How can a people numbering only fifteen million account for roughly one-fifth of Nobel laureates, while a civilization of nearly two billion has produced only a handful in the sciences? Between 1901 and 2025, approximately one-fifth to one-quarter of individual Nobel laureates have had Jewish ancestry despite Jews comprising only about 0.2 percent of the world’s population. By contrast, only a handful of Nobel laureates in the sciences have been Muslims or of Muslim background, depending, of course, on how one classifies religious identity. This type of disparity invites simplistic explanations. Some opt for a charge of discrimination, while others charge it is a result of hidden Jewish influence or conspiracy. Neither asks the more interesting self-reflective question. Is there a problem within the culture that is being produced?

The more important question emerges: why the disparity? The two faiths built different cultures. Over many centuries, Judaism and Islam contributed to the formation of different intellectual traditions. Jews were trained to read difficult texts and to argue with authority. They were encouraged to enter elite institutions because there wasn’t an imminent threat of blasphemy, there was tolerance for abstraction, and not everything was always concrete. There was also a survivors’ ethic that developed, given the historical struggles that Jews have faced. Because of the diaspora, they built a portable culture that encouraged education, entry into urban professions like law and economics, and the development of strong diaspora networks.

Conversely, Muslim-majority countries did not build this type of infrastructure or build institutions that protected the independent heretical scientist, for instance. I’m not targeting Islam. Instead, I am simply offering a cultural analysis. Before offering a critique, I should note that........

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