Professor Richard Dawkins has become embroiled in a Twitter row after he claimed the last time Muslims contributed something worthwhile was during the Dark Ages. 

The 71-year-old author went on to tweet that the world’s Muslims had won fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. 

His comments sparked anger among high-profile Twitter users including writer Caitlin Moran and economics editor at Channel 4 News, Faisal Islam. 

Moran tweeted: ‘It’s time someone turned Richard Dawkins off and then on again.

‘Something’s gone weird.’ 

While Islam said: ‘Actually, over the last two decades, it’s 8-4 against Trinity. I

‘I say this as a muslim alumnus of Trinity College, Cambridge.

‘Of course if @RichardDawkins had any clue what he was talking about, he’d know to strip out the Economics Nobels, which aren’t quite real’ 

One Twitter user said Muslims were responsible for alchemy and algebra.

But Dawkins replied: ‘Indeed, where would we be without alchemy? Dark Age achievements undoubted. But since then?’

There has been a total of 10 Nobel prizes awarded to Muslims while Trinity College, Cambridge, has
32 Nobel laureates. It is not the first time Dawkins has angered the Muslim population after he described looters who destroyed manuscripts in Mali as ‘Islamic barbarians’ in January.

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The 71-year-old author was referring to the severe damage caused by Islamist extremists to a sacred library in Timbuktu but his remarks were seen as insulting to all Muslims.

Dawkins is an award-winning ethologist and author.

He is perhaps best known for his strong religious criticism and his atheist views.

Author of several books, his contempt for religion is most recognised in his 2006 bestseller, The God Delusion.

 

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