the framework of Islamic societies causes regularly frictions and resentments. The reasons for these reactions are provided by the denials implicit in such an emphasis with regard to the part played by non-Arab peoples and their indigenous cultures in the past and the present. A focus on Arabic and the Arab Middle East reeks of nationalism and cultural chauvinism and breeds analogous answers among non-Arab inhabitants of the Islamic world. Pilot projects adapted to local needs, in contrast, can foster

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an understanding for the complex, partially shared and partially distinct heritage, its local particularities, strengths and weaknesses.

A third decentralized form for introducing history of science and technology courses in Islamic countries is the creation of a network of teaching activities that links historians of science and technology working outside the Islamic world with their colleagues in Islamic countries. Such a network can offer a cycle of short-term courses for undergraduates and graduates every second or third year according to a principle of rotation. There are a variety of different profiles available for organizing and structuring such short-term courses from which the team running them should choose the approach it considers most suitable to the teaching goals of the given course.

A fourth approach of good decentralizing potential is the creation of a variety of different teaching tools and material. Standard companions or readers on history of science and technology produced in western academic environments often neglect completely or substantially the histories outside of their own cultural spheres. Producing a reader that overcomes this kind of shortcomings and caters to as broad a spectrum of local needs as currently possible is one type of teaching material that is highly recommendable. Further print products could include small collections of important texts from different disciplines, periods, and regions. Another possibility is the creation of a reliable website, since the many websites offering history of science and technology in relationship to the Islamic world are often lacking in accuracy and cater apology. Before engaging in such a project, a careful search of similar or larger website endeavours currently under way is needed. The issue of stable accessibility to the Internet and related economic and technical problems also need to be taken into consideration. In view of my recent experience in Pakistan, producing a CD-Rom may be a more viable alternative.

Last but not least, a central element for the potential success of such a decentralized approach to introducing history of science and technology courses in Islamic countries is funding. While UNESCO is by its very nature a government-financed body, it should consider other approaches to fundraising if the project is meant to be more than catering to specific political, religious or nationalistic agendas. 3. Introducing history of science and technology courses to Islamic countries – academic aspects

The project should aim at offering a solid introduction into the various ways of doing history of science and technology that are available by now with respect to history of science and technology in European and American Catholic, Protestant and secular cultures. It should privilege cultural diversity and cross-cultural exchange. It should emphasize the local in terms of space, time, practice, and product. It should seriously address the manifold processes of translation and transmission that take place when the local is transformed into the habitual on a broader scale, for instance the social, the regional or the international. Above all, it should foster the understanding that while the sciences study questions about the universe and nature, they are products of human activities and hence the result of complex cultural negotiations mediated through a set of symbolic systems. The advantage of such an open as well as theoretical informed approach is its contribution to strengthening decentralizing forces on the academic level and training capabilities of critical and non-dogmatic academic practices. A plurality of academic voices can motivate students to engage in their individual quest for

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knowledge rather than aiming to become a member of a group subscribing to a streamlined and unilateral body of knowledge.

This methodological approach has several implications for the content of the courses and the types of history of science and technology to be taught at universities in Islamic countries. In contrast to the widespread neglect of pre-twentieth-century and non-western history of science and technology at universities in the US and Europe, an approach that privileges cultural diversity and cross-cultural exchange is bound to teach a history of science and technology that is global in its framework and allows for all major world cultures to have a representation.

In contrast to the long-standing emphasis on the connection between the Islamic world and Catholic, Protestant or secular Europe with regard to history of science and technology in Islamic societies, the diversity and exchange approach suggests to integrate other connections that the Islamic world formed in its more than 1000 years of intellectual history, in particular its connections with East, South and South East Asia as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.

The emphasis on the local permits to question critically well-established grand narratives about history of science and technology, in particular the claimed conflict between religious and ‘secular’ sciences, the so-called decline thesis and the privileging of Arabic sources. It will obviously improve our knowledge and understanding of local cultures of knowledge and help us overcome conceptually the belief that there is one type of history of science and technology valid for all Islamic societies.

The integration of multiple concepts of history of science and technology as practiced today in western academia will create respect for contextual studies that complement and go beyond current content-focused preferences. Such a respect will open avenues for developing new theoretical as well as methodological perspectives on central questions such as the relationship between religion and ‘secular’ knowledge and the spaces for the ‘secular’ sciences in Islamic societies or the difficulties with regard to reform, modernization, and innovation that characterized these fields of knowledge over time and space. Breaking away from a reified concept of Islam and favouring diversity and locality sets the entire history of science and technology into a different framework.

