---
title: Islam and Science
tags: live-v0.2.3, culture
permalink: https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/islam
---

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# Muslim History and Contributions to Science and Why it Matters

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This piece by Dr Shamaila Anwar looks at vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority communities from the lens of systemic discrimination that has led to the historical scientific achievements of these communities being obscured. It highlights the importance of education as key to breaking this cycle of discrimination. Empowerment of communities through their histories is an important part of this. As we become more aware of inequalities as a society, we should also recognise that names of Muslim scholars like Ibn Sina and Al Razi should be synonymous with Edward Jenner and James Lynd. Scientific knowledge that enables medical progress such as vaccination has a long history in many communities and this should celebrated.

For more about cultural differences in vaccine uptake, see our page [here](https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/vaxculture).
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[TOC]

## Introduction: 2020 - An Eye Opener of a Year for Inequalities in Health

The pandemic has opened our eyes to health inequalities, their causes and how much our race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status and the sources of information we access shape our experiences of and attitudes to health. The evidence was clear from the outset, in the UK Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups had [higher rates of infection, serious disease, and deaths from COVID-19](https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjgh/2020/08/25/the-disproportionate-impact-of-covid-19-on-bame-communities-in-the-uk-an-urgent-research-priority/). But there was also a clear disconnect: the communities most at risk from COVID-19 were the same communities where [vaccination rates were and in some cases still are low](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.27.20248899v1).

The WHO defines [vaccine hesitancy](https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019) as “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines'' and cites it as one of the top 10 greatest threats to global health. Unfortunately, this definition is extremely broad. It encompasses both those unsure about vaccination (including those who do get vaccinated) as well as anti-vaxx groups who actively reject vaccination. In the context of this deadly pandemic, where each of us has been called upon to do our bit, to follow the rules and to be vaccinated, it is easy to judge those who don't live up to expectations, and to put everyone in the same boat. But as the evidence has shown, [not all groups experienced the pandemic, or indeed, healthcare, in the same way, and this affects people’s attitudes towards COVID-19 and the vaccines](https://c19vax.scibeh.org/pages/vaxculture).

The pandemic has coincided with the start of a long-overdue [racial awakening](https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/902179773/summer-of-racial-reckoning-the-match-lit) globally. Through the [Black Lives Matter](https://blacklivesmatter.com/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=DC4RTFYz.sirY4t7Nv_zykb8x.am.Of9T2mIa169epg-1641544434-0-gaNycGzNCBE) movement, we have been forced to realise and acknowledge the impact that racism and discrimination have had on communities of colour. We are talking here about decades (centuries, if you consider that most of these communities were at some point under colonial rule) of experiencing not only health inequalities but disparities in education, wealth, freedom, safety, and erroneous perceptions of these communities and their histories.

These are the same communities that have been subject to unethical medical practices. Memories of the infamous [US Tuskegee scandal](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/tuskegee-study-medical-distrust-research/487439/) are still fresh in the minds of all US black community, infact all communities of colour as are memories of the [1996 anti-meningitis drug trial in Nigeria](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/11/pfizer-nigeria-meningitis-drug-compensation). What made the Nigerian trial particularly difficult to come to terms with was that it involved children. The questionable parental consent procedures undertaken in the trial by Pfizer backed by the Nigerian government showed little regard to ethics or even simple respect for human life. Eleven children died and many were left disabled. It is unsurprising therefore that it is these communities we are seeing high levels of hesitancy in.

Every community of course has its fair share of anti-vaxxers, but the key point here is that even though communities of colour are legitimately hesitant, there is a disconnect between this and the readily perpetuated and erroneous view that society has of them of being uneducated, out of touch, incompatible with the modern world, and mistrusting of science. This perpetuates the cycle of discrimination and also makes those communities vulnerable to [anti-vaxxers who prey on their existing anxieties about the vaccine.](https://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2378)

Addressing vaccine hesitancy is therefore a complex issue. It is not just about responding to the questions that communities have about whether vaccine development was rushed or if vaccines affect fertility. It is also about understanding the wider culture, history and experiences of a community to help identify the real reason why they may be hesitant. For instance, is it because people do not understand or trust the science behind the vaccines? Or is it because they do not trust the messengers encouraging them to be vaccinated?

