Egypt’s new constitution draws mixed reactions concerning science

SciDevNet : Egypt’s new constitution calls for support of science, but some science supporters worry that it fails to link science to development, that it depicts science as a luxury, and that it calls unwisely for science’s “Arabization.” The constitution guarantees “freedom of scientific and literary research,” requires that the “autonomy of universities, scientific and linguistic academies, and research centersâ.â.â. be safeguarded,” and mandates that the state “provide them with a sufficient percentage of the national revenue.” However, it also requires the state to “foster the Arabization of education, science and knowledge.” Ehab Abdul Rahman, director of the Yousef Jameel Science and Technology Research Center at the American University in Cairo, warns that Arabization “would isolate Egypt from global scientific progress.” Cairo University medical professor Omaima Kamel is a member of both the Constituent Assembly and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. She approves of translating research and scientific knowledge into Arabic, but opposed the explicit Arabization provision.