Such a new framework will allow asking other than the current central questions, among them issues of authority creation for ‘secular’ science in a nomadic environment, legitimacy creation for foreign military rulers by means of ritualistic ‘secular’ knowledge practices and appropriation of ‘secular’ knowledge by competing non-secular groups and their modes of cultural practice. It also will stimulate the cross-disciplinary exchange of ideas, theories, and methods, a process not taking place currently within history of science and technology in Islamic societies.

Cross-fertilization is an important procedure to support innovation and development within academia. Furthermore, privileging cultural diversity, cross-cultural exchange, local specificity, and transformational complexity entails challenging current white spots within history of science and technology in Islamic societies, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and Eastern Europe as far as space is concerned and most centuries after 1300 as far as time is concerned. A particularly painful white spot is the total lack of studies on contemporary history and policy of science and technology in Islamic societies. In addition to this recommendation of an open-ended, methodologically and conceptually pluralistic approach to introducing history of science and technology into universities of Islamic countries, it cannot be stressed enough that solid knowledge of all components, i.e. theories and methodologies of the humanities and social sciences, the content of the ‘secular’

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sciences, the historical particularities of the local cultures and the various material objects or sources that form the basis for any study of history of science and technology, is a condition sine qua none for an academically valid teaching of history of science and technology. Using history of science and technology for non-academic goals needs to be carefully questioned and tested for its compatibility with basic rights and duties such as academic freedom of teaching and research, a principle not written with capital letters in the Islamic world.

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS In English

• RESEARCH:

- Build a database of theses on the history of science in Islamic countries; - Promote the digitization of scientific manuscripts; - Develop comparative research (between different scientific traditions).

• POPULARIZATION:

- Translate publications for the general public into the languages of Muslim countries; - Promote the creation of Internet sites and popular journals.

• TRAINING:

- Do not separate the history of science from epistemology; - Set up training for professional historians in the history of science.

• TEACHING:

- Do not restrict teaching to the history of science of Islamic countries; - Ensure the preparation of science history lessons by specialists and their dissemination online.

____________________ 1. The Conference recommends transmitting to the governments of Muslim countries the recommendation concerning the introduction of teaching the history of science: - in the secondary education, as part of the history of civilization or of general history;

- in the university education, as part of the history of civilization or the general history curricula in the Faculties of Arts. With regard to Science and Technology Faculties, this will involve developing special history of science curricula in the Faculties of Medicine, Engineering and the other Science Faculties.

2. The Conference recommends that UNESCO undertake a comprehensive survey of the history of science institutes that currently exist in Muslim countries.

3. The Conference recommends that teaching and scientific research methods in the existing institutes be coordinated to ensure that they are focused primarily on the history of science in Islamic civilization as a whole rather than on the local history of science in the various regions, thus providing a vision of science in Islamic civilization rather than in the Arab countries or in Turkey, Iran or the Indian sub-continent, etc. Scholars from the Islamic world should therefore not be considered as Arabs, Iranians or Turks, but should be viewed

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solely as Muslim or Islamic scholars. And the coordination initiative should be spearheaded by UNESCO.

4. The existing history of science institutes should be used with a view to the qualification and retraining of history of science teachers in countries in which there are no such institutes.

5. Cooperation should be developed with Western history of science institutes specializing in the history of science in Islam. Doctoral or post-doctoral students should be sent to western European countries to perfect their training in research methods.

6. Short training courses should be organized for secondary history teachers qualifying them to teach the history of science.

7. One-year university courses should be organized that provide higher education teachers with qualifications in the history of science, focusing in Science Faculties on the history of medicine, technology and science as well as on the history of Islamic science in general.

8. Persons specializing in the history of science and preparing for a Master’s or Doctoral degree should be sent to existing institutes in Muslim countries, taking into consideration the recommendation 5 above.

9. The programmes of missions referred to in recommendations 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be financed by a budget overseen by UNESCO and derived from assistance provided by the governments and by the World Islamic Call Society (WICS).

10. Teaching methods

The programme presented in the working document prepared by Professor Ahmad Y. al-Hassan may be considered as a starting point for methods of teaching the history of science at Master’s and Doctoral level.

