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ISLAMIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE SERIES
Islam ization of Knowledge Background, Models and the Way Forward
i
nH*t Sø'idu Sulaiman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR sa'idu sulaiman was born in l9ó0 at Badume in Bichi Local Government of Nigeria. He is the third son of Maram Adamu ùm", an¿ Y?l*? Ruqaiyah Isyaku. He rost his mother when he was about tr"o y.*, old and was, as a result, þroueht up by his grandmother, Hajiya Mariya. After attending the naditionar qur;anic schõor for some yffi r,, ,"u, en¡olled into Kwa primary school by his tfncle Alhaji Sulaiman,-í,ence his K-ano srate,
sufname.
The author received his primary school education from 1969:1975 and later attended the famous school for Arabic Studies, Kano (Grade
II ìection) from 1975'1980. In rggr he got admission into Bayerò uni"..r¡,y r*o and graduated in 1985 with a second crass (uppei division) ãrgrr. in EducationÆconomics. He served with the por¡òe îraining s.r,oor,-rurinnu
under the mandatory National youths Service Corps schemã.
In september 1986 he started working with the Kano State Ministry of Education was posted to Tudun wada Dankadai Government senior Secondary School where he headed the Mathematics department. In r9g9 he transferred his services to the Kano state college or É¿ucat¡on where tle is currently a senior Lecturer and the head of Econãri.r o"purt'n.nr.' ,
1!
while in service, saidu suraiman had obtained a postgraduate diproma in Management and a Master of Business Administiatio-n Já!rãe. 'He had written several papers, conducted a number of researches ir¿ ¡s ttle Rrst editor-in-chief of the Kano Journat of Arts and social sciences. He ha¿ also written a number of books, which incrud e Researchers co^ponøiltsøN 978-028-74s'0) and understanding Finance and Investme,
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The author contributes
to the Islamization of Knowledge programme in the capacities of a researcher, a resource person, a directoåf putli.uiiãn in Û," IIIT Nigeria oflice and. a managing editor of At-r¡tihad: rhi o¡ Islamization of Knolvledge and Contemporary Issues.
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ISTAMIZATTON OF KNOWLEDGE: BACKGROUND, MODETS AND THE WAY FORTi'ARD
BY
SA'IDU SULAIMAN
HEAD OF ECONOMICS DEPARTTÌÍENT, KANO STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, KANO - NIGERIA
@
The International Institute of Islamic Thought, Nigeria office.
First published in 2000 (14204.H.)
By
The International Institute of Islamic Thought,
Nigeria office P.O. Box 13733 Kano,Ni geria
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mech창nical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
rsBN 978-044-tl0-7
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CONTENTS PAGE I
FOREWORI) PREFACE
ii
SECTION ONE: TIIE BACKGROUND
1.
The lVleaning and Sources of Knorvledge in Islam
1.1 1.2
The Meaning of Knowledge in Islam The Sources of'Knowledge in Islam
2 6
2,
The Need for Islamizing Knowledge
10
3.DefinitionandGoalsoflslamizationofKnowlédge
3.1 á2 3.3 3.4
The Need for a Clear Working Definition
3.
The Historical Bacþround of Islamizatioir
A Working Definition of Islamization of Knowledge Islamization Scale The Goals of Islamizationof Knowledge
20 23
of
Knowledge
'
t7 l9
25
SECTION T1VO
THE MODELS AND
tnr w¡'v FoRwARn
5.
Islamization of Knowledge Models
5.1 5.2 5.3 '5:4 5.5
Al-Faru,qi's Twelve-step Work Plan Al-wani's Six Discourses Shehu'ð Four Tasks The Ijmali Critique and-Action Plan
'The Task-Stratery Model
31
34 39
4l 44
The Way.Forward
6,.
6.1
Sensitising Muslim Açademics
6,2
Capacþ Building ReCiprOs for Susûainab'ilþ and pr,ogress
6"3 T,. .
Conclusion REFERENCBS
:
49 s0 5t' .55 56,
FOREWORI) All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon His noble messenger Muhammad as well as his family, companions and all those who follow his path.
It is with
a feeling of great
joy and pleasure that I present to the
reader the third book in the Islamization of Knowledge series
IIIT
of
(Nigeria) Office entitled "Islamization of Knowledgè: Background, Models and the Way forwardt'. It is written by Malam Sa'idu Sulaiman a strong proponent of the'Islamizatibn of Knowledge undertaking and an active worker and researcher who has delivered lectures and seminar papers on the subject in different institutions across the country.
Like the previous books in this ,.ri"r, it covers all the major issues related to thç concept of Islamization of knowledge such as the need for Islamizing knowledge as well as the goals, working definition and historical background of Islamization of knowledge. In addition, however, the book covers very many new topics such as the meaning of knowledge in Islam and the Islamization scale which as the author explains in the preface were as a result of the observations and suggestions rêceived during the numerous outreach seminars he and other IIIT resource persons presented in the last few years.
In the second sectiôn of the book, there is an excellent exposition and analysis of all the cuirent Islamization of knowledge models including one by the author, "the taskstrategy model." This is followed by 4 discussion on the implementation strategies required to move the Islamization of knowledge undertaking forwa¡d.
This second section together with the earlier introductory ge-ction provide the reader with invaluable insight into what Islamization of knowledge is all about and the Ăąrost effective methods that would ensure its long-tenn success. The book will, therefore, be very beneficial to all seriously minded scholars interested in.eamestly pursuing the Islamization of
knowledge undertaking.
May Allah, the Most High, abundantly reward the author for this great contribution and make it useful to the increasing 3yb...r.of those yearning to engage in the noble pursuit of
Islamization of knowledge.
Dr. Bashir S. Galadanci, Co-ordinator, IIIT (Nigeriaf oflice, 2Ùlelt42o A.H. l27lt2l9e c.E;f.
PREFACE This book is, to a greater extent, a response to some of the
numerous reactions to a seminar paper entitled "Islamization of Knowledge: A Working Concept and Implementation Strategies" which I first presented to the Muslim Forum of Bayero University Kano in 1998. Later on the IIIT Nigeria Office requested me to present it at some other universities, some colleges of education and polytechnics, and some other centres of learning in Nigeria.
I had been recording the major views expressed about the paper as well as recommendations made by some members of the audience. At the Imam Malik Islamic Centre, Maiduguri, where the paper was presented together with similar ones delivered by Dr. Bashir S. Galadanci and Malam Salisu Shehu, it was rightly observed by one of the discussants that none of the three papers provided a definition of knowledge from the Islamic viewpoint before dealing with the issues of Islamization of knowledge. In this book an attempt is made to provide this definition.
In other places where the paper w谩s presented some people argued that what 贸ur society negds is Islamization of individuals or the society not the Islamization of knowledge. A discussant of the paper in one of the institutions I visited in Nasarawa State went to the extent of regarding Islamization of knowledge as an innovation (bid'ah). There are also people who, prior to the reading of the seminar paper or listening to its presentation, thought that Islamizafion of knowledge is about Islamizing non-Muslim academics and students in institutions of higher learning. All these issues have been examined and cleared in relevant places in the book. 1il
On the implementation aspect of the Islamization of knowledge programme, there were also suggestions that my paper should provide readers with Al-Faruqi's famous twelve-step work plan before enunciating the implementation strategies. In this book, a critical review of the work plan and of other additional models for implementing the Islamization of knowledge programme has been made.
At
Kaduna Polยกechnic, one Malam Ahmed Magaji I should-write a book on Islamization of knowledge. He was not aware that I had already made my intention to write this book known to some officials of IIIT recommended that
Nigeria Office when we visited Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, in May, 1999. His recorhmendation however, gave me additional inspiration, and therefore this book is รกlso a humble response to his demand.
Finally, there are other issues raised in the book which are qimply meant to provide further clarifications on the Islamization of knowledge programme based on my present understanding of it.
I
am indebted to Dr. Bashir'S. Galadanci for reviewing the manuscript and providing some useful suggestions and for writing a befitting foreword to this book. I arn grateful to all the officials and staff of the IIIT Nigeria Office for making it possible for me to contribute to the Islamization of knowledge programme and for their support and enthusiasm for the publication of the book. Lastly, I thank the staff of Turban, International Business Centre, Zoo Road, Kano, for typing the manuscript with great care and patience.
SA'IDU SULAIMAN lv
CHAPTBR ONE THE MEANING AND SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM
I.lThe Meaníng of Knowledge ín Islam People generally regard whatever information, theory, idea, cultural and religious beließ, facts and doctrines which one acquires from one's forefathers, mentors and school teachers as knowledge. Also whatever comes to one's mind as a result of
one's exposure to preaching, teaching,
propaganda,
indoctrination, scientific findings and trash from occultism and taboos'is similarly regarded as knowledge. If one gets this kind of exposure one is regârded as having acquired knowledge especially by people who do not have the same or similar exposure. While such information and exposure could constitute knowledge, this brings into sharp focus the debate on the distinction between knowledge and claims to knowledge and the difference between knowledge and belief. This debate has been raging on amongst philosophers and other intellectuals for centuries. A famous Greek philosopher, Plato, for instance, asserts that knowledge is of the world of forms or ideas which exist in the mind of a person. Ideas such as goodness and beauty are acquired through contemplation and they are permanent and perfect. Knowledge.then, being of the world of forms. "is infallible and is of what really is, whatever it is"" (Plato quoted in Annas, 1981:201).
