RIYADH, 28 January 2003 — The Islamic Development Bank, in cooperation with the Organization of the Islamic Conference Standing Committee on Science and Technology (COMSTECH), will award 190 scholarships for post-graduate studies in science and technology to students from Muslim states.
In making the announcement, Dr. Anwar Nasim, adviser to the committee, said about $2 million has been appropriated for the seven-year project. So far, 35 students from the Gambia, Somalia, Yemen, Benin, the Maldives, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Afghanistan have completed their studies under the program which was launched in 1998 on the recommendations of the coordinator-general of COMSTECH, he said.
Dr. Anwar noted that the recipients of the scholarships are sent to the best universities in the Muslim world.
"The program was approved with a view to promoting scientific and technological education in less-developed Muslim states," he added.
In a related development, COMSTECH has set up an international committee to investigate the moral aspects of human cloning and formulate necessary guidelines for the Islamic world. Sponsored by the 56-member OIC, the study will be conducted by Muslim scientists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Japan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunis and Pakistan.
It will include organizing international seminars and discussions on the latest developments in biotechnology and their implications from an Islamic perspective.
