Immigration of Muslim think-tanks.. When will the drain stop?

The Muslim young people are the backbone of this nation; its shield and its hands, which construct and do not destruct. They are more entitled to determine the reality and the fate of the nation. However, if they become corrupt, the entire nation will be corrupt and if they become good, the entire nation shall be good, gain victory, their sacred sites shall be freed, their honors shall be protected, and their blood shall be preserved. However, the reality in which the nation lives these days reveals the major crisis experienced by young people: Moral deterioration, cultural decay, low living standards, spread of unemployment, poverty, and lack of justice in the distribution of public and private jobs. When the crisis got worsened, every young man thought of migration to Western countries and planned to escape the country to Western countries although they are still in high school or in college without finishing their education.

The phenomenon of immigration and alienation in the present time is the dream of young people whether educated and uneducated, and the alienation idea has sneaked into our youth who want to leave the country and go abroad, especially among researchers and talented people whose living standards and academic fields had deteriorated.

This phenomenon is shedding its negative effects on various sectors of education, especially higher education, academic, and scientific research.

Everyday the Muslim world suffers from the migration of intellects, experts, and young experiences, not to mention the think tankers who immigrated long time ago, lived in the Western countries, and their knowledge and researches went to the West and its civilization.

The continuation of bleeding:

The phenomenon of the Muslim brain drain is still going from the developing world to the industrial world and from the heart of Arab countries to Western countries. There are more than one million students from the Arab countries who pursue their studies abroad, especially the graduates who have obtained a doctoral degree. They do not return to their own countries because they know about the few opportunities and low payment. Moreover, they feel insecure in their countries because research institutions are governed by despotism and nepotism, in addition to the weak spending on scientific research.

One of the most important problems that reflect the reality of the nation in various Muslim societies and impede building a better future is the problem of "the Muslim brain drain to the West," those who have the talent, experience, and skill, which affects the strength of the Muslim nation in general: Intellectually, culturally, educationally, and scientifically. Let it be known that the phenomenon of "the Muslim brain drain" has spread in recent decades because of several political, economic, social, and personal reasons.

The harms of "the Muslim brain drain" exceed the few material benefits which regimes and governments get from commissions and money transfer funds as a result of brain drain and the migration of young Muslim elites.

It is the duty of regimes to recover those elites and Muslim researchers through enticing them by increasing the funds of their researches, providing them with academic freedom, honoring and appreciating them materially and morally; in addition to creating connection channels between these migrating elites or research and academic institutions in the Muslim countries.

Alarming numbers:

Many results that are based on field studies and official reports indicate that the percentage of "fleeing elites" or "migratory minds," especially young people have increased to varying degrees. Some studies indicated that 45% of Arab students who study abroad do not return to their countries and that 34% of doctors in Britain are Arabs. Another study indicated that Egypt had lost 450.000 young people who gained higher education such as masters and doctoral degrees in recent years. Other studies say that there are 4102 Muslim scholars in various branches in the Western research centers and that the Arab world has lost 200 billion dollars during the year (2001) because of the migration of scientific brains to Western Countries. 54% of Arab students who study abroad do not return to their countries, which constitutes a serious problem.

However, we say: If the Arab regimes and governments had spent on scientific research one quarter of that they spend on dancers, artists, and luxury, thousands of young people and scientific and intellectual elites would not have escaped the hell of the Arab regimes to the paradise of academic freedom in the West.

Arab princes and rulers have to respect intellectuals and scientific elites, at least as they respect artists and dancers.

The cultural loss remains:

The phenomenon of "Muslim brain drain" represents the major crisis which embodies the reality of existing Muslim societies. This phenomenon also reflects the gravity of the cultural crisis faced by the Muslim people in this time.

These migratory minds adversely affect the civility of Muslim societies, its technology, and the level of its urbanization, as they also adversely affect the level of scientific culture among the Muslims at this time.

Hence, the Muslim communities have become importing societies for Western ideas and culture to fill the intellectual and cultural gap caused by the migratory minds.

However, Arab governments and regimes benefit from these migration, but Islamic brains are priceless even if the Arab regimes and governments gained millions of dollars from these brains through money transfers.

If those Muslim brains were directed to serve the Muslim communities, their status would change from technical deterioration to scientific advancement and their dignity shall be protected.

Our nation should be a role model for other nations and civilizations, not at the bottom of nations.