Teaching is no longer the only function of universities in contemporary times.  There has been an increasing attention to scientific research, which occupies a distinguished position in the Western universities, being an important factor for the attainment and promotion of knowledge, which is essential for the achievement of scientific and technological development, and the satisfaction of the living needs of human beings.  The current material development in the West is truly an outcome of the pioneering research conducted by some universities and research centres in various fields, and by qualified researchers who devote themselves for the service of scientific research, authorship and publication.  Reciprocally, their governments provide the required conducive academic environment, and generous funding for their research and living needs.

The opposite is the case in the Muslim countries, where there are no clear cut research strategies that reflect the importance of scientific research in the progress and development of countries and communities, though research is considered as the only means to catch up with the modern world in all aspects of scientific and material growth.  The absence of such strategies places the academic research institutions in the Muslim world well behind their counterparts in the West, and they are unable to compete with the Western Universities simply because they do not produce significant academic   research that would qualify them for this competition.  Other important factors for this crisis are the meager funds allocated for research, chronic shortage of scientific references and few scholarships and grants extended for scientific research.  Moreover, there is the huge engagement of the academic staff in teaching and administration, as well as the lack of professional cooperation between universities in the area of scientific research, and in its functional implementation on the ground.

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