Dawkins justifies anti-Islam comments as merely correcting a fact

Professor Richard Dawkins

Professor Richard Dawkins has been forced to defend controversial comments he made online after saying the last time Muslims contributed something worthwhile was during the Middle Ages.

Dawkins, the bestselling author of The God Delusion, tweeted that all the world's Muslims had won fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge.

He went on to argue that although Muslims were responsible for many achievements during the Dark Ages, including alchemy and algebra, their contribution since then was questionable. His comments sparked outrage from many high-profile writers and journalists including author Caitlin Moran and Channel 4 News economics editor Faisal Islam.

Moran tweeted: "It's time someone turned Richard Dawkins off and then on again. Something's gone weird."

In response to another Twitter user who wrote that Muslims were responsible for alchemy and algebra, Dawkins replied: "Indeed, where would we be without alchemy? Dark Age achievements undoubted. But since then?"

He later tried to justify his comments by saying he talked about the number of Muslim prize winners because we often hear "boasts about their total numbers".

He added: "A statement of simple fact is not bigotry."

Dawkins has gained worldwide attention for his outspoken criticism of organised religion, and argued that the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States showed that a harder line must be taken with believers.

In 2010, he sparked controversy after labelling the Pope "a leering old villain in a frock" in an article for the Washington Post. He has also called the Catholic church "evil". Previous Twitter comments have also caused a stir, including: "Don't ask God to cure cancer & world poverty. He's too busy finding you a parking space & fixing the weather for your barbecue."

This year, he called those who burned down a library in Timbuktu, Mali, "Islamic Barbarians".

His comments were interpreted as being derogatory to Islam and insulting to followers of the religion by some on Twitter.

Trinity College, Cambridge, has 32 Nobel laureates, as against 10 Muslims listed in Wikipedia.