Entry 388, on 2006-08-31 at 14:11:14 (Rating 4, Politics)
A friend sent me an email today which showed the number of Nobel prizes awarded to Muslims compared with the number awarded to Jews. There were 7 given to Muslims who make up 20% of the world population, and over 100 to Jews who make up only 0.2% of the population. I know this person is rather intolerant of Islam and there was also a mathematical error in the email, but I think the basic facts are correct.
Another factor to consider is how serious about religion are these people? For example, Einstein was listed amongst the Jews, yet we know he only believed in God as an abstract concept - he certainly didn't take the God of the Old Testament seriously. So maybe he was a Jew from a cultural but not a religious perspective. However, this is only debating the details, and the basic anomaly remains.
I tend to be equally tolerant of all religions and often defend Islam against bigoted Christians. Actually a better way to put it would be I'm equally intolerant, because I don't think religion is either a valid or a beneficial force in the world. But the fact remains that Muslims aren't making a very positive contribution to the world today. I'm sure part of that is because they have been poorly treated by the current world power structure, but since they control so much of the oil resources the current economy should be an advantage to them.
So what has gone wrong? In the past Christianity has dragged the western world into the dark ages and it was partly through a significant contribution from Muslim knowledge (especially mathematics) and records that the Renaissance actually happened. Maybe different political blocks (I'm not sure if its strictly related to religion) just go through cycles of enlightenment.
The ironic thing is that the less religious they are, the more enlightened they are likely to become - after all, the Enlightenment (capital E) is the ultimate example. I've said it before and I've got to say it again: religion is OK as long as you don't take it too seriously!
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