Physicists From Tunisia

"Be aware of the importance of culture; be open-minded as a scientist and as a person. Seek independence. Understand how important it is to be a responsible citizen. Be of good heart and be confident."

"Spectroscopy is about analyzing bodies according to the spectrum of light emitted or absorbed by matter. What does that mean? Think of the planets, stars, galaxies, which are beyond our reach. – How is it that man is able to get information about them and photograph them"

"I am grateful for what science has already brought to people's lives. My mother had open-heart surgery, and her life was saved. There are no borders in science, people are equal: scientists are not separated by color, gender, religion, or money"

"In future, nothing should be impossible. I long to build a center for optics and photonics for African research scientists in Tunisia, just like the Trieste center. But I also have wilder dreams – of using science to control the climate, to create rain, make deserts fertile, and to get drinking water cheaply from sea water."

"Light is a set of waves through space. So the “messages” are presented as waves. Each atom has its own way to send its message. This is its “spectra”, its own set of waves. So spectroscopy is the common language of atoms. When you know how to read these waves, you understand the language of atoms and molecules."

"It is from the history of science that I was led to deepen my knowledge of religions, particularly Islam. I was not a priori versed in theological questions. What interests me is our relationship to modernity and the question of secularization. I immersed myself in the writings of modern thinkers from Islamic countries, who look at Islam from a scientific perspective without any essentialism."

"Today, I would love that everyone could freely use their conscience, benefit from knowledge that is universal, and not “Western” as it is sometimes called. I hope to encourage readers to revisit the history of science in the lands of Islam and to discover critical thinking."

"They drew lessons from the decline of science in the Arab world and sought a middle way to reconcile attachment to religion with modernity."

"I work for the autonomy of science, to free it from ideological discourses that are a source of blockage. If science has progressed in the West, it is by detaching itself from the religious sphere. The Muslim nations that have fallen so far behind need to take a leap forward."

"Inheritance legislation is therefore contrary to the principle of equality and represents a fundamental issue for the defence of women's rights. This is obviously not the only source of inequality."