Belief, on the other hand according to Plato, is of the physical world. It is acquired through the use of the senses, which can sometimes mislead, so it could be true or false. In the
epistemology(theoryofknowledg.)9fp|¿fnandotheridealist oi rutiottal-ist'philosophers, knowledge is obtained through rational thinking or ðontemplation, while belief is acquired ;hròüh th. ur" ãf *r" s"nrer. However, knowledge can also be is a justified true belief; a true belief being one that ã; devoid of contradictions' had The empiricist philisophers, with Aristc )le on the lead,
a
"".t'*vepistemologicalview.Forthemknowledgeisnotthat *tti"tt ís cieated byitre mind but that which corresponds io the worr¿ as it is. The-real world refbrs to only what is.observable. Thingsthatwecanobservearetheobjectsofknowledge'Nono¡r"ñuUt. things like ethics, aesthetics and religion are not in the realm of knowledge but in that of belief'
From the above, it could be understood that the epistemological view of a scholar or an educational administrator will certainly A influence his scholarship or educational policies respectively. little or realist çducational administrator, for instance, will have and commitm:nt to revealed knowledge when
no regard À"f.i"ã or implementing policies on education' A Muslim differs scholar therefoie needs an Islamic epistemology which from the idealist and realist epistemologies'
an There is therefore a need to redefine knowledge in terms of istamic epistemology. In Islam, knowledge cornes from Allah's revelation to His Piophets, and fron reasoning and perception or empiricism. The fóllowing verses of the Holy Qur'an show this:
1.
Read! In the name of your Lord who creates, creates man from a clot (of.,congealed blood)' \uS, Read: and your Lord is the Most Bount Who teaches by the Pen. teaches mân that which he knew not' (Qur'an 96:1-5)'
2.
And if you are in doubt as to what We
have .revealed
to Our
(Muhammad), then produce like thereunto.' (Qur'an 2:23).
3.
,
'
Servant
a chapter
And Allah has brought you forth from your mothers' wombs knowing nothing, but He has endowed you with hearing, sight and minds, so that you might have câus€ to be grateful (to Him). (Qur'an 16:78).
;
The'first and second verses indicate that rev'elation is a source of .knowledge while the third verse shows that knowledge'could be realised through the use of the senses (e:mpíriciSm).The mentioning of the mind in the third verse implies itsïse in rational thinking. ':
, Islam also differentiates knowledge from claims
to
, : lcnowledge, conjecture and other trash. The following some exarnples of this differentiation. . -:'vçrse$provide ':,' Prdduce an evidence for what you are ..' .: ,':1. ' claiming, 'if what you say is true : ':' (Qur'an2:lll). 2. Never
,.',;truth.
can surmise take the place (Qur'an'6:148).
3:'Havè you any (certain)
of
knowledge,
which you could proffer to us? You
. follo'w only eonjectures and you : , , yourselves do nothing but guess :'' (eùrian 6:148).'
In the light of the contents of the above verses, knowledge, in Islam, is truth. Thus it can be defined as the truth relating to the nature of God (Allah), His creation and all pþenomena, acquired through revelation, reasoning and experiences of the senses.
Some key concepts used in the definition need to be explained'
Nature, in this context, refers to the qualities, attributes or characteristics, which belong to God, creations and aU 'We qan not know God in the way we know phenomena. ourselves but with the aid of His revelation we can know His nature ih tenns of His attributes. For instance, we know that He is One and He is Eternal, Omniscient, Omnipotent, and He does not need a helper, a wife and a soh. We do not know Him if.we ascribe the opposite of these attributes to Him.
can also know facts aboùt plants, chemicals and rocks in terms of their uses, properties and relationships with other matters. Intangible phenomena like justice, gentleness, rumour and democracy can also be known by acquiring facts about their features and essences. For instance, politeness can be one of the features of gentleness. Vy'e
The term þhenomena in the context of the definition refers to things .that appear to and'are perceived by the senses. These exclude God, angels, Satan, Jinns and paradise, which our senses cannot perceive. We have tanlible phenomena like stone and magnet and intangible phenomena like riot, strike, communism, poverty and wedding ceremony. They all have properties and essences and can be known. The objects of knowledge are thúefore God, His visible and invisible creation and the tangible and intangible phenomena.
The concept of knowledge in Islam is wider than the Western concept of knowledge in. terms of the sources, purpose and objects of knowledge. Relying upon the V/estern concept of knowledge therefore leads to a nano\ry and incomplete understanding of all phenomena
1.2
Sources of Knowledge in Islam
In the rationalists' epistemology thg objects of knowledge are forms or ideas existing in the human mind and its source is rationality or reasoning through contemplation. In the realists' epistemology the object of knowledge is the observable world and its source is experience through the senses or empiricism. In the Islamic epistemology, revelation is added to the two sources of knowledge over which the rationalists and realists disagree.
Revelation as a source of knowledge takes the forms of (a) direct verbal communication by which Allah speaks to man behind a veil as had happened to Prophet Musa (Alaihis Salam), (b) inspiration, and (c) sending an angel with a message to man. These tlree methods have been stated in the following verse: And it is not (possible) for a man thdt Allah shall speak to him except through inspiration or from behind a veil or that He sends (unto him) a messenger (an angel who) reveals (to him) by His leave that which He wills. (Qur'an 42:51). Prophets also receive revelation through dreams as Chapter 48 verse 27 of the Qur'an'states. However with the death of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.V/), the seal the prophets, revelation ceased to come from Allah whoever claims to have it is an impostor or someone being deceived by Satan.
and
of
Knowledge obtained through revelation, being divinely ordained, is absolute knowledge (haqq al-yariin); it is infallible and hence the most reliable form of knowledge.
Rationalism is another source of acquiring truth or knowledge. Knowledge acquired through it is known as ilm al-yaqin (knowledge by reasoning or inference). Rational thinking alone cannot suffice for man to acquire true knowledge because his intellect has limitations. He therefore needs revelation to ascertain the reliability of what he understands through rational thinking. V/ithout this, people can introduee many alien ideas into Islam under the'guise of rational thinking or Islamic philosophy. Philosophers like al Kindi, al Farabi and Ibn Sina, for instance,'were said to have introduced Greek thought into the body of Islamic thought and belief, and for this reason, Sayyid Qutb as quoted by Moussalli (l 990 :326) cautions that :
The correct Islanaic conception should not be sought in (the wiitings of) Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, al Farabi or others who a�e called the philosophers of Islam. Their philosophies are only shadowS of Greek philosophy, alien in its spirit to the spirit of Islam... Scholars such as Valiuddin (1978), Ahmed (1932) andEl-Zein (1979) also.state that Greek philosophy as well as Indian rites were introduced into Islamic I philosonhV and Sufism. Knowledge gained. through meditâtion or contemplation could not be acceptable clashes with revealed knowledge contained in the Qur'ari and the Sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.V/). But for scholars like S.H. Nasr, knowledge acquired
if it
through contemplation is the highest and most comprehensive. He writes:
Finall¡ we have the level of pure knowledge
understanding. It is that of the contemplative, the gnostic (ariÐ, the level thæ .has been recognized throughout Islamic history
and
as the hiþhest and most comprehensive. (Quoteâ
by Fakir 1992: 200-201).
a Sufi scholar,. as related by EL-7-ein (1979:39-40) indicated that through meditation a person could havethis mystical knowledge by which he can: Makhdum Sawi,
discover.the essences of things which are.the reality of the phenomenal beings, and behold the Divine Throne (ArsÐ, the Foot Stool (Kursí), the Presèrved Tablet (Lauhi,l- Mahfuz), the Pen (Qalam), Angels, etc.
Owing to the fact that the human intellect has limitations, knowledge acquired through rationalism, logic and contemplation needs to- be verified by revealed knowledge. Secondly, mysticâl knowledge or claim to knowledge is not the preserve of Muslim mystics; it also exists in other religions and cultures.
The last source of knowledge is experience or empiricism. The senses of hearing, .feeling, smelling, seeing and tasiing are employed to discover the properties of a fhenomenon. The selses too have limitations; they cannot, for instance, perceiíe #gels and they can sometímes mislead'ur. portt¡rrå'r.¿rorrr, knowledge based uppn empiricism (øyn-al-yaqin) may sometimes be unreliable. It also needs confiçmation by revealed knowledge.
Revelation, being absolutely reliable and supreme,. is superior to the other two sources of knowledge. These other two sources, rationalism and empiricism, must in no way contradict revelation; they can provide fi.lrther or detail explanation to revealed knowledge but the explanations need confirmaiioir by ievelation.