The coordination initiative between the existing history of science institutes involves studying the programme annexed to the working document with a view to an agreement between the institutes on a unified programme.

11. The references

Specialized references available today on the history of science in Islam, such as Science and Technology in Islam, Parts I and II, UNESCO, 2001, may be used.

A short publication must be produced on the history of Islamic science to serve as a textbook for the use of secondary and higher education teachers.

Short publications must be produced on the history of medicine, technology and science for the purpose of teaching these subjects in Science Faculties.

Until these short publications are produced, in the meantime it is possible to use similar publications already in existence. Expert assessment of these short publications must be performed by a specialized commission.

12. The languages

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The existing institutes for the history of science must incorporate Arabic, Persian and Turkish into their syllabi. They must also introduce another foreign language in addition to the languages already mentioned. It must be one of the following languages: English, French or German.

13. The Internet

The Internet has become an effective distance learning tool. The Conference recommends the use of the Internet in teaching the history of science in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. The existing institutes are responsible for organizing distance learning and for jointly devising Internet-based learning programmes.

UNESCO should assume responsibility for organizing this initiative and for monitoring its financing from the funds allocated by the governments and by WICS.

(1) Execution of joint projects on a cooperative basis.

(2) Publication of the complete works of major scholars.

(3) Provision of a common education in the history of science in cooperation with lecturers from various universities.

(4) Co-direction of Master’s and Doctoral degrees for students in higher education.

(5) Establishment of an International Institute for History and the Philosophy of Science which would admit higher education students in the history of science after a one-year preparation with a view to their admission.

(6) Organization of meetings and joint workshops on the history of science.

(7) Organization of specialized research seminars on history of science topics.

(8) Contribution to history of science teaching through the presentation of research projects on the history of science from various universities.

(9) Preparation of a textbook on the history of science (mathematics, astronomy, natural sciences, technology) in Arab-Muslim civilization.

(10) Preparation of a second book on the history of medicine and the life sciences in Arab-Muslim civilization.

(11) Establishment of departments or Chairs in the history of science in universities in Muslim countries and teaching of the history of science to university students.

(12) Introduction of history of science themes in the Arab and Muslim world into pre-university education, recognizing that science was one of the characteristics of that civilization.

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En français • SOUTIEN A LA RECHERCHE : - Réaliser une banque de données des thèses sur l’histoire des sciences en pays d’Islam; - Encourager la numérisation des manuscrits scientifiques; - Développer les recherches comparatives (entre différentes traditions scientifiques). - Coopérer avec les instituts d’histoire des sciences occidentaux spécialisés dans l’histoire des

sciences en Islam. Il faudrait envoyer les étudiants doctorants ou post-doctorants vers les pays de l’Europe occidentale pour parfaire leur formation dans les méthodes de recherche.

- Envoyer, vers les instituts existant actuellement dans les pays musulmans, les personnes spécialisées en histoire des sciences et visant l’obtention d’un Magister ou d’un Doctorat, en prenant en considération la recommandation.

- Proposer, aux Instituts d’histoire des sciences existants, un projet de programme unifié qui serait un point de départ pour les méthodes d’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences au niveau Magister et Doctorat (voir les propositions du Prof. Gabarin dans sa note introductive à la Conférence).

- Suggérer aux Instituts d’histoire des sciences existants d’introduire dans leurs cursus de formation l’arabe, le persan et le turc ainsi qu’une langue étrangère parmi celles qui sont les plus utilisés dans la recherche et dans la diffusion de l’histoire des sciences.

- Favoriser la co-direction de Magisters et de Doctorats par des professeurs de différentes Institutions supérieures des pays musulmans.

- Création d’un Institut International d’Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences qui recruterait parmi les étudiants de l’enseignement supérieur en histoire des sciences après une préparation d’une année en vue de ce recrutement.

- Organiser de séminaires de recherche spécialisés dans des thèmes d’histoire des sciences.

• DIFFUSION DES RESULTATS DE LA RECHERCHE :

- Traduction d’ouvrages de vulgarisation dans les langues des pays musulmans; - Encourager la création de sites Internet et de revues de vulgarisation; - Pérenniser les rencontres de vulgarisation existantes (comme les colloques régionaux de

Syrie, de Jordanie et du Maghreb) et promouvoir de nouvelles rencontres sous forme d’ateliers communs pour un échange régulier des expériences locales.

