Ahmed Zewail Quotes

Ahmed Zewail

Profession : Scientist

Birth : February 26, 1946

In adapting to life in the melting pot of America, I discovered that the same soft power of science has a huge influence in building bridges between cultures and religions - and has the potential to do so with the Muslim world.

Ahmed Zewail

I left Egypt in 1969 for graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. I have been on the faculty at Caltech for 37 years and carried dual citizenship for 31. But my commitment to the country of my birth never wavered.

Ahmed Zewail

I teach at Caltech and oversee a research laboratory there. In general, I find that the majority of young people are excited by the prospects of research, but they soon discover that in the current market, many doctorate-level scientists are holding temporary positions or are unemployed.

Ahmed Zewail

America was and still is able to make the necessary changes to maintain research institutions that are the envy of the world.

Ahmed Zewail

The so-called Arab Spring has proved that the fall of a Mubarak-like presidency does not mean the immediate rise of democracy. In spite of this, I am confident that Egypt will not return to an authoritarian governing system again, and that, with some time, it will achieve its democratic goals.

Ahmed Zewail

Once we understand how molecules are formed, we can manipulate them. If you can manipulate molecules, you can manipulate genes and matter, you can synthesize new material - the implications are just unbelievable.

Ahmed Zewail

Secularism will not work in Egypt any more than theocracy. What will work is governance that is guided by the Islamic values of the majority with protection of the minority rights.

Ahmed Zewail

Investment in education and economic prosperity is the best way to cure fanaticism and for establishing a just peace in the Middle East.

Ahmed Zewail

Although there exist in the world today some microbes of the soul, such as discrimination and aggression, science was and still is the core of progress for humanity and the continuity of civilization.

Ahmed Zewail

What the U.S. should do consistently is to support the liberty of the Egyptian people.

Ahmed Zewail

Personally, I have been enriched by my experiences in Egypt and America, and feel fortunate to have been endowed with a true passion for knowledge.

Ahmed Zewail

The vast majority of Muslims are moderates working for a better future and seeking a peaceful life.

Ahmed Zewail

After World War II, scientific research in the U.S. was well supported. In the 1960s, when I came to America, the sky was the limit, and this conducive atmosphere enabled many of us to pursue esoteric research that resulted in America winning the lion's share of Nobel Prizes.

Ahmed Zewail

Like everywhere in the world, people of the Middle East aspire to liberty and justice. They wish to have a better life and a decent education for their children.

Ahmed Zewail

I can tell you that the majority of the Egyptians I know, they think of a much wider spectrum of people than the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ahmed Zewail

There is little doubt that an unstable Syria will destabilize the whole Middle East.

Ahmed Zewail

As recently as the September 11 event, the majority of Muslims were, as the rest of the world was, against its violence. However, if despair and humiliation continue in the population of more than one billion Muslims, the world will face increasing risks of conflicts and wars.

Ahmed Zewail

In Egypt, every family is suffering from the deteriorated schooling and university system of the Mubarak regime. What families want most of all is to secure a good education for their children.

Ahmed Zewail

Our femtosecond snapshots can examine a molecule at discrete instants in time.

Ahmed Zewail

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salifist parties are a real force in the Egyptian society. No civil, liberal government can succeed, even after new elections, if the Islamists are forced to work underground as a foe and the country remains divided.

Ahmed Zewail