Seeking knowledge is an integral part of Islam and is mentioned time and time again in the Noble Qur’an and in the Prophetic traditions. Although the Islamic world is currently in a state of scientific backwardness, Muslims are well aware of the importance of science and technology in the development of their lives and societies.

According to a large-scale international study, the World Values Survey, performed as background work for the 2nd Arab Human Development Report (2003) in which Arab attitudes towards knowledge, good governance, and gender equality were compared to those of eight other regions of the world, Arabs, who form the cradle of the Islamic world, expressed the highest preference for the role of science in the service of humanity.

As such, the Islamic world might actually be considered a science journalist’s gold mine; a gold mine, however, yet to be properly excavated.

Since its inception in October 1999, IslamOnline.net has given the sciences a large portion of its attention. Over the span of its five years of online production, the Health & Science page in the English Web site has published a total of 965 articles, produced by 65 writers living in 27 countries spanning four continents. Notably, 48 percent of IslamOnline.net’s science writers are not Muslim.

Between January 2003 and 2004, IslamOnline.net’s Health & Science Page received the highest number of monthly page views relative to the Web site’s other editorial pages, with the exception of only two months. Monthly page views ranged from a low of 32,179 in February 2003 to a high of 77,925 in October 2003.

Selling science stories to a publication such as IslamOnline.net usually needs only a brief E-mail chat with the editor. Writers usually pick up quickly on what we’re looking for and on the style of writing we prefer.

I asked IslamOnline.net’s science writers to send me their advice to journalists attending the World Conference for Science Journalists 2004 on how to sell science stories to the Islamic world. I could only choose a few for you due to the time constraint:

Now for my own advice based on my short four and a half years of experience as a science journalist and editor with IslamOnline.net:

a. Learn the objectives: The most important thing to do before writing for any publication, whether in the Islamic world or elsewhere, is to get a good grasp of the objectives of that publication. Understanding the objectives will provide better insight into what types of stories that publication looks for. The objectives of any publication can be easily discovered by simply reading the material they publish! Alternatively, ask the editor what the publication’s objectives are. If she doesn’t have something already written out for you to read, she should be able to give you a quick explanation of what she’s looking for through correspondence.

b. Know your audience: Even in the Islamic world audiences vary widely according to the type of publication. The audience’s religion may or may not be an issue in the way you write. But always be culture sensitive. Although the Islamic world boasts a Muslim majority, many other religions form substantial minorities. Regardless of religion, a common cultural background can be found and this is what you must be aware of. A publication like IslamOnline.net has an international audience, being broadcast on the Internet. Accordingly, we advise even our Muslim writers to be sensitive of other cultures and religions. A general attitude of tolerance and acceptance is promoted.

c. Have a basic understanding of Islam: only rarely in science writing have religious issues developed with IslamOnline.net’s writers. As long as the writing is scientific in nature, based on sound scientific evidence, you shouldn’t have a problem publishing it.

There are, however, some rare instances in which this might not apply. In a survey performed by IslamOnline.net, 61 percent of its Muslim audience said it would be offended if its local media reported positively on a science issue strictly forbidden by their religion. Alcohol is a good example of this. Sending an article on the medical benefits of alcohol would probably offend an Islamic audience. The same applies to including alcohol in alternative medicine recipes, for example. This does not mean that we are against the science itself. It means that it doesn’t blend well with the message a publication like IslamOnline.net wishes to promote.

Another ready example is encouraging the use of condoms as a means of preventing AIDS. The thing to be careful of here is not the use of condoms itself, but the context in which this use is encouraged. Delicately wording your sentence so as not to appear to encourage an open-sex society, yet at the same time providing the information your audience needs to know about preventive measures if it does engage in extra-marital sex is very important. Be sensitive, informative, and pragmatic in your approach.

d. Don’t be over-enthusiastic: one of our excellent writers from the United States once told me that she’d like to write an article for us on the medical and spiritual benefits of henna. I wasn’t sure what she meant by spiritual benefits. Since our page encourages writers to cover how faith and science relate, I simply advised her to be sensitive to the Islamic nature of our web site when applying herself to that particular aspect. She soon emailed me the article with a comment that she had rewritten her article to be as relevant as possible to the Islamic world. In her overzealous attempt to perhaps please our readers, she applied herself to the spiritual benefits of henna from an Islamic point of view. The result was a large amount of incorrect information based mainly on a misunderstanding of the difference between Islam as a religion and Muslim society as a culture. Practices that occur in African and Arab cultures, which are strictly forbidden by Islam, were confused with religion. Incoherent references were also made to the Qur’an, without backing the references with actual verses. My advice is to stick to what you know. Writing about other religions without having a proper background in them will result in wasting a lot of time and effort.

e. When covering a faith-related science issue, don’t advocate; inform! Covering faith-related science issues can be tricky, especially if you are writing about a faith other than that of the publication. Just be as scientific as possible. And avoid advocating your point of view as the truth. Focus on informing the audience rather than on trying to convert them.

f. Focus on ethical issues when relevant: Many science-related issues raise ethical and moral concerns the world over. Do not ignore your audience’s concerns. Strive to properly inform them, and to provide them with varying opinions on the impacts of that information on their lives. Speak with scientists with opposing points of view, with policy makers, with religious scholars of different religions, with sociologists, and with the general public.

g. Advice to editors: Be FRIENDLY and COMMUNICATE! The only way you can get your writers to properly understand what you are looking for is to communicate with them as much as possible. Although you are busy, you must provide enough time to establish a good working relationship with your writers. Your writers are your investment; your guarantee that your publication will be successful.

In conclusion, selling science stories to the Islamic world differs only slightly from selling science stories to any other part of the world. As with any audience for any type of writing, the journalist must be conscientious of cultural differences in his choice of topic and choice of words. With science being, to a large degree, an international language with very few cultural boundaries, science journalists will find it much easier to sell their work to the Islamic world than their colleagues working in other forms of journalism.