I
CHAPTER TWO THE NEED FOR ISLAMIZATION OF KNO\ilLEDGE ,deally, knowledge is perfect, permanent, neutral and universal' rut in contemporary ìeality, it is not so if we consider the bodies of- knowledge, claims to knowledge and m¡hologies being imparted to people in both fol,nal. and nonfä¿1 eiucationãl systems. People awarded with degrees in aertain fields constituted by myths and imperfect knowledge been ,ãre reearded as knowledgeable but in reality they have a of explanations Sivçn lmude io acquire inelevant and fauþ qeeking from barred been also have They lon"rrorrr.nott. 'ãlternative explanaiions of the phenomenon especially if they their. are contenæd^with what they have acquired. In this case, drug", to b9no1v the çducation becomes.'oa perception altering of Harris (lg7g), which prevents them from having a
i*iou,
*ords
correct percePtion of Phenomena.
We shall examine four(a) major reasons which constitute the will l.need for Islamizing knowledge. Doîng this at this stage and knowledgp of Islamization pu.r" *uy for the definition of the statement of its goals.
1.
Mythologies and'D.gr.., of Knowledge
A critical analysis of what is being taught to students in
institutions of llarning, formally and informally,- will leâd to the identification of three categories of curriculum content: mythologies, imperfect or pqlluted knowledge. and perfect or neutral knowledge. A scale is used to illustrate these'
l0
Mythologies and Degrees of Knowledge Scøle
I
0 Mythologies
Imperfect knowledge
Perfect knowledge
Mythologies are a collection of myths such as fables, superstitious beliefs and fabricated theories explaining the nature of things. Mythologies can be studied for the purpose of dismantling them, but they are useless when it comes to explaininglhe nature of a phenonienon; in fact, it is even better to be ignorant than to learn and apply mythologies to solve a problem. In Hausa culture, for instance, some people believe that giving a child an egg to eat will make him or hel to become a thief. This is a mythology. In socialist literature it is taught that:
Religion is opium for the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaĂşes of capital drown their human image, their demand for a life more or less worthy of man. (Lenin on Religion PP:7-8). This is also a mythology deipite Lenin's argument on page l0 of the'same book, where he states:
is
based entirely on the scientific, and moreover the materialist, world
Our programme outlook-
He had contradicted himselion the same page by writing that "our propaganda necessarily, includes the propaganda of atheism..." This is because a scientific explanation of a phenomenon needs not to contain a propaganda.
ll
Knowledge becomes imperfect or polluted due to human error and bias. For this reason, a body of knowledge suffering from imperfection needs to be'Islamized. In v/estern democracy, for insìance, sovefeignty lies with people; in the Islamic political system,lit li.r with Allah so only He can determine what is láwfu or unlawful. Certain aspects of V/estern democracy can be Islamic, but it cannot be entirely Islamic and so it is .imperfect; James Madison (1751-1876) created the democratic principle of separatiori of power and checks and balances so single üranch of gõvernment can dominate others but ittæ "à as obsetved by Bandat (1984:129), "encourages this principle, conflict within the government".
McConnel (1977:514), äfter explaining the theories of personality formulated by Sigmund Freud, Carl Gustav J*g,
im.¿
Adier and others, concludés that: these theories have contributed to our ability to understand and predict human experience, but none of them is comPlete in itself.
All
The only complete and reliable account of man's personality comes fiom hii maker, Allah, the Most High, so there is a negd fbr Islamizing knowledge so that people cannot be misled by mythologies and imperfect knowledge.
When knowledge is perfect, it is also neutral and universal ar-rd it does not require islamization whether it comes from or is imparted by Muslim or non-Muslim scholars'
2.
Values
Immature leamers, especially children and students attending secondary and tertiary institutions, tend to regard the contents of printeà textbooks and the views of 'experts on certain issues t2
or value-free. Unfortunately, some advanced learners pursuing undergraduate or postgraduate courses as well as lecturers with shallow minds also exhibit the same behaviour. To such people, knowlgdge being taught in our institutions is neutral and does not require Islamization. To some of them, Islamization of knowledge is an intellectual luxury and extravagance ofresources and effoit. as being neutral
As for the well-leamed people, knowledge is not value-free; its contents and philosophy reflect certain values or interests, so it needs to be reshaped to suit a particular worldview. Some of the expressions of such people are stated below to buttress this point.
Kausar (1996:aS1) quoted a statemĂŞnt made by Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the President of'Iceland at a conference for Beijing Preparation organized by the Council of Europe, as follows: The gender perspective should be integrated in the curricula. Stereotypes must be eliminated in school-books and teachers trained to raise their awareness of this question, so as to ensure that girls and boys make informed career choices which are not based on gender-based traditions. These words indicate a need for changing the curriculurn and the contents of textbooks as well as the need for retraining teachers with a view to removing gender-based traditions from the system.
Junaid (1972), the Wazirin Sokoto of Northern Nigeria, at a convocation ceremony at Ahmadu Bello University, ZaĂşa, also pointed out that knowledge is not value-free. He stated that:
l3
Knowledge is certainly universal and timeless but it has a cultural stamp' It also has a purpose It and a commitment to a particular worldview' therefore cannot be neutral'
Knowledgearrivedatthroughscientificinquiriesisalscl.rrot L4i11er value-free because scientists ãre not always objective' (1998:54) writes that: Scientists, however, are human beings who have conscious and unconscious values, biases,' and beliefs that can influence how they design and interpret data and the reliability they attach to varióus scientific hypotheses and theories'
to since knowledge is not value-free, Muslim Scholars need the strþ atl values-that are alien to the Islamic worldview off ;;iy of polluted knowledge' This forms part of the Islamization of Knowledge undertaking'
3.
Difference in Para{igms
is The third reason showing the need for Islamizing knowledge the fact that knowledge is discovered, classified, taught and utilized in accordance with a particular paradigm. There are Social **y of such paradigms; a Western paradigm ofwhile a values Sciences, for instance, must reflect Western values. socialist paradigm must endeavour to achieve socialist
(1939) explains that a paradigm or a grand theory is a concèptuaÍ frâmework within which the work of theory constiuction is made and it governs the nature of hypotheses formulation and testing' Concepts, values, theories' p"rrp""tiu.s and worldviews constitute a paradigm' Ali (i qSg,S 1) furrher exPlains that:
Ali
l4
We can say that individualism, liberty of the individual, and the industrial capitalisnrrrthe principàl components of the grand theory of Westem society; and collectivism, historical materialism, and the theory of transition from capitalism to socialism arc the principal components of the Soviet society. One could therefore understand that the compartmentalisation of knowfedge .into various disciplines, the focus of the disciplines, their methodologies and the epistemologies on whích they are based, all differ with respect to paradigms. Muslims need to arïange and channèl their educational sl,stem in accordance with an Islamic paradigm. This explains why Islamization of knowledge should go beyond recasting or remoulding disciplines which have been developed within the Westem, socialist or any other paradigm that is alien to the Islamic worldview
In conduðting researches people also adopt a particular paradigm that suits them. Bailey (1994:26) explains that a research parad(gm is o'a mental window through which the observer views the world'. ThuS, two different researchers investigating the same phenomenon in line with two different paradigms may produce different accounts of the same phenomenon.
4.
New Developments
New developments in various fields of knàwledge and-their products which eadier Muslim scholars and jurists did not witness in their life times also demonstrate the need for modern scholars to embark upon the Islanrization projects. Examples of these products are the issues of cloning :in the biological
l5
sciences and transactions involving derivative assets like futures in developed capital markĂŞts.
New concepts that are rapidly gaining âcceptance in Muslim nations are also emerging. Examples of these concepts are sustainable development, women empowerment and .child abuse. Concepts like these need to be tamed through the Islamization of knowledge undertaking to prevent Muslims from accepting ideas that are alien to their faith.
If Muslim
scholars fail to explain new phenomena in line with the teachings of Islam, the generality of Muslims will not know the permissibility or otherwise of the phenomena. Secondly, inferiority complex,will be entrenched in their minds when they are made to believe that Islam has no provision or explanation for the new phenomena.
Based upon the four reasons underlying the need for the Islamization of knowledge.undertaking it could therefore be concluded that the undertaking is a necessity not an intellectual luxury. Similarly, it is not an elitist affafu as some people term it. There are genuine reasons for it and, being an intĂłllectual affair, it requires the attention of Muslim intellectuals more than that of the generality of people. Howevsr, the benefits to be reaped from the Islamization of knowledge undertaking go to all and sundry.