## The Eurocentric View of the World

Developing a true and clear picture of the history, development and contributions of a community is not an easy task if you consider that our views of communities of colour begin to develop at an early age. The history books in British schools focus on White history, the two World Wars, the monarchy. We hear about the great scientific contributions of scholars such as James Lynd, Edward Jenner or Louis Pasteur. We hear these same figures mentioned over and over again throughout the pandemic (which initiated something of a revival in the history of medicine and science).

We learn very little about the cultures and contributions from which our ethnically diverse communities hail. The Eurocentric view of the world is so solidified that it does not even allow us to consider that scientific innovation and discovery can be attributed to other cultures. Even more devastating though is that this historical bias has resulted in communities of colour that have no history. These communities' histories, cultures, contributions–all washed away as if they never were. And all this from the same culture that gave birth to racism and discrimination.

In reality, Europe's scientific awakening came quite late to the table. It began with the cultural and intellectual movement associated with the [Renaissance period](https://www.livescience.com/55230-renaissance.html) from around 1400 CE (although some dispute this saying that science never completely vanished from Europe during the Middle Ages but continued to flourish just not as prominently). Major developments during this time included the printing press and world exploration, both of which facilitated the expansion of knowledge. This was followed by the Industrial Revolution and advent of colonialism, which guaranteed Europe as the epicentre of scientific innovation. Such was the heady mix of these movements that they ensured the rewriting of history and total obliteration of what went before.

## What Went Before - The Golden Age of Islam

Nowhere has this obliteration been more complete and has resulted in greater ignorance than involving Islam.

Most people (even from the Muslim community itself) are surprised to learn just how much we owe to Muslim scholars. They were the cultural and scientific leaders of the time. The Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him (pbuh)) place a great deal of importance on science.

Unlike other religions at the time, Islam did not view disease as a punishment from God but something to be resolved through the acquisition of knowledge. The Quran’s teachings are clear: [“The scholar’s ink is more sacred than the blood of martyrs”](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/timbuktu-the-ink-of-schol_b_1847749). Islamic teachings shaped the ways in which religion, philosophy, and science interacted. The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was known to promote medical research preaching that [“for every disease, Allah has given a cure”](https://islam.fandom.com/wiki/Islamic_medicine) and it was our duty to look after our own health and wellbeing as well as those around us.

The Islamic state was formed in 622 CE when the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) moved from Mecca to Medina. Within a century after his death in around 632 CE, the Muslim empire had unified large parts of the planet. By around 750 CE, the Abbassid Caliphate had taken control of the Empire and cities like Baghdad sprung up and became learning hubs. The Golden Age of Islam had begun. It was an unprecedented time, a time of cultural, economic, and scientific advancement. Communication became easier because the Muslim Empire unified extensive geographic areas linguistically and culturally. At the same time, the Arabs mastered the production of paper and books became readily available. Libraries were established and book shops opened in major cities like Cairo, Aleppo and Baghdad.These cities became hubs for teaching and sharing ideas but the icing on the cake was the opening of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad in 1004 CE which allowed science to thrive.

## Famous Muslim Scholars We Should All Know About

During the Golden Age, medicine went through some pretty impressive developments, which we now know influenced medical education and practice in Europe. Arab scholars were adept at synthesising and elaborating on the knowledge they had gathered from ancient manuscripts and adding their own experience. These are the same principles underpinning modern research today! The ancient Muslim scholars translated and analysed and built on the works of Hippocrates, Rufus of Ephesus, Dioscurides, and Galen amongst others, but they also became eminent authorities in science and medicine in their own right.

Among the most famous are:

[**Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya**](https://www.dw.com/en/fatima-al-fihri-founder-of-the-worlds-oldest-university/a-53371150) is ranked as one the most influential Muslim women in history. She founded the world’s first University, Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morrocco, which is the oldest continuously operational University in the world. It started life as a mosque but soon expanded into a fully functioning University. It was the first institution of its kind ever to award degrees and played a pivotal role in the cultural exchange and transfer of knowledge between Muslims and Europeans. For example, it is thought that Pope Sylvester II, a University of Al-Qarawiyyin alum, brought the use of zero and Arabic numerals to Europe following his studies there.

