Muhammad Institue for Space Science in VANCOUVER!
Last summer (I think around then) I went to see the IMAX film at Science World called Journey to Mecca. It is basically a short film depicting the life of Ibn Battuta during his travels to hajj. I happened to go on a special fundraiser night (I think we were raising money to help a few Palestinian refugee families). Anyways, to my surprise the night/film was actually sponsored by the “Muhammad Institute for Space Science” which I had never heard of before. The Muhammad Institute for Space Science is a Vancouver-based space science institute dedicated to the development in the Islamic World of advanced astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, and space exploration. It works in collaboration with other scientific institutions around the globe and employs the expertise of scientists from all cultural backgrounds and religious persuasions. Their goal is to establish a mutually beneficial collaboration between the Islamic World and Canada in the space sciences, fostering the return of the Islamic community as a significant contributor to astronomy and related space technologies, and reinforcing Canada as a major player in aerospace on the international stage. I encourage every one to check out this organization (http://www.muhammadinstitute.org/index.php). I totally forgot about it until now but it is something that would have been interesting to look into in our studies. It is as if they are picking up where Islamic scientists left off after the Islamic golden age. Really cool!
Hilary