مسلمانوں کا نیوٹن ۔ ڈاکٹر عبدالسلام — Page 392
382 Salam was a remarkable persuader, charismatic, with unbounded energy and enthusiasm, and a slightly irreverent, unorthodox approach that was much more effective than staid diplomacy would have been۔Within three years, he had persuaded the IAEA to back the idea, though with very modest funding and got the Italian government to foot most of the bill, provided the center was sited in Trieste۔In 1964, the ICTP opened its doors in temporary quarters, moving to a handsome new building in the suburbs of the city in 1968۔It has been an astonishing success, and has indeed enabled large number of theoretical physicists to continue working effectively in Third World countries۔Towards the end of his life, Salam was campaigning vigorously for the establishment of three similar centers in other scientific disciplines۔Salam played an important role in various UN bodies, for example as member and chairman of the Advisory Committee on Science and Technology۔In Pakistan his efforts were less successful۔After the fall of Ayub Khan, his relations with the government became increasingly strained۔Salam belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam, regarded by many orthodox Muslims as heretical; they believed that their 19th century founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the Mahdi, the true successor of Muhammad۔In 1974, under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, they were declared non-Muslim and effectively deprived of civil rights۔Salam, who saw himself as a devout Muslim, was outraged and broke off all contact with the Pakistani government۔The situation has perhaps eased slightly in recent years, in 1995; for example, there was special summer school session in honor of Salam, addressed by the President۔But the Ahmadiyyas are still an oppressed minority۔The award of the Nobel Prize in 1979 made Salam famous throughout the Third World, especially in Islamic countries۔He received a constant stream of prizes and honors, and spent much of his time travelling۔This gave him the opportunity to promote the idea of Third World academy of Sciences۔It was set up in 1983, and Salam became its first president۔He used his influence to argue tirelessly for the need to invest in science - not for its own sake but as the only viable way of eliminating the curse of poverty and the terrible divide between the rich and the poor۔Salam has a secure place among the great men of science۔He was the most stimulating colleague, a man of humanity and passion, with many friends and admirers, and some detractors, not least in his own country۔In the mid-eighties, he developed a degenerated neurological disorder, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), that made his life increasingly difficult۔He bore the affliction with remarkable stoicism, continuing to work so long as he was physically able, on new ideas both in theoretical physics and for Third World development۔Prof۔Dr۔Tom Kibble has been a colleague of Prof Salam at Imperial College, London for more than fifty years۔