r6 .a
CHAPTER THREE DEFINITION AND GOALS OF ISLAMIZATION OF KNO\ryLEDGE
3.1
The Need for a Clear Working Definition
Though several notions and definitions of Islamization of knowledge have been given by many scholars comrnitted to this noble and gigantic task, some people still find it difficult to comprehend and accept the definitions. The moment people hear the phrase "Islamization of knowledge" they begin to argue thaiknowledge is neutral or it is already Islamic; hence it does not require Islamization'
There is, therefore, a need for an explanation of the meaning of knowledge in Islam, and for showing that knowledge differs from m¡hologies and has degrees of being peifect or being polluted with bias and human error. When knowledge is perf,ect and neutral it does not require Islamization; whgn thercontrary is the case, it does. When definitions ,.,êîd, notions ' of Islamization of knowledge are not accompanied ,by these explanations people are bound to find them,u4accgptable, or inconceivable. Condensed and highly philosophical definitions,are also,nol easy to be comprehended by the generality of people. Working definitions may be more understandable and they have the advantage of providing a guide on what a person can do when implementing the defined idea or task'
Definitions are essential in whatever we do. We fumble or fall into error.when we lack a proper understanding of a concept ot concepts related to tasks âssigned to us. The èxample belo'* would be used to illustrate this point. t7
;
An English lady had just prepared three different dishes: a plate of rice for herself, of yam pottage for her husband and a bowl of porridge made from oats for their little child. She had placed these things on a table and beside two other bowls, one containing processed honey and the other filled with contaminated yoghurt. She had forgotten to wash away the yoghurt and also to sweeten the ponidge with honey. When the little child began to cry the lady asked a newly employed housemaid to sweeten the porridge with honey and to give it to the child. Unfortunately, the housemaid was unable to comprehend the command because the terms, 'porridge' and 'honey" were new to her and they could mean anything on the table. She spent five minutes considering the following options and finally, but mistakenly, chose the lÂżst one:
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
To add honey to the r,irnr ÂĄrottage To add honey to the porridge To add yam pottage to the porridge To add honey to the yoghurt To add some porridge into the bowl of honey
A
person lacking proper understanding of the concept of Islamization of knowledge can make si.milar mistakes. For instance, in trying to islamize Economics he may end up economizing Islam. This mistake is similar to the option chosen by the housemaid. Trying to islamize what Islam prohibits is just like option (d): sweetening contaminated yoghurt with honey. So it is improper to islamize, for instance, the principles and practice of bribery, prostitution, magic, gambling, alcohol brewing and sorcery. It is also a waste of time for one to try to i'slamize what is already Islamic.
l8
3.2 A \ilorking DefĂŻnition It is better to
of Islamizaton
of
Know,ledge
use the phrase "Islamization
of knowledge,, than knowledge". The latter phrase is only applicable to polluted knowledge while the former applies to both polluted knowledge and mythologies which have never been Islamic. Mythologies coming from people that have never. been aware of Islam. and its teachings do not even have the status of polluted knowledge, because only what is present can be polluted. o're-Islamization
of
Islamization of knowledge simply rèfers to an attempt through which those aspects of the body and pulpose of knowledge and of the process and methodologies of discovering,-validating, imparting and applying it, which oppose Islam, are identified and made subservient to the Islamic worldview The following could be undestood from this difinition:
(a) The scope of Islamization or what needs to be Islamized includes w4rat is known or is to be known, why it is known and how the knowledge is discovered, approved and taught to others and.utilized (b) Only those aspects of the things mentioned under (a) which do not conform to Islam need to be Islamized. This means there are other aspects which are in conformity with Islam because they are purely neutral or are facts.
(c) Islamization of knowledge does not stop at recasting or remoulding past achievements in the field of knowledge; it requires that all future endeavours to acquire and impart knowledge have to conform with Islam.
t9
(d) There are two key steps in Islamizing knowedge: (l) iderltiÛing the aspects of knowledg., oi its purpo-se and of the methodologies and procèdures oi acquiring, validati'g, imparting- and applying it which are còntrary to the Islamic creed and e) making these aspects to conform with Islam and to serve its cause.
3.3
I
Islamizaton Scale
The conformity or.otherwise of the object and the methodology of acquiring knowledge or imparting it to others to the Islamic worldview all differ. For instance, the object, (i.e. what is
known), could be purely Islamic but the metùodology of acquiring the knowl.edge or the purpose for which it is ac{uired
could oppose Islamic teachings. Knowing that2+2=4 does not oppose Islam, hence-it does not require Islamization but leading a child to acquire this knowledge by slapping his left cheek twice and then the right cheek twice so as to hurt him is unIslamic. similarly teaching this lesson with the intention of enabling the child to steal four eggs from his mother's kitchen and bring them to school is unacceptable.
one needs to master a subject or discipline and also the teachings of Islam related to it before being able to identify the aspects of the discipline that need to be Islamized. This also applies to the purpose of the discipline and its methodologies. An Islamizaion scale reflecting the "m¡hologies and degrà of
knowledge" scale explained in Chapter T*o can háp by providing a guide on how much Islamization effort is required for the Islamization of any particular discipline. The Islami zation scale, as shown below, has two extremes: complete ignorance is placed at zero while perfect knowledge is placed at one, A body of knowledge thai is perfect is also purely neutral and does need to be Islamized beõause Islam is
about truth and what comes from Allah, the Omniscient, is perfectly true. It is man that has little knowledge as the following verse of the Holy Qur'an states: Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you. (Qur'an 17:85)
Islamization Scale
0
0.5
complete ignorance (purely unlslamic)
I perfect knowledge (purely Islamic)
Pure mythologies and complete ignorance are placed at zero while imperfect or polluted knowledge comes in between zero and one. A perfect body of knowledge is placed at one and it does not require Islamization. Disciplines like Civil and Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Geology can have a high score on the Islamization scale. Compared to the social sciences and humanities, the natural and applied sciences require less Islamization effort as far as their contents are concerned. However, in ierms of purpose, the natural and applied sciences require a lot of Islamization. Taboos and superstitious beliefs being passed from one generation to another both formally and informally can be placed at zero or something near to that on the Islamization scale, meaning that . they need total Islamization. This indicates that Islamization of knowledge is not cencemed with what comes ftorn only the West as our culture, belieĂ&#x; and taboos also distort our thinking, perception and interpretation of facts.
2l
It should be noted that facts can be obtained in every.discipline wcll as fallacious claims based on ignorance.and ill.motives. For instance, a fallacious claim relateã to the non-existence of God can come from Biorogy, sociology.and superstition. Thus ; d; 9very bit of the conrent ãf a disoiplfrt ;'brï; Islamization scale. as
Another thing to note is that the natural sciences are not always perfect and neutral,r-i3.p!_bæause they are based on ..pirirul evidences. Harris (1979:5-27) made a detailed ¿is"ursionliìtè limitations of empiricism. A sunmary and.some illustræions of the main points he rais-ed are provided her":
First,
conclusions
cannot be logically .derivedgeneralisation because there could be exceptiõns.
valid for
secondly, methodology of data colrection is always theory laden; that is, an investigator has,preconceptions anå motives which influence his or her ôhoice of methodotoly or
investigation and this subsequently affects the outcome:
Thildly, in trying to gain data about the world, filtration mechanisms .operate between our sensation of the world and .
our perception or knowledge of
it such mechanisms
include:
i
(a) Psychological derusions - insanity, for instance; affects our perception an{ there is a diffrcûlty in knowini *to i, a sane person and who is not, Galileo, for instance, was regarded as being insane when he publicised his sciçntific findings. (b) our conceptual schemes .pay lead us to describe the world as what it is not if\ey are inadequate. An ice block, for instance, can be described as a *itit" or a cold
22
stone by some one lacking the appropriate conceptuaË scheme.
(c) Social pressure may lead us to accept things simpl¡u" because they are stated by famous authorities or the: majority of PeoPle.
(d) prejudice can lead us to perceive more than what we see or to be selective in noticing things'
(e) Our present knowledge, experience and pre-conceptiort can ãllo* us to perceive what other people cannol perceive. A child that is born and reared in a nois¡' ènvironment may not feel the impact of noise on having a sound sleep as a child coming from a different environment maY. sets also affect our perception. For instance when reading a sentence that reads "The boy is is lazy" we may
(f) Mental
because our minds have been set to have the correct sentence'
fail to notice the double 'ois" simply
3.4
The Goals of Islamization of Knowledge
There are three.broad goals of Islamizing knowledge. They can be called the three W's of Islamization of knowledge as they are centred around what is known, how it is known and why it is known. TheY are as follows:
(a) to ensure that what is knqwn or to be known fbrmally 'or informally does not oppose Islamic teachings and aspirations (the whaQ;
23
(b)
to
ensure that the procedures, methodologies and means of acquiring, validating, imparting and applying knowledge are in line with the Islamic precept (the how); and
(c) to ensure that the purpose of acquiring and applying knowledge does not oppose Islamic teachings (the whv).
Thรง place where knowledge is discovered and who makes the discovery do not matter so long as these goals are achieved. The working definition explained in this chapter is built upon these three goals. The goals also reflect the scope of Islamization of knowledge. The body of knowledge [what we leam, teach and write in textbooks and papers or say during. lectures and discussions], the procedures and methodologies of acquiring, validating, imparting and utilizing knowledge, and the purpose of knowledge, folm the scope of Islamization of knowledge. The body of knowledge must not oppose the teachings of Islam,.the procedures and methods must be in line with Islamic precepts and the purpose of acquiring and worship Allah alone. applying knowledge must be Performing the religious rites, serving as Allah's vicegerent on Earth and engaging in lawful undertakings to earna good living on Earth, constitute the worship of Allah.
to
24
CHAPTER FOUR TIIE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF NLAMIZATION OF KNO\ryLEDGN' '''' Some .people, out of ignorartce, think that Islamization of knowleãgJ is a new undertaking and therefore an innovation (bid'ah);-they do not know that Islam came and met people, the beliefs, skills, knowledge and Arabs initially, with customs, 'the various ,forms of revelation mythologies. BasEd upon tr¿utramma¿ Prophet receirredlby .(S.A.W), some of these phenomena were found to be in line with the revelation and w.efe therefore adopted. Others were found.to be antagonistic to the :Islamic faith and were either disoarded completely or modified. In a lladith reported by Bukhari and Muslim, Ibn Abbas related that when the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W') came to Madinah, they were paying, one and two years in advance, for fruits, but he (the Prophet) then said:
in advance must do so for a specified measure and weight, with the
those who pay for anything
fixing of a specified time.
