在近期于美国密歇根州举行的一场竞选集会上，美国卫生与公众服务部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪发表了引发巨大争议的言论。他声称，由于穆斯林兄弟会的影响，阿拉伯穆斯林不产生科学和文学，也不赢得重大奖项。
At a recent campaign rally in Michigan, United States Secretary of Health Robert F Kennedy Jr made remarks that have caused much controversy. He alleged that Muslim Arabs do not produce science and literature and do not win major awards because of the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.
这不仅仅是对特定人群知识产出的仓促且不准确的评估，更是一种反映了对整个地区和整个宗教的种族主义态度及错误认同的言论。这也是很容易被驳倒的。
This was not merely a hasty and inaccurate assessment of the knowledge production of a specific demographic. It was a statement that reflects racist attitudes and misconceptions about an entire region and an entire religion. It is also easily refutable.
在过去的一个世纪里，有大量阿拉伯穆斯林科学家、思想家和作家作出了重大贡献。其中一些人是诺贝尔奖得主，例如小说家纳吉布·马哈福兹、外交官穆罕默德·巴拉迪、记者塔瓦库尔·卡曼，以及科学家艾哈迈德·泽维尔、穆恩吉·巴文迪和奥马尔·亚吉。许多其他人虽然没有获得西方奖项，但依然对他们自己的国家和世界作出了重大贡献。
There are plenty of Muslim Arab scientists, thinkers and writers who have made major contributions over the past century. Some of them are Nobel laureates, such as novelist Naguib Mahfouz, diplomat Mohamed ElBaradei, journalist Tawakkol Karman, and scientists Ahmed Zewail, Moungi Bawendi and Omar Yaghi. Many others have not received a Western award but have nevertheless contributed significantly to their own countries and the world.
阿拉伯世界在知识产出方面确实面临挑战，但这并不能证明其人民存在内在缺陷，也无法证明某个政治团体具有压倒性影响。相反，它反映了影响这一进程的历史和制度条件。
The Arab world does face challenges in knowledge production, but this does not prove an inherent deficit in its people or the overwhelming influence of a certain political group. Rather, it reflects historical and institutional conditions that impact this process.
知识变化的历史 人类文明在历史上的知识产出并非一成不变。一些文明见证了科学和思想的繁荣，而另一些文明则面临衰落和动荡。
A changing history of knowledge Human civilisations have not been equal in knowledge production across history. Some have witnessed scientific and intellectual flourishing while others have faced decline and turmoil.
低迷的出现并不是因为人口突然失去了智力，而是因为允许知识蓬勃发展的政治、经济、文化和制度条件随时间发生了变化。
Downturns have not occurred because populations had suddenly lost their mental capacities but because the political, economic, cultural and institutional conditions that allow knowledge to thrive change over time.
就伊斯兰文明而言，其中心——从巴格达、大马士革到开罗和科尔多瓦——经历了几个世纪的宏大科学与知识运动，其中汇聚了来自不同宗教和语言背景的学者、翻译家、哲学家、医师和数学家。这种繁荣并非与世隔绝；它是建立在对希腊、叙利亚、印度及其他知识体系的翻译、批判、发展以及与之互动的基础之上的。
In the case of the Islamic civilisation, its centres – from Baghdad and Damascus to Cairo and Cordoba – experienced a vast scientific and intellectual movement involving scholars, translators, philosophers, physicians and mathematicians from diverse religious and linguistic backgrounds for centuries. This prosperity was not isolated from the world; it was built on the translation, critique, development and interaction with Greek, Syriac, Indian and other bodies of knowledge.
与此同时，欧洲的部分地区在科学教育和发展方面经历了显著的落后。然而，欧洲并非铁板一块，那些世纪也不是一个同质的黑暗时期。它也见证了不同地区和时间段内各异的思想、制度和科学发展。
Meanwhile, parts of Europe experienced significant backwardness in scientific education and development. However, Europe was not a monolith, nor were those centuries a homogeneous dark period. It also witnessed varying intellectual, institutional and scientific developments across different regions and timeframes.
此后，欧洲的状况逐渐发生了变化：教育机构和大学不断演变，图书与知识流通网络不断扩大，欧洲的科学传统与从伊斯兰世界及其他地方输入科学知识相互交融。
European conditions then gradually changed: Educational institutions and universities evolved, networks for book and knowledge circulation expanded, and European scientific traditions interacted with scientific knowledge transferred from the Islamic world and elsewhere.
基于这些历史差异，没有人可以断言欧洲人天生没有能力产生科学，或者他们的宗教或族裔背景会阻碍他们进行创新。严肃的历史解释聚焦于制度、经济、教育、政治资助和知识网络，而不是断言某些人口缺乏先天能力。
No one can claim, based on these historical disparities, that Europeans are inherently incapable of producing science or that their religion or ethnic origins preclude them from innovation. Serious historical interpretation focuses on institutions, economics, education, political patronage and knowledge networks rather than claims that certain populations lack innate abilities.
完全相同的原则也必须适用于今天的阿拉伯人和穆斯林。既然欧洲能够改变知识生产的条件，那么认为阿拉伯和伊斯兰社会的当代现实反映了其在科学或文学能力上存在固定极限，是合乎逻辑的吗？不，这并不合乎逻辑。
The exact same principle must apply to Arabs and Muslims today. Since Europe was able to change the conditions of knowledge production, it is illogical to assume that the contemporary reality of Arab and Islamic societies reflects fixed limits in their scientific or literary capacities.
科学是普遍的，不属于任何人的种族或宗教财产。衰落并非任何民族的基因宿命，繁荣也不是永恒的特权。
Science is universal and not the racial or religious property of anyone. Decline is not a genetic destiny for any people, and prosperity is not an eternal privilege.