• LES DIFFERENTS NIVEAUX D’ENSEIGNEMENT DE L’HISTOIRE DES SCIENCES

- au niveau secondaire, dans le cadre de l’histoire de la civilisation ou de l’histoire générale, - au niveau universitaire dans le cadre des programmes d’histoire de la civilisation ou de

l’histoire générale des Facultés de lettres. Pour les Facultés scientifiques et technologiques, il s’agira d’enseigner un programme spécial d’histoire des sciences dans les Facultés de Médecine et d’ingénierie ainsi que dans l’ensemble des Facultés des sciences.

- Créer des départements ou de chaires d’histoire des sciences dans les universités des pays musulmans.

• FORMATION DES ENSEIGNANTS : - Ne pas séparer l’histoire des sciences de l’épistémologie; - Initier une formation en Histoire des Sciences en direction des historiens professionnels.

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- S’appuyer sur les instituts d’histoire des sciences existants actuellement afin d’aider à la qualification et au recyclage des enseignants d’histoire des sciences des pays qui ne disposent pas de ce type d’institut.

- Organiser de courtes périodes de formation en direction des professeurs d’histoire du secondaire afin de les qualifier dans l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences.

- Organiser des études d’une année universitaire afin de délivrer des diplômes en histoire des sciences dans le but de qualifier des enseignants du supérieur en axant, dans les Facultés des sciences, sur l’histoire de la médecine, de la technologie et des sciences en plus de l’histoire des sciences islamiques en général.

• REALISATION D’OUTILS DIDACTIQUES : - Ne pas se limiter à l’histoire des sciences des pays d’Islam; - Utiliser Internet pour accélérer l’introduction de l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences à

différents niveaux des cursus d’enseignement et de formation. - Réaliser par des spécialistes, et diffuser en ligne, des cours d’histoire des sciences. Une

première expérience pourrait être prise en charge par le « Campus Virtuel Avicenne », une structure existant actuellement et travaillant sous l’égide de l’UNESCO.

- A moyen terme, les Instituts existant actuellement pourraient, en concertation, prendre en charge l’organisation de cet enseignement.

- Se baser sur les références spécialisées dans l’histoire des sciences en Islam et qui sont disponibles aujourd’hui (voir, en Annexe I, une première liste non exhaustive).

- Réaliser un ouvrage abrégé sur l’histoire des sciences islamiques qui puissent servir comme un manuel utilisable par les enseignants du secondaire et du supérieur.

- Réaliser des ouvrages abrégés sur l’histoire de la médecine, de la technologie et des sciences devant servir à enseigner ces sujets dans les Facultés des sciences.

- Utiliser les manuels existants en attendant la réalisation de nouveaux manuels mieux adaptés,

- Soumettre les manuels existants, et ceux qui seront mis en chantier, à l’expertise d’une commission spécialisée.

- La conférence recommande l’utilisation de l’Internet dans l’enseignement de l’histoire des sciences dans les langues arabe, persane et turque.

- Mettre sur pied un projet de publication des œuvres des hommes de sciences des pays d’Islam.

• LES STRUCTURES D’ENSEIGNEMENT : - Recensement complet des Instituts d’histoire des sciences existant actuellement dans les

pays musulmans. - Coordonner les méthodes d’enseignement dans les instituts existants actuellement afin

qu’elles soient recentrées, au premier chef, sur l’histoire des sciences dans la civilisation islamique comme un tout et non sur l’histoire locale des sciences dans les différentes régions, c'est-à-dire qu’il doit s’agir d’un regard sur les sciences dans la civilisation islamique et non des sciences dans les pays arabes ou en Turquie ou en Iran ou dans le Continent indien, etc. Il ne s’agit donc pas de considérer les savants de l’Islam comme Arabes ou Iraniens ou Turcs ou autres mais ils doivent être appréhendés uniquement comme savants musulmans ou islamiques. Et l’UNESCO devra diriger l’opération de coordination.

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• LES PROBLEMES DE FINANCEMENT:

- Le financement des différents projets évoqués dans les recommandations se fera avec un budget supervisé par l’UNESCO et provenant des aides fournies par les gouvernements, des Associations et des organismes régionaux, comme le W.I.C.S., l’I.S.E.S.C.O. et l’A.L.E.C.S.O.