Sir

As a medical student and a Pakistani, I was encouraged to read the Commentary by Atta-ur-Rahman and Anwar Nasim, “Time for ‘enlightened moderation’” (Nature 432, 273; 2004). Students would be the first to benefit from the development of a scientific culture across the Islamic world. On the other hand, increasing spending on higher scientific education (by funding PhDs and establishing research centres, as the authors suggest) would not be an effective way to develop a moderate, mature and tolerant Islamic society.

Instead of offering narrow solutions that largely benefit those within the scientific community, we would do better to encourage scientific thinking across all segments of society, so that intellectual rigour and open-mindedness become core social values.

Scientific thinking is characterized by scepticism, objectivity, an appreciation of uncertainty and the flexibility to alter one's beliefs in the face of conclusive evidence. Within the scientific community, these values stimulate open debate and ensure rigorous analysis of data and hypotheses.

However, if public interest in science is underdeveloped and the values underlying scientific thinking remain alien to large portions of the populace, scientists will be unable to effect any real change in social attitudes.

To develop a moderate, enlightened society, the values that underpin scientific thinking should be cultivated among secondary-school students, by improving the quality and availability of scientific education for everyone.

I do not doubt the importance of an active, productive scientific community for the intellectual and economic well-being of a nation. But I do not believe that expending resources to advance the scientific education of a few will bring enlightenment to a whole society.