Islamization of Knowledge Hasan M. Talib 0417039 Wan Aizuddin - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

UNGS2040 ISLAM, KNOWLEDGE & CIVILIZATION PRESENTATION

Islamization of Knowledge

Hasan M. Talib 0417039 Wan Aizuddin 0437867 Wan Abdul Matiin 0429367 Zakuan Azizi 0438447

18/8/2005

CONTENTS

Background/Concept Current Issue Attempted Approaches Proposed Process & Characteristics Methodology Conclusion

18/8/2005

BACKGROUND & CONCEPT

Islamization was first used by Dr. S. M.

Naquib al-Attas in his book “Islam and Secularism”, first published 1978.

An approach to improve Western modern

thought via introduction of modified concepts that go in line with Islamic principles and values.

The focus on knowledge as an element in

need of islamization was later proposed in a comprehensive program by the Palestinian scholar, Ismail Raj'i al Faruqi, in 1982

18/8/2005

BACKGROUND & CONCEPT

To tackle the 'malaise of the ummah'

pertaining to the Muslim community's desensitization and unreactivity to violations of the Islamic ethics, having been exposed to a Western/European

• utlook in education totally detached

from the spiritual dimension of life.

18/8/2005

CURRENT PROBLEM: THE DUALITY CRISIS

• Dr. Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr. in his

paper presented at the 6th World Conference on Islamic Education, stated that:

There exists a duality in education

systems and disciplines of knowledge i.e.

Traditional Muslim system Imported European system

18/8/2005

CURRENT PROBLEM: THE DUALITY CRISIS

The systems are contradictory and opposing

in the status quo:

• The 1st system is constituted by disciplines

categorized under Ulum al Deen (sciences

• f religion)
• The 2nd system, Uluum ad Dunya (sciences
• f the world)

Has led to confusion and divided

loyalties among the educated Muslim elites.

18/8/2005

CURRENT PROBLEM: THE DUALITY CRISIS

Therefore proper Islamization of

Knowledge proposed to close the gap and eliminate duality.

Must follow the correct strategies and

mechanisms

18/8/2005

ATTEMPTED APPROACHES

• Some efforts taken so far, but only partially

successful:

• introduction of European disciplines at traditional

universities like al-Azhar,

• introduction of traditional disciplines at modern universities

like the International Islamic Universities in Islamabad and Kuala Lumpur,

• establishment of full-time schools in UK, USA, South

Africa and other countries

• Limited success due to relative failure in addressing

intellectual and basic conceptual issues to enable development of complete curricula and the writing

• f textbooks reflective of Islamic paradigms.

18/8/2005

ATTEMPTED APPROACHES

There have also been wrong approaches to

Islamizing Knowledge:

• 'Insertion' of Qur'aanic verses and ahadith in an
• therwise European piece of writing,
• searching for scientific facts in the Qur'an,
• searching for Qur'aanic proof of scientific facts,
• searching for Qur'aanic scientific miracles,
• searching for parallels between Islamic and

European concepts,

• using Islamic terms in place of European

terminologies, and several more.

18/8/2005

ATTEMPTED APPROACHES

These are all merely dressings of the

wound that is the problem of duality and the division in the educated Islamic community, approaches that do not seek to heal the wound but merely render it more superficially tolerable.

18/8/2005

PROPOSED PROCESS & CHARACTERISTICS

• Thus he proposed that these characteristics must

be present in the mechanism instead:

• pro-active intellectual effort,
• academically and methodologically

rigorous,

• bjective,
• and has practical consequences.
• All the while following Islamic guidelines to

reconstruct paradigms & reclassify disciplines

18/8/2005

METHODOLOGY

1.

strong grounding in Islamic sciences namely the disciplines of usulul fiqh, uluum al Quran, and uluum al hadith.

2.

reading of the Quran and the sunnah must be done with full understanding and knowing the limitations of literal reading and interpretations.

3.

basic epistemological issues and their relations should be given excellent clarification.

• the wahy (revelation) and aql (rational thought),
• ghaib (the metaphysical) and shahada (the physical),
• and ‘ilm (sciences) and iman (faith).
• This way, each of these items can be given their rightful, balanced

emphasis and notions of mutual exclusiveness of any of these pairs e.g. faith and science can be eliminated.

18/8/2005

METHODOLOGY

4.

Encouraging greater ijtihad in the members of Islamized education as opposed to the predominant practice of taqlid (imitation); and Islamic critique of paradigms and various disciplines

5.

Islamic reviews of existing text-books and teaching materials must be produced in order to identify current deviations from the tauhidic episteme, and followed by the publication new and improvised textbooks and other materials

6.

establishment of specialized research institutions to continue perfecting this process and developing better and more effective approaches over time

7.

basic knowledge is to be developed into applied knowledge in science and technology, a move that should be done in line with the steps preceding it.

18/8/2005

STRATEGY

• These steps must follow this priority

in discipline reform:

i.

Natural Sciences

ii.

Social Sciences & Humanities

iii.

Applied Sciences & Technology

iv.

Islamic Sciences

18/8/2005

CONCLUSION

With this mechanism and strategy for

Islamizing knowledge properly laid out, it would be wise and beneficial to no longer adhere to outdated, unsuccessful, and not to mention misleading approaches to this

• bjective. Instead, we should tackle

the problem that is the duality, right at its core with this method.

18/8/2005

REFERENCE

• Datamass. Scientific Method. (9/8/2005).

http://www.datamass.net/sc/scientific-method.html

• Datamass. Ijtihad. (9/8/2005).

http://www.datamass.net/ij/ijtihad.html

• Islaam. The Process of Islamization. (9/8/2005).

http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=364

• Kasule Sr.,O.H.(Dr.). (1996). ISLAMIZATION (REFORM) OF

DISCIPLINES OF KNOWLEDGE: PROCEDURES AND

• PROCESSES. International Islamic University Malaysia.
• NationMaster. Encyclopedia: Islamization of Knowledge.

(9/8/2005).

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Islamization-

• f-knowledge