This modification removed unòertainty and misunderstanding from Such forward þusinesses.
The Prophets and Messengers of Allah that came before Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) also practised and'preached Islam. They had also introduced changes to" the lives, knowledge anp beliefs of their people.
25
Even with the paòsing away of the companions of the Prophet, the Islamizationprocess continued. Abu Hamid ^Al-Ghazali had tried to islamize Philosophy and Sufism. For instance, he rejected the Sufi claim that in the mystical experience, one reaches God through fusion in the divine Being. He made' tasawwuf rcspectable and agreeable to the Sha¡i'ah. But despite Al-Ghazalils- effort, tasawwuf acquired certain symptoms which ruin..tlie Muslim society as observed by Al-Faruqi and Al-Faruqi (1936); for instance, kashf, gnostic illumination \ilas substituted for knowledge and ttre Muslim, in the words of AlFaruqi and Al-Faruqi (1986:304),
had become apolitical, asocial, anethical,"
and hence
amilitary, non-productive,
for the U'mmah (the world brotherhood under the moral law), an individualist, and in the last rgsort, an egotibt unconcerned-
whose prime objective was to be saved, himself, to be absorbed into the consuming majesty of the divine being.
A significant effort was rnade during the reign of Al-Mamun, the seventh Abbasid Caliph whi.ch heralded the golden era of Islamic civilization. As ùfaiwada
(1 999: I
0) recounts,
the stage for
harmomzing the Qur'anic knowledge with other knowledge such as the legacy of Greek and Persian literature was set by Al-Mamun, the seventh Abbasid Caliph (813. 873 A.D), who established a research cente, Bait
Al-Hikmah. Scholars from
far and near
converged on this centre studying, translating works into Arabic and compiling treatises.
26
subsequept to this effort a number
of Muslim scholars made contributions to knowledge; for instance, yakub- Al-Kindi composed 265 treatises on Music, Astronomy and Medicine while Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn sina (Avicenna) wrote a book which became a guide for medical study even in European universities untit loso AD. The knowlädge of optics was dgveloped by Flassan Ibn Al-Haitham of ãasrah, iMaiwada tgee). Unfortrnately, at
a later stage, Muslims
became lazy and unconôerned with the pursuit of knowledge in all fieids of human endeavour. Muslim nations were colonized and with this an alien educational system was imposed on them. The
nations are now faced with an educational crisis which Sulaiman (199.9:30) conceives as the:
problems
of thought and commitment that
jointly inhibit the acquisition, spread
and
application of knowledge by Muslims for the pu{pose of meeting challenges facing them, and for serving Allah and functioning as His
,
vicegerents on Earth.
dimensions of the 'crisis include backwardness and intellectual stagnation of Muslims in relation to educational pursuits, error and confusion in knowledge (epistemological confusion), inferiority complex and lack or r.r-.onfidËnce. Poor funding of. education by parents and governments, resistance to useful changes, and blind imitation ltaqtid) by a number of Muslim scholars are also manifestationi of this
fhe
crisis.
rn 19t77 some concerned Muslim intellectuals organized the First world conference on Muslim Education in Mãcca, saudi Arabia.' sequel to this, other similar conferences were 27
organized and institutions lryere established to implement policies articulated during the conferenôes. Some oÌ these institutions are the International Islamic university Malaysia (IIUM) established in 1983 and the International institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) established and registered in the united States of America in 1401 A.H (1931 A.D).
-wriling about the pioneers of the contemporary Islamization of Knowledge undertaking, Sardar (1939) related that Ja'afar sheikh Idris was the first scholar to attack the cultural bias of Western Social Scienbes in a paper entitled ..The process of Islamization" which *ur pr"rlnt"d itt 1975. However, the notion of Islamization of knowledge was developed before that time by Syed Naquib Al-Attas in his work entitled..preliminary Statement on a General Theory of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago" published ih 1969. Sardar (1989:31) had also stated thai
"
it .was late Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi who
synthesised the works of Al:Attas and Idris and shaped the theory of Islamization ás we know it
today. Some people become suspicious
of the current Islamization of knowledge being supported by the IIIT simply because the organisation is located in USA. They think that nothing good can corre from there. It is not the geographical location of an institution that matters but the p.opl. *ho *n it, the nalure of its activities and the kind of.messages it sends to people. "' The
IIIT
headquarters
in Herndon, Virginia is run by Muslims
who are not necessarily Americans by origin while the branch offrces are nm by the citizens of the countries in which they are. located. The contents of IIIT publications are purely academic like any other .scholarly publications coming from similar international, regional or ,national iristitutes. They contain
.
contributions from people all over the world. A look at these publications, which are openly sold in several centres around the world, will show all these facts.
It suffices to say that the Islamization undertaking is not the preserve of the
of knowledge IIIT as other
organisations and individuals also contribute in this regard. It is compulsory upon all Muslim academics in all fields of
knowledge to give their contributions according to their abilities, resources and the opportunities opened to them. One can contribute to the Islamization of knowledge programme by supporting or liasing with the IIIJ or any other Islamic organisation with similar goals. Muslim academics can also form organisations or forums for the sake of the Islamization of knowledge undertaking if they do not want to join any existing organisation. What is required most is the contribution. It car come from any organisation or individual and from Muslims and even non-Muslims. It is common to find non-Muslir$ scholars writing papers for the American Joumal of Islamfu. Social Sciences being published by the IIIT. This prornot6 understanding between Muslim academics and their no$i; Muslim counterparts and is a mark of religious tolerance ar# academic matuiity.
CHAPTER. FIVE
ISLAMIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE MODELS Introduction Just as there are several ways of reaching a market, some short, some long, some direct and others indirect, there are also
several approches or models pertaining to the implementation
of the Islamization of knowledge programme. Ja-afar sheikh Idris, for instance, formulated an eleven-point programme for Islamization of knowledge which sardar (1999)-regards as simpler and more intellectually manageable than that of AlFaruqi' other models and modifications to Al-Faruqi's work-
plan have also been designed by other scholars ur
*ð
shall see
later.
5.1
Al-Faruqi's Twelve-step Work plan
This section contains a. summary of the twelve-step work plan formulated by the late'Professor Ismail Raji Al-Èaruqi, may Allah have mercy on him. The work plan, as explained ín AlFaruqi's Islamizarion of Knowledge; General principles and Ygrk Plan_published in 1982, is nót only an explanatiòn of the Islamization process, but also a model for implementing the Islamization of knowledge programme.
The twelve-step work plan which al-Faruqi termed as
necessary steps leading follows:
l.
the
to Islamization of Knowledge is as
Mastery of the Modern Disciplines: The categories, principles, problems and dominant themes of W=estern disciplines need to be mástered.
3l
2.
Detailed Survey of Disciplines: The genesis and historical development of a discipline and its methodologies as well as existing works need to be surveyed.
3.
Mastery
of the Islamic Legacy - The Anthology:
Anthologies are collections of literary works of different writers. The anthologies of past Muslim scholars will provide present Muslim scholars with an easy access to the Islamic legacy in their areas of specialiazation. 4.
Mastery of the Islamic Legacy - The Analysis: The Western trained Muslim scholar requires an analysis of the anthologies so that their contributions and relevance to problems of the present can be highlighted.
5.
Establishment of the Specific Relevance of Islam to each Discipline: The contribution and relevance of Islamic legacy to each modern discipline, with regards to its principles, methods, objectives, achigvements and shortcomings, need to be established.
6.
Assessment of Modern Discipline: A state-of review of each discipline is required from the the-art standpoint of Islam, The rirethodology, data and problem of each discipline, as well as its dominant themes need to be analysed critically and .tested for reductionism, adequacy., reasonableness and consistency with Islamic
Critidd
preceps. 7.
Critical Assessment of the Islamic Legacy: The legacy includes the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.): these are not to be subjected to criticism and assessment. The Muslim's understanding 32
of
these two sources of the Shariah, however, are objects of criticism and assessment, so is any intellectual endeavour made by Muslim scholars. The task of assessing the
legacy's contributions to a given field of human activity falls upon the shoulders of experts in that field. t.
8. Survey of the Ummah's Major Pioblems: The
complêx of causes, manifcstations, dialectic with otler 'consequences of the Ummah's phenomena and the problems should all be surveyed and analysed critically' At the same'time, attention should be devoted to the Ummah'5 ,political, cultural, moral, intellectual and economic problems.
g'. Survey of the Problems of Humankind:
The problems the problems being Exarnples of non-Muslims, and faced by both Musliins these problems are drug-abuse, deterioration of family I ethics, rape of nature and threats to'the ecological balance of the earth.
' of humankind in general inilude
-.,i
10. Creative Analysis and'synthesis: The synthesis serves as a means of bridging, the: gap between the Islamic legacy and modern disciPlines. tl
11..