[**Abu Bakr Muhummad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi**](https://www.reviewofreligions.org/34769/the-greatest-physician-of-islam-and-the-medieval-ages-muhammad-ibn-zakariya-al-razi-rhazes/) (865-925 CE) was the first to use animal trials to examine the effects and toxicity of drugs prior to use in humans. He established the methodology of clinical medicine by having a rational holistic approach to the care of patients based on recording, interpreting and classifying his clinical and experimental observations. He developed the concept of psychiatric wards and was known to have practised an early form of cognitive therapy for disorders such as obsessive behaviour and depression. He was also a pioneer in the fields of paediatrics and infectious diseases.He was the first person to describe smallpox and measles as two distinct diseases. His book, Kitab al-Judari wa al-Hasbah (On Smallpox and Measles), was translated into over a dozen languages. In 1970, the World Health Organisation credited his work by stating, [“His writings on smallpox and measles show originality and accuracy, and his essay on infectious diseases was the first scientific treatise on the subject.”](https://www.proquest.com/openview/4cb7abe3dcf00c28cb9c162e7593be92/1)

[**Al-Zahrawi**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6077085/) (936-1013 CE), known as the father of surgery, invented over 200 different surgical instruments. He is credited with performance of the first thyroidectomy and made significant contributions to neurosurgery and neurological diagnosis. He was known to have performed surgery on head injuries, skull fractures, spinal injuries and hydrocephalus. He pioneered the use of biodegradable catgut sutures which revolutionised surgery involving the internal structures of the body and was the first to use replantation in dentistry. His book Kitab al-Tasrif (On Surgery and Instruments) completed around 1000 CE was the first illustrated surgical guide ever written and established his authority in Europe for the next 500 years. In recent times, a review of Kitab al-Tasrif's manuscript has revealed that some medical procedures described were erroneously ascribed to European physicians practising similar techniques centuries later.

[**Ibn Sina**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2642865/) (980-1037 CE) is regarded as one of the most significant thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age. He pioneered the practice of quarantining sick individuals to stop the spread of infectious disease. He is credited with an early form of Germ theory. His book Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine; published in 1025 CE), became the most authoritative medical textbook in Europe up until the 16th century in which he discussed how people can transmit disease to others by breath, and the transmission of disease through water and dirt. In his book he also laid down the 7 principles for testing the effectiveness of drugs on the human body that forms the basis of the way we conduct clinical trials today.

[**Ibn-Nafis**](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2612469/) (1210–1288 CE) is considered the father of circulatory physiology. He wrote many books in medicine but his most important was Sharah al Tashreeh al Qanoon (Commentary on anatomy of the Canon of Avicenna). This book was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1924. He developed the theory of pulmonary circulation, that is, he was the first person to suggest that all the blood that reached the left ventricle passed through the lung. He was also the first person to suggest that there were pores between the pulmonary artery and vein 400 years before the discovery of the pulmonary capillaries by the European scientist Marcello Malpighi.

## Education and Healthcare in the Golden Age

During the Golden Age, Muslims developed a sophisticated system of [healthcare and medical education](https://www.ishim.net/ishimj/2/01.pdf). This consisted of training in the basic sciences such as alchemy (which preceded Chemistry), [pharmacognosy](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3371443/), anatomy, and physiology followed by clinical training in hospitals, where students performed physical examinations, attended ward rounds, and clinical lectures. Upon completion of training, future physicians were required to pass oral and practical exams in order to be licensed.

Hospitals developed all over the Arab world. The first known hospital was established in Damascus in 706 CE while the most important one, located in [Baghdad](https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/islamic_12.html), was established in 982 CE. These were well-organised institutions, run under specific regulations and directed by physicians, where detailed medical records were kept They were adequately equipped, and had both inpatient and outpatient units. Small, mobile hospital units were also created to serve distant areas and battle fields.

This era saw major developments in pharmacology. Arab scholars experimented with anaesthetics, developed techniques such as distillation, crystallisation, solution, and calcinations and found [new drugs](https://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=109#.YdcV5vnP2Uk) such as camphor, senna, musk, alum, sandalwood, ambergris, mercury, aloes, and aconite. They also developed flavoured syrups made of rose water, orange or lemon peel to make oral medication more palatable and easier to take. The first [pharmacies](https://islamhashtag.com/do-you-know-that-muslims-made-the-first-pharmacy-of-the-world-during-the-abassid-caliphatebaghdad-754/) were established in Baghdad in 754 CE and in the 12th century CE pharmacology was differentiated from medicine and alchemy and became an independent discipline. The impact of Arabic pharmacology in Europe was felt for centuries.

