"We "stole" the mathematics among other things. "

I know that is in quotes, rarely is anything done out of the blue. Having an environment open to new ideas and information is the key to science. A better term would be "we learned mathematics from others" and that enabled muslims to apply it to other things (astrology, navigation...)

Strange as it may seem, I went to waterloo (a university in canada known for its science and engineering). Strangely, it full of muslims (egypt/iran/india...). In my work, the results are equally interesting. There is no lack of muslim talent.

Strange of course that these people could not find opportunity in their own country.

If we're just talking of the oil rich gulf states, I have few complaints about them. Considering they were living in mud huts not that long ago, they've done well for themselves. I mean, its not like they were scientifically great, then they found oil, then they lost interest. No, they lost interest in science long before oil. It might actually be oil that enables them to regain their intellectual capacity. Money buys a lot of equipment and infrastructure :) Hopefully some of that will trickle down from services to the rest.

JAK for the link I've marked it...will read soon Inshallah

I think Arabic had a lot to offer. We "stole" the mathematics among other things. Arabia was light years ahead of the rest of the world.

It does seem that Arab countries today are focusing on less important even trivial factors and holding a tight rein on their citizens rather than encouraging thought and experimentation.

Frankly, I don't think Arab countries are alone in that. I think the U.S., U.K. and other countries are in the same boat. We're so consumed with nonsense anymore that we don't want to encourage our children's educational opportunities.