'Muslims peaked in the Dark Ages. But since then?': Richard Dawkins embroiled in Twitter row over controversial comments



The author of The God Delusion tweeted that the world's Muslims had won fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge

His comments sparked anger among high-profile Twitter users including Caitlin Moran and Faisal Islam



Professor Richard Dawkins has become embroiled in a Twitter row over his comments about Muslims

Richard Dawkins has provoked anger after he claimed Muslims have contributed almost nothing to science since the Middle Ages.

The outspoken biologist and atheist wrote on Twitter that a single college at Cambridge University had won more Nobel Prizes than all the world’s Muslims.

His comments sparked fury on the social network where he was accused of disguising his ‘bigotry’ as atheism.

But last night the 72-year-old best-selling author of The God Delusion refused to apologise for his remarks.

The row broke out after he commented: ‘All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge.’ He responded to the barrage of ensuing criticism by telling his 782,000 followers: ‘A statement of simple fact is not bigotry. And science by Muslims was great in the distant past.’

In response to one Twitter user who pointed out that Muslims had been responsible for algebra and ‘alchemy’, Professor Dawkins replied: ‘Indeed, where would we be without alchemy? Dark Age achievements undoubted. But since then?’

He sought to justify his controversial observation by adding: ‘Why mention Muslim Nobels rather than any other group? Because we so often hear boasts about (a) their total numbers and (b) their science.’

One angry Twitter user hit out at the remarks telling the author: ‘You absolutely disgust me.’



Writer Caitlin Moran added: ‘Think it’s time someone turned Richard Dawkins off and then on again’. Channel 4 News economics editor Faisal Islam questioned Dawkins’ ‘spurious use of data’.

Writer Owen Jones told the professor: ‘How dare you dress your bigotry up as atheism. You are now beyond an embarrassment.’

But some users noted that the criticism of Professor Dawkins was in marked contrast to that when he has made comments about Christianity

Richard Dawkins offended people on Twitter yesterday when he posted this comment

His comments sparked anger among high-profile Twitter users including economics editor at Channel 4 News, Faisal Islam

Writer Caitlin Moran joined the debate and asked someone to turn Dawkins off and on again

One wrote: ‘Dawkins spent the best part of 10 years attacking Christianity and not raising an eyebrow.

He now turns that same eye on Islam and uproar.’

WHO TOPS THE NOBEL TABLE?

Trinity College has 32 Nobel laureates, whereas only ten Prize winners are thought to have been Muslims.

Awarded annually since 1901, the Nobel Prize recognises achievements in Physics, Medicine, Chemistry, Peace and Literature, as well as a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.

Winners from Trinity include Bertrand Russell who won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his 1946 work, ‘A History of Western Philosophy’.

Twelve of the college’s Nobel laureates were recognised for work in physics, eight in chemistry and seven in medicine.

Of the ten Muslim Nobel Laureates, only two are scientists: Pakistani Abdus Salam, who won the Prize for Physics, and the Egyptian-American Ahmed Zewail, who won in Chemistry.

Six were awarded the Peace Prize, including Yasser Arafat.

Half of the ten Muslim laureates were awarded the prize in the 21st century, during which Trinity College has only had one prize winner.

An Emeritus Fellow at New College, Oxford, Professor Dawkins appeared to try and appease his critics by saying that Trinity College also has more Nobel Prizes than any country in the world except America, Britain, Germany and France.

The Cambridge college has 32 Nobel laureates, whereas only 10 laureates are thought to have been Muslim.

Mr Islam said that Professor Dawkins’ claims were wrong, arguing that he should not have included prizes won for economics.



He wrote that over the last two decades, ‘it’s 8-4 against Trinity. I say this as a Muslim alumnus of Trinity College, Cambridge.’

He added that if Professor Dawkins ‘had any clue what he was talking about, he’d know to trip out the Economic Nobels, which aren’t quite real.’

Professor Dawkins found himself in the spotlight earlier this year when he took on the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams in a debate at Cambridge.

The author branded religion a ‘betrayal of the intellect’ and ‘a betrayal of all that’s best about what makes us human’.