Recasting the Disciplines under'the Framework of Islam and the Production oi University Textbooks. '
12,
Dissemination of the Islamized Knowledg€;: Every work produced should be made available to Muslirn academics and thinkers.
Since the publication of Al-Faruqi's work plan several reactions hãve been coming from Muslim academics' Safi (1993), for instance, argued that the twêlve-step work plan 33
was not very practicable and he went ahead to replace it with a three-step work plan: (a) mastery of substantive knowledge, (b) mastery of methodological knowledge and (c) production of university textbooks and other intellectual works which require critical examination by the Muslim community before being regarded as Islamic.
Muhammad Arif, as stated in Sardar (.1989:33) regards AlFaruqi's wo¡k plan as being "thoroughly scientific in the sense used by modern historians and philosophers of science". Sardar, however did not agree with Arifs defence of Al-Faruqi's work plan. According to him the work plan could 'not be regarded as being scientific simply by comparing it with Lakato's research programme. He pointed out that Kuhn and Feyerabend had already demolished the Lakato;s research progr¿ìmme, among others. Maiwada (1997) found the twelve-step work plan as being unnecessarily lengthy and shortened it to a seven-step work plan.
5.2
Al-Alwani's Six Discourses
Taha Jabir .A.l-Alwani wrote a paper entitled "Islamization of knowledge: Yesterday and Today", which was first published in the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences vol. 12 No I, 1995, and later published by the London office of the IIIT under the occasional papers series. It describes six discourses which should form the present focus of the Islamization of knowledge undertaking.
Al-Alwani began by indicating that the on going critique and attempts to derive particulars,from the general were essential to the process of development, and the initial articulation of the Islamization of knowledge undertaking and 'othe Work Plan
(1982) was thererbre produced in general terms" [Al-Alwani 1995:1]. The six discourses which constitute today,s model for implementing the Islamization of knowledge programme are modifications of Al-Faruqi's work plan. Before explaining the six discourses, Al-Alwani pointed out that the Islamization of knowledge can be brought about by the combined reading of two books; the eur,an and the book of creation which is the natural universe (the real-existential). The readings are combined on the basis of their similarity and complementarity, andü'on the basis of a methodology foi
' research and discovery.
The following is a summary of the six discourses: ''
The First Discourse:
Articulating the Islamic Paradigm of knowledge:
This is geared towards identifying and erecting a tøuhidi episteme that is based on two fundaméntals:
(a) .
The conceptual activation.of the. articles of faith and transformation"' into a dynamic and creative intellectual power with which ',ultimate quêstions,' can be replied. One of such questions is what is the epistemological anj"methodological significance of faith in Allah?
(b)
Elaboration of the paradigms of knowledge which guided historical islam and its schools of thought, legal, philosophical, etc. The elaboration will, for instance, determine the influence of the paradigms on the development or decline of thought ãt ¿iffõt.nt periods in the Ummah's history.
their
35
by Al-Alwani (1995:5)' The tawhidl episteme, as explained holds that: One' Unique' the universe has a Creator who is Provider' the Originator of all'things and their
observing
yet Unobserved' Subtle and All-
knowingl lJnfathomable and beyond human ,o*pr.ñ"rrsion; He has charged humanity with His stewardship and taught them what they
source knew not, making revelation a principal so world' of knowledg. unã likewise the natural a that by *"u"' of reading the two within
frameworkofpuretawhid'proper'discerning and purposeful knowledge may result'
The Secoxld Discourse: Developing a Qur'anic methodology:
to reconstruct the A new methodology needs to be developed with methodological Muslim mind whici is presently burdened be developed or ,frãtito*i"gs. The-Qur'anic methodology to is episteme -and discovered *uy ,pìing from the tawhidi ;;;*.J io .ná¡rJtr,JMuslim mind to deal effectively with
The methodology is a histprical unO ,oni"Àporary problems' and analyzing means of attaining åuth,'and understanding tools' This and pit.no-.nu; it olio inciudes philosophy to the four discourses discourse is an essential precondition which follow,
36
t*
The Third Discourse:
A Methodology for dealing with the Qur'an.
-*
The Qur'an, instead of being interpreted by scholars from primarily lexical and rhetorical Islamic perspectives, and instead of confining its meaning to relaíivg_-and specific spatiotemporal framework, needs to be treated as being absolute and unqualified in its appeal to the Muslim mind of every time and place. Its contents will remain rict¡ and its wénders will never' cease. A reconstruction of-methodology foi dealing with it will empower the social sciences to contribute effectively to human
life. The Fourth tr)iscourse:
A Methodoiogy fordealing with tfrffiman. The Prophet's deeds and words narrowed the distance between the two books of réading; the Qur'an and the real-existential. They also show us the way the Prophet (S.A.W.) dealt with the Qg'an and the real-existential and how he combined them. The Sunnah also reveals how the Prophet (S.A.W.) applied the teachings _of revelation to real situations. We need to construct a rnethodology on this. Such a methodology will allow consideration of the higher pu{poses of revelation and also liberate research'from the confines of blind imítation (taqlíd), esotericism and attempts to graft applications from ttre'pástió the present{";y situatirons. "Old solutions in nêw guisei", AlAlwani writes, 'oare still old solutions...".
37
T'he Fiftln Ðiseounse: R.e-exarnining the Islamic Intellectual Heritage'
and methodologically sound re-examination of the Islamic intellectual heritage is required to remove the three obstacles which influence our dealing with the heritage. These are the spheres oftotal rejection, total acceptance, and arbitrary borrowing. They are to be repiaced by an Islamic paradigm-and rrretþodology that inform us how the Muslim mind has dealt with social and other phenomena in the past and how it can deal with eontemporary phenomena. we need to understand intellectual hei'itage as ideas, treatments and interpretations of a historical reality which differs from our present realities. We have to evaluate thc methods used for their usefulness to our
A critical
own tirne and Piaee. T'k¡e
Sixth Ðiscotlrse:
Ðealing with the Western Intellectual Fleritage.
In orcler to liberate itself from the dominant'Western paradigm, the Muslim mind has to.construct a methodology for dealing with TVestern thought, past and present. Neither outright rejection nor wholesale acceptance will be useful. cosmetic giafringof elements without reference to any sort of systematic ãrethodology, or to difforences in society, culture, etc, will contribute nothing to humanitY'
All the discourses v¡ith the exception of the last one centre
around one essential task: acquiring a sound knowledge of islam which is a pre-requisite for undertaking the last discor-rrse; that is, dealing with the Western,.Qtellectual heritage. Three shortcomings become -apparent ìn this Isiamization model. First, it gives the notion that the five 38
discourses prepare the Muslim mind to deal only with the Western iitellectual heritage. This reduces Islamization of knowledge to recasting Western disciplines only. What about other disciplines developed within non-Westem paradigms? Second, the task of disseminating Islamized knowledge as identified by Al-Faruqi and accepted by Safi (1993), among othqrs,. have been left out in the model. Lastly, the model contains no strategies for implementing the tasks.
5,3
Shehu's Four Tasks
After explaining the Islamic vision of knowledge, Shehu (199S) puts forward four tasks which are ahead of the Islamization programme. A summary of the tasks is presented here.
a)
F'ormulating an Islamic Theory of Knowledge Based on the Qur'an and Sunnah.
This task entails an undertaking of fundamental methodological and epistemological works which will lead to the formulation of a paradigm and methodologies of knowledge and research in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah. This task, according Shehu (1998:70) involves the entire ptocerses -arrĂŁ procridures "contained in the twelve necessary sĂŹeps leading to the Islamization ofknowledge as contained in Al-Faruqi". They are also the ones reformed by Al-Alwani and presented as six
to
discourses.
b)
Formulating and Establishing Islamically Based Contents and Infrastructure of Knowledge.
This task involves the application of the outcomes of the first task to each discipline, that is, the application of Islamically based paradigms and methodologies to each discipline. The task also involves the process of integrating revealed and
acquired knowledge and consequently doing away with the problem of bifurcation or duality of knowledge'
Overhauling the contents of knowledge from nursery up to university, the chaqging. of secular educational infrastructure. and a redefinition.óf school-community relationship are all part of the task.
c)
Production of Islamized Teaching Forcp (Personnel)
This task entails r.-educuiit g ûre ppesent population of'Muslim teachers in all disciplines afrd a cóncrete plan for training Muslim children and youths. with ê view to making them the competent and morally upright teaclìers.of tomorow. I
d.
Layipg Down Plahs rand Sfraieþiis for Successful Implementation
task stated by Shehu and a careful study of thö' twelve-step ,tvork plan and the discourses enunciated by Al-Faruqi and'al-Alwani respectively, will reveal ooentire process and that the task does not involve! thç procedures" which the two scllolarsBut;forward. Steps 8,9,1I n of Al-Faruqi's work pl'an, fot' insfànce' !o'r1ot form p4rt of Shehu's first task. the inird taik:of'proð'uçing Islamized teaching force and the last ode,"'òprtceirxid with plans and rirât"giãr are more of strategies o-f cârtying the Islamization of knowledge programme than of tlre tasks involved in the Islamizaiion- prãr.s or proCedudes. There is a difference
A critical examination of the'first
*a
.40
between a task and the strategies required for canying effectively
it out
Identification of priorities, setting time frame for projects under the Islamization of,knowledge programme, and harnessing of resources are important strategiès which shehu identified in his book.
