In “Pakistan shuns physicist linked to ‘God particle’ because of religious beliefs”( Toronto Star, July 9, 2012), Sebastian Abbot reports,
The pioneering work of Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate, helped lead to the apparent discovery of the subatomic “God particle” last week. But the late physicist is no hero at home, where his name has been stricken from school textbooks.
Praise within Pakistan for Salam, who also guided the early stages of the country’s nuclear program, faded decades ago as Muslim fundamentalists gained power. He belonged to the Ahmadi sect, which has been persecuted by the government and targeted by Taliban militants who view its members as heretics.
Their plight — along with that of Pakistan’s other religious minorities, such as Shiite Muslims, Christians and Hindus — has deepened in recent years as hardline interpretations of Islam have gained ground and militants have stepped up attacks against groups they oppose. Most Pakistanis are Sunni Muslims.
Sounds like Pakistan’s god is too small. Maybe if they opened the windows, they would discover a very large God, one who treats that God particle as a local joke.
From his Nobel biography:
Abdus Salam [1926-1996] is known to be a devout Muslim, whose religion does not occupy a separate compartment of his life; it is inseparable from his work and family life. He once wrote: “The Holy Quran enjoins us to reflect on the verities of Allah’s created laws of nature; however, that our generation has been privileged to glimpse a part of His design is a bounty and a grace for which I render thanks with a humble heart.”
See also: The Higgs hunt … Now we must find out what we found out
Hat tip: Blazing Cat Fur, a free Canuck blogger. And, yes, he IS allowed to say it now. And you haven’t heard the half.