Science, the most beautiful way of unravelling the truth of nature, is secular. Science can be understood as something which believes in facts and facts are gleaned out by observations and experiments. In scientific method, first of all a scientist identifies a problem and then he explores existing literature on that problem. If some new results are discovered and hold water, even if repeated by lots of other scientists, then it’s given the status of law. Science can be simply understood as something which believes in causality: it means there is causal relationship in many things. If you set the paper on fire, it will burn to ashes. Science has its methods, which are employed by scientists–wether they are Muslims or non-Muslims– to get the adequate results. Results of a scientific experiment are never clouted by an ideology. That’s why science is secular.
In Muslim world, in general, and Pakistan, in particular, science is in shambles; it’s predicated on the fact, and this is one of the reasons among many, that in Pakistan the essence of science is often neglected.
One of the reasons that is wrecking havoc on science in Pakistan is its mixture with ideology. Often ideology or dogma is given upper hand and scientific knowledge is degraded as something secondary. If you ask an average Pakistani science student that if a scientific fact is in clash with their cultural values, what they will choose, they will, in nine out of ten cases, will single out their cultural values. This is obvious from the fact that bulk of our students deny theory of evolution and big bang, without entertaining their ideas and proofs. Science demands a mind cleansed of hardcore biases and hidebound traditions, and explores and follows its truth wherever it leads. In Pakistan this overshadowing of science by ideology is destructive for the essence of science.
Furthermore, science believes in cause and effect, and never allows suspension of this relationship. Parvez Hoodbhoy in his book ” Islam and Science”, argues that the kernel cause of elimination of Muslim golden age can be attributed to the Muslim clergy’s denial of causality. Science does not believe in miracles, though it’s performing many miracles. Miracles and belief in them is just a matter of faith. Most of science’ students deny this causal relationship, if given the choice between accepting miracles and opting out causal relationship. This attitude could produce good believers but not good scientists. Denying the causality in defense of faith is destroying the very core of science.
Moreover, people in Pakistan often compare their religious commandments and values with scientific facts and often have a regressive approach towards the science. They think their scriptures have mentioned something, which scientist discovered now, eons before. This is again a direct attack on science. According to Karl Popper, scientific facts are falsifiable and the things which cannot be falsified are not scientific. Can a scriptural truth be falsifiable? Absolutely not. So it’s not scientific; in addition, scientific theories always change, when new facts and research pop up, but scriptural truths are eternal and immutable. So comparing science and religion is foolhardy because they are poles apart. This attitude takes a heavy toll on scientific education in Pakistan and robs the science of it’s essence.
The solution lies in fostering critical thinking in science’ students and inculcating in them this attitude that they should not meld their scientific passion with religious zeal, and they should always pursue facts, even if they go against their cultural values, because facts are essence of science. And sacrificing them at the alter of culture is robbing science of its very essence.
A. Hmza
