I was privileged to have attended the glittering prize ceremony held by the King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh this week. This stunning annual event marks the awarding of several prizes in a variety of categories to those individuals who have not only made an impact on their particular field academically, but more importantly have proven to have made a contribution to the welfare and well-being of humanity through their work. For me, such an event embodies a lot more than even these simple and noble objectives. It highlights how an organization such as this pays tribute to the value of erudition and the pursuit of excellence through not just philanthropy, but the inadvertent successes gained through the quest for knowledge.
In retrospect, throughout the history of the prize since 1977, the Al-Faisals have recognized and acknowledged a very essential Islamic principle, that those who relentlessly seek knowledge are more superior in the eyes of God than those who immerse themselves in worship. What saddens me is that such an important fundamental seems to have been eroded over the course of time. Many of us love to harp on about the wonderful achievements of the Islamic world during the Middle Ages. We gloat over just how it was that when the Western world was shrouded by a veil of ignorance our community, inspired by religion and its tenets highlighting the imperative nature of advancement and discovery, had reached its intellectual peak. And what have we been doing since then? Not an awful lot evidently.
In his acceptance speech, Federico Capasso, who jointly won this year’s prize for physics, emphasized the West’s debt to the Islamic world for having laid down the basic framework for scientific inquiry and observation. Yes, it is true that the contribution that we had made was a significant one. But what about the debt that we owe to ourselves and to our community? Surely this role that we had played at the advent of scholarship should not be our swan song, but rather a prelude to the greatness that is yet to come?
It is time to stop resting on our laurels and instead make it a part of our religious duty to further ourselves in all disciplines and fields. We have tremendous resources at our disposal. It is nothing short of pitiful that we have not strived to move ahead in spite of all the wealth that we possess. We ascribe so much more importance to materialism, ephemeral pleasure and avariciousness than to the really important facets of life.
We need to imbue our sons and daughters with a thirst for wisdom and education, not for fast cars and mobile phones. We need to teach them how to think critically and not convince them that superficial studying and rote learning is enough to make the grade. We must instill within them a sense of humility and a continuous desire to progress, not reassure them that they are superior to others and only need to invest the bare minimum effort in order to get by.
It is only when you realize your own imperfections and shortcomings that you are liable to embark upon the path of self-improvement. Unfortunately, arrogance, a delusional sense of infallibility and an ignorant belief that we are perfection personified has been the cause of our eternal stagnation. It is high time that we faced reality, as harsh and incongruous with our perceptions of ourselves as it may be, and move on.
It is encouraging to note that the prize for Islamic studies was received by a woman professor from the University of Edinburgh, Carole Hillenbrand. This was a wonderful choice because it showed that the adjudication of such a prize is not influenced by some of the prejudices women have to face in other spheres of our society. How more magnificent would it be if all of us could be judged based on our merits rather than on our gender.
Her seminal work on The Crusades has served to rectify the previously distorted and one-sided picture of this crucial period in history. Through her translations of hundreds of Arabic texts, that had remained untranslated and largely ignored, she portrayed a fairer picture of actual events. Is it not surprising though that it has taken several hundred years and a Western scholar to have redressed this balance?
Several of the winners donated their prize money to ventures that will be of benefit to the Arab community. They all expressed their willingness to utilize their experiences to promote a greater understanding between Islam and the West. This is the way forward, it seems. We have the capability but we must match this with our determination. I wish that there were more events on our calendar celebrating the glory of knowledge. I also hope that one day the Kingdom will produce the caliber of candidates that it invites from abroad to receive this accolade every year.
(Lubna Hussain is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.)