Muslim countries are adopting new technologies at a rapid pace. However, much of that technology is still being built elsewhere. From artificial intelligence to crypto, people across the Muslim world are using new digital tools. The bigger question is whether these countries can also build the systems behind them.
The issue was discussed at Harvard, where the Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) spoke about AI, crypto, technological sovereignty, and the future of digital finance. He questioned who will shape the values behind programmable money as technology changes how economies work. His remarks came as the United States and 17 countries endorsed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science on October 4. The vision calls for stronger scientific institutions, ambitious research, and greater use of AI to accelerate discovery.
The PVARA chairman believes the Muslim world needs to make a similar shift. Countries should move beyond consuming technology and start producing it. That does not mean rejecting technology developed elsewhere. Instead, the goal should be to understand it, improve it, and create new products around it.
From Al-Khwarizmi to Modern Algorithms
The word “algorithm” offers a useful example of how knowledge can travel across generations. The term comes from the Latinized name of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, a ninth-century scholar who worked in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.
His mathematical work later influenced modern mathematics and computing. Today, algorithms power search engines, financial systems, social media platforms, and artificial intelligence. Yet the technologies built around these ideas are now concentrated mainly outside the Muslim world. This raises an important question about the region’s role in the next technology cycle.
Muslim countries can continue using these systems as consumers. However, they can also build the companies, research, and infrastructure needed to create them. The historical lesson is not about recreating Baghdad. It is about how knowledge was treated.
During the Islamic Golden Age, scholars translated ideas from Greek, Indian, and Persian traditions. They then studied, challenged, and expanded that knowledge. Knowledge did not simply enter the region as a finished product. It became the foundation for new research and discoveries. That same approach could matter as AI, blockchain, and digital finance reshape the global economy.
AI Could Help Close the Gap
Artificial intelligence could give developing countries a new opportunity to participate in technology production. AI tools can now help small teams write software, analyze information, and test ideas. They can also reduce the cost of some research and technical work.
That does not remove the need for skilled engineers, universities, or research institutions. Instead, AI can make existing talent more productive. This could be important for Muslim countries with large young populations and growing technology sectors.
However, access to AI does not automatically create technological independence. The most advanced models still require huge amounts of computing power, data, and capital. Those resources remain concentrated among a relatively small number of companies and countries.
The challenge is therefore to build local capabilities around AI. That means training researchers, funding technical startups, and improving computing infrastructure.
Pakistan’s Crypto Position
Pakistan provides a useful example of the difference between adoption and production. The country ranked third in Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. India ranked first, while Pakistan placed ahead of several major economies.
The ranking shows strong grassroots demand for crypto in Pakistan. However, using digital assets is different from building the infrastructure behind them. Pakistan has started addressing that gap through regulation. The country introduced the Virtual Assets Act 2026 and established a formal framework for the sector.
PVARA has also created licensing and regulatory processes for virtual asset businesses. The framework covers areas such as governance, cybersecurity, and client asset protection. The regulator has opened routes for companies through regulatory sandboxes and the NOC-to-licence process. This gives businesses a clearer path to test and develop products.
Pakistan is not the only Muslim-majority country seeing strong crypto activity. The UAE has emerged as one of the region’s major digital asset hubs. Chainalysis recorded more than $56 billion in crypto value received by the UAE during its latest reporting period.
The country’s crypto economy also grew 33%, showing how regulation and infrastructure can attract international businesses and capital. Other Muslim-majority markets are also showing strong adoption. Indonesia ranked seventh in Chainalysis’ 2025 global adoption index.
Bangladesh ranked 13th, while Türkiye ranked 14th. These figures show that demand for digital assets is already spread across several Muslim-majority economies.
The Real Shift Is From Users to Builders
Moving from consumption to production requires a different approach to technology. Universities need to produce researchers as well as graduates. Investors need to support technical companies that may take years to mature.
Governments also need to create room for experimentation while maintaining appropriate safeguards. Most importantly, young people need to see technology as something they can build.
A startup does not need to invent an entirely new technology to be innovative. It can take existing technology and solve a local problem in a better way. Over time, those solutions can become products for international markets. This is how technology ecosystems grow.
Building the Next Golden Age
The Muslim world does not need to recreate the Islamic Golden Age. It needs to learn from what made that period productive. The strength of that era came from curiosity, openness, and the ability to turn knowledge into new work.
The same principle applies today. Muslim countries already have large technology markets, young populations, and growing pools of capital. They also have increasing access to AI, blockchain, and other emerging technologies.
The challenge is connecting those resources to research, entrepreneurship, and production.
Pakistan’s crypto sector shows that the first steps are already underway. Adoption is strong, and the country now has a formal regulatory structure. If Muslim countries can develop their own AI systems, financial infrastructure, software companies, and research institutions, their role in the technology economy will change.
They will no longer be defined mainly by how quickly they adopt new technology. They will also be judged by how much technology they create, improve, and export to the rest of the world.
