ABSTRACT
The realization that the problem of development in the Muslim countries is coupled to local flowering of innovation and technological capabilities is very recent indeed. Many Muslim countries, as a result of this realization, have either established, or are in the process of creating, institutions which encourage development of local technological capabilities and help in the integration of science and technology programmes with local needs and capabilities. Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, for example, have established ministries responsible for science. Algeria and Tunisia have created departments responsible for science in established ministries. In Turkey, the State Planning Organization, in Indonesia the Indonesian Institute of Science and in Nigeria the Nigerian Council for Science and Industrial Research have been especially created to deal with the area of science policy. These agencies and institutions as well as the governments of Muslim countries will face problems of choices about the allocation of resources for Research and Development (R & D). There are no clear-cut rules for such choices; neither are the examples of the nations of the Occident particularly helpful to the Muslim world. In this situation, what criteria can the Muslim countries use for allocation of resources?
