Why Isn’t There a Scientific Inquiry Environment in the Country?

At first glance, it may seem like a routine incident, with news of it appearing in newspapers and discussions happening on social media. However, it hasn’t quite caught the attention of the general public. The incident revolves around Sher Ali, an assistant professor at Peshawar University, whose family has strong connections with the Pashtun culture. Recently, during a seminar, he asserted that the burqa or veil is neither a part of Pashtun traditions nor mentioned in Islam. According to him, according to medical science, a girl reaches puberty when her mind is mature, which happens around the age of 12, while a boy reaches puberty at 14. This indicates that girls mature earlier mentally. According to reports, after the seminar, Sher Ali and his family faced severe hardships in their community. People severed social ties with them, and they started facing harassment.

When the situation became more intense, local clerics, along with the district administration, forced Sher Ali to apologize and sign a statement in which he renounced his theories. He also wrote that he considered all scientific and intellectual ideas that go against Divine Law, such as Darwin’s theory of evolution, as false. This marked the end of the news.

People often ask why our country lacks a conducive environment for scientific inquiry. What’s the reason we cannot make any breakthroughs in scientific research and our names are absent from any scientific achievements? In response to this question, the liberal class tends to blame religious narrow-mindedness, and they argue that scientific research is only possible in a free environment, something not available in our country. They claim that whenever there’s research in the field of science, questions about religious beliefs will inevitably arise in the results. For example, controversies arose over religious beliefs following the results of the theory of evolution or the discoveries of Galileo and Copernicus, who clashed with the Church because of their scientific findings. Today, the entire world celebrates Galileo, but at that time, he was threatened by the Church. The religious class refutes this argument, claiming that there are open universities in the country where science is taught, people earn Ph.D. degrees in science, conduct experiments in laboratories, and the government has established numerous organizations to promote science. Did the clergy ever make a fuss over these institutions, demanding that scientific experiments be halted or protesting against the dissection of female cadavers with the help of male doctors in medical colleges? It’s clear that this never happened, and there’s no reason for it. Therefore, blaming the religious class for not having an environment of scientific inquiry in the country is entirely baseless.

Both viewpoints have their merits, but it seems that there is a consensus between religious and liberal classes that, in any case, the country lacks an environment for scientific inquiry. So let’s first examine what kind of environment exists in the country. For this, you don’t need to travel extensively. Just try to understand what motivates the state and society, what freedom of expression is tolerated, what the country celebrates, what it mourns, what is taught in educational institutions, what young people aspire to become in life, and what the general attitude and preferences of society are. It’s clear that we have achieved excellence in the things we encourage. For example, the entire nation is crazy about cricket, and the state also takes great interest in it. Even when the country was on the verge of bankruptcy, the Cricket Board organized the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Cricket is played in every street and neighborhood. Matches are held in schools and colleges. There is no special opposition from the religious class to this. This is why, despite the decline of the country, cricket has not declined. We are still part of the world’s top teams.

We can take the example of Jihad as well. When the state took charge and we waged “jihad” against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, the superpowers faced defeat. The reason was that there was a jihad atmosphere throughout the country. Seminars were held; religious and political scholars extolled the virtues of jihad. The state encouraged it. The result was as expected.

When we say that there is no environment for scientific inquiry in the country, the reason is not solely religious narrow-mindedness. It is the general attitude and inclination of society and the state. The government and society do not oppose scientific research, but they don’t champion it either. If this were the case, Sher Ali, an assistant professor at Peshawar University, wouldn’t have had to make a statement renouncing his theories with district administration officials present. Yes, it’s true that no religious sect has ever protested against scientific laboratories. For this, we should be very grateful. But is merely protesting not enough? Scientific inquiry is impossible without a free environment. This environment can be created in two ways. first, by establishing government policies to make scientific discussion possible in the country without fear or hesitation. Second, by inculcating critical thinking among children at the school level. Currently, our schools, and even universities, lack critical thinking. These universities are merely degree-producing institutions where the most freedom they have is to invite religious scholars to ask them questions about the virgins in paradise. If no one has written an article on the methods of spending time with virgins in paradise, I’m willing to do it.