1800–today CE

The Modern Era

العصر الحديث

Nobel laureates, engineers and explorers

Notables
23
Profiles to read
14
Women
12
Leading fields
Humanitarians, Poets, Physicists

In the modern era, Muslim scientists, writers and humanitarians have worked across the globe, from Lahore and Cairo to Cambridge and Pasadena. Their work spans particle physics, femtochemistry, DNA repair, microcredit, skyscraper engineering and space flight.

Many of them have been women breaking new ground: the first woman to win the Fields Medal, the first Muslim woman in space, and the youngest Nobel laureate.

Centres of learning

  • Cairo
  • Lahore
  • Istanbul
  • Tehran
  • Dhaka
  • Global

People of The Modern Era

19th century 1800–1899 CE

1793–1864 Coming soon Nana Asma'u نانا أسماء Founded the Yan Taru women's education network Sokoto (Nigeria) · Islamic Scholars, Poets, Women

20th century 1900–1999 CE

1877–1938 Coming soon Muhammad Iqbal محمد اقبال Poet-philosopher; Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam British India · Philosophers, Poets
1917–1952 Profile Sameera Moussa سميرة موسى Nuclear physicist who worked for peaceful, affordable uses of atomic medicine Egypt · Physicists, Women 1926–1975 Profile Azar Andami آذر اندامی Physician and parasitologist; developed a cholera vaccine Iran · Physicians, Women
1900–1989 Coming soon Hassan Fathy حسن فتحي Pioneer of sustainable mud-brick architecture for the poor Egypt · Architects
b. 1938 Profile Farouk El-Baz فاروق الباز NASA geologist who chose Apollo landing sites Egypt/USA · Geologists, Planetary Scientists
1929–1982 Coming soon Fazlur Rahman Khan ফজলুর রহমান খান Invented the tube structural system for skyscrapers (Willis/Sears Tower) Bangladesh/USA · Architects, Engineers
1926–1996 Profile Abdus Salam ڈاکٹر عبدالسلام Nobel Prize in Physics 1979 for electroweak unification Pakistan · Physicists
1928–2016 Coming soon Abdul Sattar Edhi عبدالستار ایدھی Built the world's largest volunteer ambulance network Pakistan · Humanitarians
b. 1938 Profile Samira Ibrahim Islam سميرة إسلام First Saudi woman professor of pharmacology; UNESCO distinguished scientist Saudi Arabia · Physicians, Women
1911–2006 Coming soon Naguib Mahfouz نجيب محفوظ Nobel Prize in Literature 1988 Egypt · Poets
1946–2016 Profile Ahmed Zewail أحمد حسن زويل Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1999; founder of femtochemistry Egypt/USA · Chemists

21st century 2000–2099 CE

b. 1947 Profile Shirin Ebadi شيرين عبادى Nobel Peace Prize 2003; first Muslim woman Nobel laureate Iran · Humanitarians, Women
1950–2016 Coming soon Zaha Hadid زها حديد First woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize Iraq/UK · Architects, Women
b. 1942 Profile Mohamed ElBaradei محمد مصطفى البرادعي Nobel Peace Prize 2005 as head of the IAEA Egypt · Humanitarians, Politicians b. 1966 Profile Anousheh Ansari First Muslim woman in space (2006); engineer and XPRIZE leader Iran/USA · Astronauts, Engineers, Information Technology b. 1940 Profile Muhammad Yunus Nobel Peace Prize 2006; pioneer of microcredit (Grameen Bank) Bangladesh · Economists, Politicians b. 1967 Profile Hayat Al Sindi حياة السندي Biotechnologist; low-cost diagnostic devices for poor communities Saudi Arabia · Biomedical Sciences, Women
b. 1997 Coming soon Malala Yousafzai ملالہ یوسفزئی Youngest Nobel Peace laureate; girls' education Pakistan · Humanitarians, Women
1977–2017 Profile Maryam Mirzakhani مریم میرزاخانی First woman to win the Fields Medal (2014) Iran/USA · Mathematicians, Women
b. 1946 Coming soon Aziz Sancar Aziz Sancar Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015 for DNA repair Turkey/USA · Chemists
b. 1983 Profile Burcin Mutlu Pakdil Astrophysicist; discovered the rare double-ringed galaxy known as 'Burçin's Galaxy' Turkey/USA · Physicists, Women b. 1975 Profile Namira Salim نمیرا سلیم First Pakistani to reach both Poles and to travel to space (2023) Pakistan · Adventurers, Astronauts, Women