Astonishing [progress](https://www.1001inventions.com/feature/devices/) was also made in astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, architecture and artistic and agriculture. Methods for irrigation including underground channels, windmills, and waterwheels were just some of the Arabic inventions that we still use today.

The foundations of inoculation were also present at this time, with its benefits well known to the Muslim world. Centuries before [Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in the 1790s](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/), people in Asia, the Middle East and Africa practised a method of inoculation called [variolation](https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/medicine/smallpox-and-story-vaccination). The origin of the process of variolation is disputed. Some suggest China and others the Middle East. It is thought likely that different methods developed independently in different areas of the world. The technique practised by the Muslims consisted of taking a small amount of the smallpox virus from an infected person and scratching it into the skin of an uninfected person to induce a mild form of the disease. This then made the uninfected person immune from full-blown smallpox. This technique was practised throughout the latter half of the 17th century in Turkey, Persia, and Africa amongst other regions. There were a number of outbreaks of infectious disease including Smallpox and cholera in the Ottoman Empire between the 17th-19th century. The most noticeable efforts to protect the population from this disease were [undertaken by Sultan Abdulmejid I](https://www.islam21c.com/islamic-thought/history/the-caliph-the-vaccine/), the Caliph and 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Amongst other things he rebuilt the scientific institutions of the Ottoman Empire, liaised with scientists and physicians to confirm that the smallpox vaccine was effective and then issued a fatwa that the vaccine was halal and personable for use. He commissioned a 48-page treatise detailing the importance of science and medicine, the history of the smallpox vaccine, common myths to vaccination (and their answers) and how to perform vaccination. He also dispatched doctors to all cities and towns, especially rural areas, to spend twenty days in each location, teaching local medical staff how to innoculate. He also mandated that five of the brightest children from each Ottoman province would be sent to the Ottoman medical school to not only learn vaccination, but also to learn how to produce better vaccines and increase their uptake within society. Finally he ensured vaccinations were provided free of charge and their use written into law. Any of these measures sound familiar?

Variolation was introduced to Great Britain in 1721 by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire almost 100 years before Edward Jenner’s vaccination method became widely used. However variolation did take a while to catch on in England, as it was not thought that a "[ritualistic practice among uneducated tribes](https://www.reviewofreligions.org/26559/vaccines-covid-19-muslim-scientists/)" of the Middle East could be effective in fighting a disease

## Lasting Legacy

Decline is associated with all cultures at some point in time and the Muslim world was no exception. Between 1400-1500 CE the Muslim Empire started to decline. A litany of military invasions, droughts, massacres, destruction of infrastructure and of course the onset of European colonialism have been suggested as possible causes. Whatever the reasons were, it is clear that Islamic science left an indelible mark on the world. The work of Islamic scholars and scientists provided a solid foundation for European scientists to build on, but their contributions have been all but forgotten. There is no doubt that without the progress that the Muslim world made in science and medicine, our response to the pandemic would not have been as robust as it was and the healthcare system as we now know it would not have existed.

So what has been the impact of us losing sight of the contributions made by other cultures? It has of course resulted in a total lack of understanding about the history and development of different communities and what they have contributed. This in turn has led to cycle of discrimination and a false perception of communities of colour as being unsophisticated, uneducated and incapable of progress in the modern world. It has also led to these communities being open to exploitation and malpractice by the medical and research profession, and facilitated the supremacy of one culture over others. Through this lens it is easy to see why communities distrusting of organisations and people they associate with their exploitation and hesitant when an issues such as vaccination rears their head.

But perhaps the most devastating impact is that we have generations of people of colour with [no history](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/jun/07/david-olusoga-race-reality-historian-black-britishness) and therefore no means of fighting back against these discriminatory preconceptions. This cycle of discrimination will continue until we acknowledge it and begin to teach our future generations about the heritage of other cultures and the contributions they have made to science and society. As a society we have been forced into recognising the devastation that centuries of racism and discrimination has caused, but this culture change does not and should not stop here. It is time to put the record straight and acknowledge the contributions that scientists and scholars from different communities have made and credit them with the recognition they deserve. This in turn will help us to engage with communities of colour and support them in making decisions about their health without them feeling threatened. This needs to happen in our education systems across the world, every aspect of our life, society and culture. We need to open our minds to the prospect that science and scientific discovery is not the privilege of a few, but requires the contribution of many.

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_{**Page contributor: Shamaila Anwar**}

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