Why The Arab World Is So Lacking In Scientific Achievement

Not to overstate the obvious...

In a comment article for the Bahraini newspaper Al Wasat, Obeidli al Obeidli underscored the fact that Israel outperforms the Arab world in scientific research.

According to papers presented on the academic situation in the Arab world, 35 per cent of Arab academics live in the diaspora, and two thirds of those have no plans to return. Quoting Idriss Laghrini, a Moroccan thinker, al Obeidli says that Arab countries lost the opportunity to take advantage of its academic diaspora. He accused a dilapidated bureaucracy for not offering an environment conducive to research and innovation.

Part of the huge discrepancy between Israel and the Arab world when talking about scientific research comes down to a question of numbers:

Saeed Hanna, a Syrian writer quoted by al Obeidly, highlighted some statistics. Israel in 2004 spent 4.7 per cent of its GNP on research and development, and about 30 per cent of its public budget went for higher education. This is aided by extra funds from the private sector, which stands as the major sponsor of research.

In Arab countries, the biggest share of the budget goes to cover salaries, allowances and other marginal expenses. The private sector is also less active in funding.

But maybe the real underlying reason is simply a question not only of priorities, but of attitude:

Ironically, the Arab states spend seven per cent of their GNP on armaments, or 53 times more than they devote for science.

Since Israel has only attacked the Arab countries in the past when those countries have threatened her, one could ask why the Arab countries see such a need to spend so much on arms.

But with Iran in the area, the answer is not that hard to find.

Technorati Tag: Arab World.