5.4
The Ijmali Critique and Action plan
A
great deal of the criticisnis of Al-Faruqi's notion of the Islamization of knowledge comes from the Ijmalis. The Ijmalis are a group of scholars having a different outloòk on Islamization of knowledge. zia'uddin sardar is one of them and he reveals the names.of other members of the group as follows: Apart from Davies and Asaria, already quoted, the Ijmalis include parvez Manzòor, Munawar
Ahmad Anees, Gulzar Haidar,
Ibraheem Sulaiman and myself. (Sardar (19S9:ag).
The Ijmalis outlook, as given by Sardar (19g9), is one of axiomatic, ethical and conceptual analysis made within the
framework
of
,Umran (civilization).
It is
also
of
an
interdisciplinary inquiry from a futuristic p.trp..iiu..- They attack the Islamization of disciplines because of the following reasons: I
'
2.
sciences of human behaviour are constantly crossing each other's boundaries and the boundaries kèep on changing. This means there are. no distinctive disãipünes tã Ui studied and Islamized.
Disciplines evolve, develop and t uuu meaning and signirìcance within a particular worldview o, p*ãdig*. 4t
Western disciplines had evolved within the Western paradigm and they can not be stripped off their values and metaphysical assumptions. For this reason Islamization of disciplines is irrelevant; what Muslims need to do is to develop their own disciplines within the conceptual categories and value framework of Islam. Sardar had indicated that an action plan influenced by his criticismq, and those of Manzoor had been formulated to replace wtrbt he calls Al-Faruqi's mechanistic outlook. The action plan seeks the evolution of Islanric social sciences by focussing on:
(a) examination of the form and - substances of the ' ' methoilology used by classical Muslim Scholars ryh.ry IbnKhaldurr and Al-Beruni;
of the basic goals, values, axioms and hypotheses which can form the basis of a distinctive
(b) evàluation
Islamic methodoiogy; (c) methods by which an Islamic methodology could evolve; (d) the relationship between theory and methodology; and ¡i{
(e) the role of methodology in evoking alternative oiganizational and social,structuros,
The Ijmalis "are1 pætial{y' right
in their critique of
the Islamization'of Western disciplines but so is Al-Faruqi also in his call foi'the recasting or reshaping of the disciplines to
conform
to the principles of Islam. Whlt we need is
a
combination of the two viewpoints. Disciplines evolve with
-:
42
developmenls; computer science, for instance, is tied to the irivention of computers, so there is nothing that l.luslims can do to existing disciplines but to recast them. At the same timç Muslims need to develop new disciplines in line with the Islamic paradigm instead of waiting fór them to be developed in line with other paradigms. This is why Islamizæion of knowledge should go beyond recasting the present body of knowledge contained by present disciplines and this is what the futuristic perspective of the Ijmalis point to. Secondly, the Ijmalis need to know that
it will not be possible
and wise for Muslims to discard the present discipúnes by merging them or giving them a different. name and classification. It for instance, â student studies Sociology. as it should be studied in Islam, but is given a certificatê bearing the n¿ùme of a discipline other than Soóiology, it will be difficuit for him to be recognised or be employed as a sociologist. The West lad acceptéd disciplines like algebra which did not briginate from there; if Muslims can spearhead the development oi new disciplines they are bound to be accepted and recqgnized
provided that they are useful to
mankind
\
Lastly, the first elemeni of the action plan sfated above does not' apply to branches of knowledge where classical works were not made by Muslims due to the absence of relevant circumstances or technology. If there is no classical work on electricity by'a Muslim scholar, present day Muslims can study and improve upon the works of Michael Faraday, etc.
43
5.S
The Task-Strategy Model
Al-Faruqi's twelve-step work plan will make soñeone to believe that Islamization of knowledge needg to follow the sequence enunciated in the work plan and the moment a textbook is produced and its : contents disseminated the Islamization of knowledge programme is completed. According to Al.Faruqi (1982a:46), "the university textbook is truly the final end of the long process of Islamization of the disciplines". Writing textbooks on islamized disciplines does not mark the end of the Islamization process for the affected disciplines. However, tnanageable projects under the Islamization pTogramme can be completçd within a given period of time. :
Secondly, the Islamization of knowledge process or programme does not require a work plan. A plan, being a statement of what is to be done at a particùlar point in time, will be more suitable for projects undei the Islamization of knowledge programme than for the whole programme itself which is a perpetual.and continuous phenomênon. So it will be more appropriate for us to have work plans for projects such as the production of an Islamic Agricultural Economics textbook or the sensitization of Muslim aõademics about Islamization of knowledge, because these projects could be achieved in a yerir or in a few months.' What the Islamization of linowledge programme needs is a statement of required. tasks and of strategies to aid the implementation of the tasks but not plans which are time-bound anå situation-specific. The required iasks include the following:
44
a)
Acquiring a sound knowledge of fshm, and of the discipline to be Islamized
This task involvês the mastery of Islamic teachings contained in the Qur'an, sr¡Lnah and the existing Islamic rrgi"i.r *d th; mastery of the disciplines to be rsiamized. rñe paradigms of the disciplines, contents, purpose, 'naJying *.trtoJoiog! and validation procedures all need to be studied and then assessed in line with the Islamic paradigm. whatever n¡ns counter to the Islamic worldview constifutes an Isla¡nization larget.
.
b)
Islamization of the,.targets
task involves replacing wirat is un-Islamic with what is could take 'the form of recasring discipline or developing a new one. If rhe teacñings "*irti"-g are silent about a fact,practice or metl,rodology rehtãd to u-'fruã 9! knowledge, rhey should nof to Ue cõnsmed â, b.ilI Islamization targets. Such things need not be Islamized because nothing is "haram" (prohibited) except that which i, proni¡iæà by Allah and His Messènger (S.A.W.].
Tlir
lÍryi:. It
while
*
ofl;ñ;
.the prinqiple of naturar usability and permissibiliry'of things, earàdawi (n.d.) poiot"J ãír. th"t scholars of Islam derived tire princþie rto* u.rr* - iiÉ n" discussing
--- -':
following:
And He has subjected to you, as from
Him, all that is in the heavens and on
(Qur'an 45:13).
earttr.
Do you not see that God has subjected to your use all things in the heavens ¿md on e4rth,'and
45
has made His bounties flow tó you in éxceeding measure, both seen and unseen? (Qur'an 3l:V0).
Al-Qaradawi also q\roted a Hadith which was transmitted by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah. whêre the Prophet (S.A.W.) was reported as saying: The halal (awful) is that which Allah Has madê lawful in His book and the haram (prohibited) is that ry.hich He 'h?s forbidden, and that concerning which He is silent He has permitted as a favour to you.
It is trerefore
acceptable that Muslims can adopt inventions, facts and ideas on which the sources of the Shari'a are silent as long as they are not opposed to spirit of the Shari'a even if such things come from noir-Muslims. In this regard some aspects of rilestem knowledge can be retained and utilized by Muslims, but as Garaudy (1989:403) rightly cautiones, we must:
.
avoid two errors: blind copying of the V/est and outright rejeòtion of ever¡hing Western. We should acquire Westem science and technology selectively, creatively and critically.
b)
Communicating the Islamization Work to People
This last task is letting the public know about the efforts made to.Islamize disciplines or to develop new ones in line with the Islamic paradigm and the tatvhidi episteme. How this is done is a matter of strategy to which we now turn.
46
Strategies for carrying out the first task
Acquiring a sound knowledge of Islam conceming disciplines to be islamized can be accomplished through tii. øttô*ing strategies:
(a) Learning Arabic and Islamic studies by scholars who are wèlI-versed in the Western or modern discipline so that they can relate their disciplines with the ieachings of. Islam:
(b) Learning the rwestern'or any other polluted discipline by scholars who are well-versed in Arabic and Islamiô studies so that they can contribute to the Islamization of the discipline.
(c) Translation of works _into languages understood by Muslim scholars to eirable them contribute to thê Islamization of knowledge programme.
(d)
A well-versed Islamic scholar with sound knowredge of Arabic can join a schoiar who is well-versed in Wõtem knowledge to undertake an Islamization of mowilOge
project.
strategies following: (a)
for
Islamtzation
of rargets:
A
These include the.
critique of the targets with g view to exposing their shortcomings and then modifying them to reflect .the Islamic worldview
47
.
(b) Ounight rejection of the targets and replacing them with what Islam approves. At times, this will entail developing new disciplines and courses.
(c)
A
silent Islamization of the targets whereby a Muslim scholar islamizes them without making his intentior¡ public and without making references to Is1am, the Qur'an or Hadith. Legal restrictions, religious intolerence, economic and political considerations can make a scholar to adopt this strategy. Books corning from the West or from òther non-Muslims are not value-free, they more often than not çontain hidden and silent agendas in them.
Strategies
for Commuriicating the Islamization Work to
People The strategies for carrying out the last task
(a) (b) (c) (d)
include:
I
Seminars, conferences and workshops
Foimal and informal discussion with one's students, friends, associates, etc.