当今的挑战 拒绝小肯尼迪的概括并不意味着否认许多阿拉伯国家科学研究所面临的挑战。关于研发经费、大学独立性、教育质量、研究和表达自由、机构稳定性、吸引并留住科学家的能力，以及知识与经济和生产之间的联系，存在着严肃的问题。然而，这些问题是科学分析的起点，而不是终点。
Today’s challenges Rejecting RFK Jr’s generalisations does not mean denying the challenges facing scientific research in many Arab countries. There are serious questions concerning research and development funding, university independence, education quality, freedom of research and expression, institutional stability, the ability to attract and retain scientists, and links between knowledge and the economy and production. However, these questions are the beginning of scientific analysis, not the end.
一个不为研究人员提供合适实验室、不给予大学足够独立性、不为研究分配必要资源并确保科学机构连续性的社会，不可能期望取得与那些在这些领域进行可持续投资的社会相媲美的成果。
A society that does not provide a researcher with a suitable laboratory, does not grant universities sufficient independence, does not allocate the necessary resources for research and does not ensure the continuity of scientific institutions cannot expect results comparable to those of a society that invests sustainably in these areas.
此外，战争、冲突、流离失所、人才外流和薄弱的科学合作可能会破坏知识的积累，即使一个社会拥有合格的人力资本。思考和创新的能力是一回事，将其转化为可持续科学生产的能力则是另一回事。这两者之间存在着一整套社会经济条件、机构和政策体系。
Furthermore, wars, conflicts, displacement, brain drain and weak scientific cooperation can disrupt the accumulation of knowledge, even when a society possesses qualified human capital. The capacity for thought and innovation is one thing, and the ability to translate them into sustainable scientific production is another. Between the two lies an entire system of socioeconomic conditions, institutions and policies.
将当代阿拉伯社会面临的挑战归咎于单一政治团体——就小肯尼迪而言，即穆斯林兄弟会——并将其作为对数亿人民科学和文学现状的全面解释，根本算不上严肃的历史或社会分析。
Blaming the challenges contemporary Arab societies face on a single political group – in RFK Jr’s case, the Muslim Brotherhood – and presenting this as a comprehensive explanation for the state of science and literature among hundreds of millions of people falls short of serious historical or social analysis.
科学生产受到一系列交织变量的影响：国家结构、经济政策、教育质量、研究支出、学术自由、稳定性、国际关系以及知识流通的能力。
Scientific production is influenced by a set of intersecting variables: state structure, economic policies, education quality, research expenditures, academic freedom, stability, international relations and the capacity for knowledge circulation.
某些政治运动或思想潮流可能会在特定语境下影响教育政策或文化气候。然而，证明这种影响需要证据和比较分析，而小罗伯特·肯尼迪如果被要求这样做的话，很可能无法提供。
Certain political movements or intellectual trends might impact educational policies or the cultural climate in specific contexts. However, proving this impact requires evidence and comparative analysis, which RFK Jr would likely fail to produce, should he be asked to do so.
从批判一个机构或政治运动转变为对阿拉伯人或穆斯林群体做出一般性评价，是一种种族主义、仇恨和仇视伊斯兰教的表现，因为这实现了从分析到概括、从探寻原因到复制刻板印象的转变。
Moving from critiquing an institution or political movement to issuing a judgement on Arabs or Muslims in general is a form of racism, hatred and Islamophobia because it transitions from analysis to generalisation, and from seeking causes to reproducing stereotypes.
对小罗伯特·肯尼迪的有意义回应：小罗伯特·肯尼迪言论的问题不仅在于其关于奖项及其肤浅性的事实错误，还在于其赖以立足的逻辑：将知识生产中的历史差距转化为对各族人民的广泛评判。
A meaningful response to RFK Jr The problem with RFK Jr’s statement is not merely its factual inaccuracy regarding awards and their superficiality, but the logic upon which it is based: transforming historical disparities in knowledge production into broad judgements about peoples.
他的言论具有象征、思想和政治上的重要意义，反映了一种针对阿拉伯-伊斯兰乃至东方遗产的充满敌意的东方主义立场。
His words hold symbolic, intellectual and political significance, reflecting a hostile Orientalist stance towards Arab-Islamic and even Eastern heritage.
对这些言论作出严肃的回应，仅仅回顾过去的辉煌或列举阿拉伯和穆斯林科学家与思想家是不够的；它需要将讨论转化为一个面向未来的项目。
A serious response to these statements requires more than merely recalling past glories or listing Arab and Muslim scientists and thinkers; it requires turning the discussion into a project for the future.
在阿拉伯世界，我们需要更多具备研究能力、配备实验室、拥有可持续资金、允许批判和实验的环境、能够留住科学人才的政策，以及将教育与经济和创新联系起来的机构。
In the Arab world, we need more independent universities capable of research, equipped laboratories, sustainable funding, an environment that permits critique and experimentation, policies that retain scientific talent and institutions that link education with the economy and innovation.
我们还需要对伊斯兰文明的科学史进行有据可查的批判性重读——既要研究成就与失败，也要审视科学概念是如何产生、演变并在文明之间传播的。
We also need a documented, critical rereading of the history of sciences in Islamic civilisation – one that studies both achievements and failures and examines how scientific concepts emerged, evolved and were transferred between civilisations.
一个文明恢复其地位靠的不是重复其祖先是伟大的，而是靠建设能让新一代创造新知识的机构。
A civilisation does not regain its stature by repeating that its ancestors were great but by building the institutions that allow new generations to produce new knowledge.