Dr Yousef Abdullah Al Obeidli*
I never expected a scientific lecture to take me down such a far-reaching intellectual path. It happened when I attended a lecture at the Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis, entitled “Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To”, delivered by Dr David Sinclair, Professor, Harvard Medical School and Leading Expert in Ageing Research.
His presentation was scientifically precise, yet what captured my attention, in addition to the substance of the lecture, was something else entirely: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, visible through the glass façade behind the speaker. How could a scientific lecture and a mosque come together in the same scene?
At that moment, my mind drifted away from the details of genes and turned instead to a different question: how can a sensitive scientific subject, such as extending human life and delaying ageing, be discussed within the precincts of a mosque? And how has the United Arab Emirates reached this stage of openness in thought, where the most complex scientific issues can be discussed free from constraint?
It is precisely here that one grasps the essential idea: in the UAE, science does not collide with religion, nor is religion used as a barrier against science. The ceiling of knowledge in the country is not confined by narrow horizons, nor governed by rigid ideas.
This is in harmony with the words of Almighty Allah: “He also subjected you to whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth — all by His grace. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect.”
If we turn the pages of history, we realise that this balance was often absent. Many worship houses, across different faiths and at different times, become spaces of prohibition rather than spaces of discussion.
Clerics in several countries once opposed electricity when it was discovered, regarding it as tampering with the laws of the universe. The radio was prohibited, then television, then satellite receivers in people’s homes. At one point, the internet was described as a modern abomination that had to be banned. The problem was not religion itself, but rather a narrow reading of religion and a fear of the unknown — a fear that drives people to reject every new development under the pretext of protecting faith.
What distinguishes the Emirati model is that it has not treated new sciences as a threat, but rather as instruments of civilisational advancement. The UAE entered early into the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, genetics, satellites, and semiconductors. It studied them, regulated them, contributed to their development, and transformed their challenges into opportunities.
This advanced presence in the sciences of the future was not born of chance, but is the fruit of long-standing accumulations within an open society, guided by wise leadership that sees the cons before the pros, and enacts laws that regulate and nurture the benefits while preventing the harms.
Here, development becomes a social act, not merely a technical decision. A society that has learned how to benefit from every field, and how to establish frameworks and systems for it, is a society capable of moving forward without losing its compass. It is therefore no surprise to see the UAE at the forefront of the artificial intelligence race and at the heart of global discussions on the future of technology. Quite simply, the UAE did not wait for transformations to be imposed upon it; it took part in shaping them.
Returning to the lecture, as the professor spoke about age, or at least slowing it down, it became clear that the subject carried scientific dimensions, as well as ethical and perhaps even religious ones. Yet asking questions does not mean undermining established principles, and research does not amount to an encroachment upon faith.
On the contrary, many such studies open new doors to improving the quality of human life and alleviating human suffering, without claiming immortality or exceeding the bounds of human nature.
When we return to the essence of the idea, we realise that research into ageing, and the attempt to understand its biological mechanisms, are consistent with the words of Almighty Allah in His decisive revelation: “Say, ˹O Prophet, travel throughout the land and see how He originated the creation.”
Here, the Almighty calls upon us to move beyond superficial observation toward research, contemplation, and an understanding of the laws He has embedded in creation.
These very laws are what modern science seeks today to decipher, in order to improve the quality of human life, alleviate suffering, and extend the years of human contribution.
*The writer is an Emirati researcher