Author: Muhammad Al-Afghani
The Contribution of Muslim Scientists in Mathematics (The 4th and Final Part)
Challenges and Obstacles to the Advancement of Mathematics in Afghanistan and the Islamic World:
In fact, by examining the role of Muslims in mathematics, we come to understand that during the translation movement, the works of many Greek mathematicians were translated into Arabic, and Islamic mathematicians quickly surpassed the levels of knowledge of Greek mathematicians, wrote many commentaries on their works, and developed much of their knowledge.
The role of Islamic mathematics in bridging the gap between the mathematical schools of the East and the West, that is, between Greek and Indian mathematics, was considered one of the most valuable achievements of Islamic mathematics for mankind.
This was a very important role of Islamic mathematics, which was able to combine the knowledge of geometric mathematics and, most importantly, the decimal number system with other mathematical concepts proposed in Greece, and to make a single form of it and present it to the West.
In other areas of mathematical knowledge, including trigonometry and geometry, Islamic scientists also left behind valuable contributions. In these sections, Islamic scholars, in addition to expanding the relationships governing Greek trigonometry, also made new discoveries of their own, one of which is crystallized in the book “Shekl al-Ghatah”.
The period of the history of Islamic mathematics from the second century AH to the present has given many mathematicians to the history of world science.
During the Middle Ages, the advances in mathematics owed a significant amount to the genius of Muslim mathematicians. Even in the middle of the 15th century, when Muslims were struggling with the most complex geometric problems, they were able to solve cubic algebraic equations using conic sections and conduct valuable research in spherical trigonometry. At the same time, in Europe, mathematical research was mostly limited to problems such as calendar calculations and the use of measuring instruments, which were often for everyday needs.
However, unfortunately, as time passed, this progress stagnated and faced challenges that we will discuss below. These challenges caused the Islamic world to move from knowledge production to knowledge utilization.
In this section, we will address the challenges and obstacles that have affected the progress of mathematics in the Islamic world:
Challenges and obstacles to the progress of mathematics in the Islamic world:
1. Teacher’s limitations in choosing content and educational activities:
Teachers, especially in mathematics, can use their creativity and initiative to bring students to a better level of understanding of the material with motivational and competitive programs. Teachers must be able to teach mathematics without previous limitations in educational content so that students can also serve society with their creativity and initiative in this field. Limiting teachers in teaching skills can lead to educational stagnation, while many teachers have expanded the educational space for students by using their creativity.
2. Lack of coordination in educational content:
Sometimes, it is observed that there is no necessary coordination between the prepared educational content. This issue is also related to the teacher’s limitations in choosing content. When teachers have the freedom to prepare the course content themselves, they can expand the learning space with their creativity and not keep students in a limited framework.
3. Time constraints:
Mathematics courses in Afghanistan face severe time constraints and the time allocated to this subject is very short. Therefore, to overcome this problem, we will provide some suggestions in the section on suggested solutions to solve the challenges.
Solutions to revive and restore the role of Muslim scientists in the development of mathematics in the contemporary world:
First, we will examine the solutions to revive and restore the role of Muslim scientists in the development of mathematics in Afghanistan and then we will examine this issue at the global level.
Attracting experienced teachers:
To overcome the challenges related to students’ weakness in mathematics, we need to hire experienced teachers who are interested in knowledge so that they can solve these problems with creative measures. While ready-made content is somewhat effective, it is necessary to involve experienced and skilled teachers in the educational process in order to cultivate creative and innovative students in mathematics. Sometimes, we may need to use foreign teachers to train domestic teachers in our country.
Preparing curriculum content in accordance with new standards:
Another way to face the challenges facing students is to prepare new curriculum content. This content should be developed with the experiences of teachers and attention to the talents of students. The main problem with the current curriculum is that it is not prepared with students’ abilities in mind and has remained unchanged for decades. It is necessary to review the old educational content in order to have a place in the field of mathematics and provide significant content to the global community, and through creativity and preparation of new content, familiarize and prepare students with the global standards of this field.
Specializing in natural sciences from school age; One of the important ways is to increase the duration of teaching this science in order to train successful and innovative students in the field of mathematics. Students who are interested and talented in mathematics should be involved in diverse educational programs that go beyond the usual curriculum. Additional specialized hours should be provided for them so that they will face fewer problems when entering university and can develop new knowledge during their studies, instead of spending time on old and repetitive material.
If students are equipped with these tools and knowledge during their education, they will definitely achieve initiative and innovation during their university studies. Otherwise, they will most likely continue to review old and forgotten material, which can limit their progress.
Conclusion
Western history has witnessed geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, but in Islam, we have witnessed the presence of geniuses from Al-Kindi to Razi, from Biruni to Ibn sina and dozens of others who constitute a historical period. As stated, the advances in mathematics during the Middle Ages owed much to the genius of Muslim mathematicians. Although Muslims were not the original inventors of numbers, they did provide the world with the education of numbers. Hunke states that all civilized nations today use numbers that were once taught to Europeans by Muslims.
Today, mathematics plays a vital and prominent role in the world and is recognized more than ever as the foundation of science, technology and economics. This short article can act as a companion and collaborator that makes man think and encourages him to consider other solutions. The goal is to understand the importance and human need for mathematics and seek to gain more knowledge in this field.
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References:
[1]. Islamic Culture and Civilization, pp. 35-37, Ali Akbar.
[2]. Biography of Mathematicians of the Islamic Period, Ghorbani, Tehran, University Press, p. 246
[3[. The History of Science, Sarton, translated by Ahmad Birshak, p. 205.
[4]. History of Sciences in Islam, Taghizadeh, p. 97.
[5]. Science and Civilization in Islam, Nasr, Hossein, translated by Ahmad Aram, Tehran, Kharazmi Publications, 1980.
[6]. The Impact of Islam on Medieval Europe, Watt, Montgomery, translated by Hossein, Educational and Research Institute Publications, 1999.
[7]. Islamic Culture in Europe, Hunke, Sigrid, translated by Morteza Rahbani, Islamic Culture Publishing House, 1991.
[8]. Science in Islam, Ahmad Aram, 1987.
[9]. Introduction to the History of Mathematics, Howard, translated by Mohammad Qasim Vahidi Asl, 2002.
