Steve Paulson of Salon interviews Taner Edis on why Islamic science is so far behind western science. An interesting bit of similarity:

Q: Is there outright hostility to science in Muslim countries?

A: Not at all. In fact, you'll typically find that, at least superficially, they are very positive about science. Even many devout Muslim apologists say Islam is supposed to be a scientific religion -- a religion that supports science down to the last detail. But this notion of a science-positive Islam is often combined with ignorance about the details of science and an openness to some deeply pseudoscientific ideas.

It is a good interview.