FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES since the 2003 UN Arab Human Development Report flagged up the role of the Arab Islamic heritage in impeding the development of a knowledge society, it has become clear that the way forward must pass through educational reform. This need has long been understood and discussed by Arab intellectuals, who have identified the pedagogical stasis that the increasing Salafisation of the education sector in the region has been perpetuating.

The articles in this section focus on highlighting the scientific, technological, cultural and ethical stagnation that this pedagogical stasis has caused, and provide pointers towards bridging the developmental gap. In focussing on the educational failures, these essays seek to foster and inculcate in students their capacities for empathy, creativity, and the appreciation and advancement of the sciences and the arts, in the cause of a thorough-going educational reform.