Publishing magazines, journals, tracts
and
stickers.
Publishing textbooks and research monographs ;in a lucid style for the mærimum benefit to the - generality of Muslims.
48
CHAPTER SIX THE \ryAY FORWARI)
6.1
Sensitizing Muslim Academics
.:.
Muslim academics are made up of Muslim scholars tained in Islamic and/or Western disciptines and are capable.of making novel conhibutions to linowledge. t he conlributions can be in terms of conducting researehes, writing academic papers and books, making a critique of existing nonns or theories and analysing or commenting on ci¡rrent issues through any appropriate media. These people are found in various workspf life such as business, civil service and military, but majority oi them are in academic and research institutions. They aiso.éxist among the traditional ulama of the informal and semi-fòrmal institutions of leârning. Muslim academics, being the only pêople who can understand the need to Islamize knowledge, heed.to be sensitized through lectuies, distribution of literature and the use of the media about this important undertaking. They can be reached at various settings like schools, university c¿tmpuses, professional bodies and unions They should be reminded or made to understand that on the. Day of Resurrection they must account for what they did with the knowledge they vùere endowed with, among other tlúngs. The Prophet (S.A.rü), as narratedby Ibn Mas'ud, had said that:
.A man shall be asked concerning five things on the Day of Resuirection: triJ üfe, 'his youth, how he spent it; concerning"on"è*ing how Qe grew old; concerning his wealth, whence he 49
acquired it and in what way he spent i!; an{ wh-at wur it that he did with the knowledge that he had. (Transmiued bY Tirmidhi). The sensitizationshould also be directed to heads of institutions and political office holders whose understanding and cothe oprrution are necessary for the implementation . Islamization of knowledge programme. Advocacy meetings can be arranged with these people and thgy 9* be provided with the relevant literature that will enable them to have a clear understanding of the Islamization of knowledge programme'
of
Identification of contemporary problems requiring academic attention and discussing sâme with Muslim academics should for* pu.tt of the sensîtizationprograülme. With this, it is hoped; Muslim intellectual lethargy can be replaced with intellectual enthusiasm and vibrancY.
6:2
CapacitY Building
Capable and promising Muslim infellectuals can be identified and made to contributê to the Islamization of knowledge programme. Their capacity to make the academic contributions meitioned in Section 6.1 above can be enhanced in the
following ways:
a).
.
Workshops aimed at providing them with the-skills for writing books or papers and the procedures of carrying out independent researches can be organised' Training workshops on the use of compçters can also be very useful especially in terms of enabling the participants to have access to data contained in diskettes and CDROMs or available on the Internet.
50
b)
Translation, publishing and distribution of enabling Iiterature which includes the Holy Qur'an, Hadith collections, books on Usul Al-Fiqh and the works of promirrent Muslim Scholars like Al-Ghazali and Ibn Taimiyatr to mention a few, are also very esbential. Without this:enabling literature one cannot master the Islamic legacy.
c)
enable the Muslim academics to know the level of development and the trend of thoughts in the Westem disciplines, and other fiel{s of htrman endeavour. Copies of essential but sc¿ìrce or costly books can be made.available and placed in libraries or in secretariats of Muslim orgernisations in institutions of higher leaming.
d)
Procurement of computers and CD-ROMs and ptacing them in resource rooms or:libraries for use by Muslim
Provision
of current literature to
academics.
e)
Provision
of
financial support
for
conducting
res,earghes, attending conferences and publishing books
arid jouimal papers.
The capacity building can be financed by organisations and wealthy Muslims committed to the Islamization of knowledge ,
programme and to academic ejicellence in general.
6,3
Recþes for Sustainability and Progress
A Muslim fonrm established in an institution of tearning or a place of work and any other organisation interested in the Islamization of :knowledge undertaking reqüires the following fqr the sustenance and progress of the undertaking."
5l
I
Activities: The organization needs to engage itself in a sefies of activities so that it can make impacton.and have the support and symapathy of individgals, other organisations and even govern¡nents. The activities should iriclude a) researches b) publlcations ,an¿ 'books, .distribution or sale of journals and tqacts c) inhouse training of members" and ¿i discussion sessions, serninars and confereí.rr."rg*i2i"g iirit, to important people and places of ' relevance. to. the Islamization of knowledge programme is also required froni time to timç. Documeniatiõn of these activities will be useful for the pu{pose of accountability and for the continuity of the activities.
2
Goodwill and rUnderstending: The goodwill and understanding of constituted authorities, work mates and other individuals and organisations are also very essential to the sustainability of the Islamization of knowledge prograûtme. This can be achieved by employing tie following measures.
(a)
Avoiding confrontation witþ people that do not belong
to the Islamic faith. These people can be allowed to attend seminard and conferences if they so wish becai.rse the Islamization of knowledge undertaking is purely an intellectual pursuit op.n toâl academic-s. Its suúiect matter difilers from that of comparative religioo. Át_ Alwani (1995:6) who is the inte¡national pre-sident of the IIIT, explains that Islamizationof knowiedge is not an ídeological discourse for attainingpolitical fower; rit siryt¡ "represents the intellectual and epistemological side of Islam,..".
'52
(b)
Seeking the permission of constituted authorities like heads õf academic institutions and other establishments Uåiott staging Islamization of knowledge activities:
which divide the Müslims: ì ' Avoiding sectarian issues ' (c) Sects srrbsist. on the crisis of thought and/or the pursuance of selfish goals. Islamization of knowledge is not about sects; it is rather a measure aimed at liberating 'ihe Muslim mind from blind imitation, dogma and other
manifestations of the crisis of thought. This liberation is itself a remedy for the problems of sects and divisions'
(d) Establishing sound public rçlations: Muslim
.
.intellectuals in formal and non-formal settings need to be respected and recognised. Their efforts need to be acknowledged. A good working relationship should also be established with other Islaniic organisations concerned with other undertakings. They should be made to understand that their undertakings are also very important and they complement the Islamization of knówledge undertaking in one way or another. There has fo be a division of labour or specialization. Some organisatigns are converting people to Islam, some are providing , education -and . medical services' some are irghting moral lærity among Muslims while others like
th. IIIT- are dealing with epistemological and methodological issues
3.
Income Generation: Income generation is also a prerequisite for the sustainability of the Islamization of knõwledge programme, There are several ways of doing this and they include the following: (a) Fund raising activities such as book launch and
exhibitions.
'
(b) Frovisi贸n of consultancy services.
(c) Purchase of
shares
of companies undertaking lawful
businesses.
(d) Contributions from individuals and organisations. (e) Making other investments like the publication and
.
sale
of books and journals, sale of
essential
comrnodities and establishment of schools, clinics, business centres, etc.
4.
'Monitoring and Dvaluation:
The sustainability and progr.ess of organisations concerned with. the Islamization of knowledge undertaking also hinge upon the monitoring and evaluation of their activities. Tasks assigned to people need to be monitored, and money given to people for a given purpose need to be accounted for.
Officials running the organisation or implementing the Islamization of knowledge programme.need to make a periodic evaluation of their activies through the following: a) Sef-criticism.
b) Evaluative studies by people within or outside the organisation depending on issues at stake. c) Ap.praisal
of annual or quarterly performances by
making reference
to
standards set.
54
plans, budgets, goals and
CONCLUSION generally regard as knowledge 9q bç divr.rled into What people -categories: fact, polluted or biased knowledge and three methologies. It is only the first.category which does not reqqire Islamizaiion, The other two have been made targets of tht Islamization process since the coming of Islam, rMtrile the teachings of Islam rqmain relevant for all times, the factors which lead to the pollution of knowledge and the invention and progagation of meihologies havq kept on changing. Present day Muslim scholars therefore, need tro keep theirlyes open and to study and explpin,ngw phenompn4 and contemporary issues from the Islamic viewpoint'.
Each of the models discussed in this book could.be seen as different approaihes toward the realisation of the Islamization of knowledge goals. For this reason, each of the models can be useful in one wuy ot another despite their differences in terms of strengths, weaknesses and'area of emphasis.
The sustainability and progress of the Islamization of knowledge programme require a lot of wisdom when it cqmes to the sãnsitizãtion of Muslim academics and soliciting the support of the general pubtic and the constituted authorities.. Irt adãition, income generalion, capacþ building for potential contributors to the Islamization programme and tlie monitoring of completed oaes, all need to be pursued with vigour. .
55
'
REFERENCES Ahmed, M.M:Zuhuruddin (1932) An Examination of the Mystic Tendencies in IslamLahore: S.H. Muhammad Ashraf.
Al-Alwani, Taha J. (1995) The Islamization of knowledge: Yesterday and Today. Yusuf Talal Delorenzo
[Translator]London: Intemational Institute of Islamic Thought, London Office.
Ali, Ausaf (1939)'oAn Approach to the Islamization of Social Behaviotral Scieirces" The A.merican Jpurnal of Islamic Social Sciences. Vol6 and
Septernber,
l989No.
1.
Al-Faruqi, Isma'il R(19S2a) Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and Work Plan. Herndon Virginia: The International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Al-Faruqi, Ismail R (l9S2b)'Islamization of knówlédge: Problems, Principles and Perspectiyes" in Islam: Source and Purpose of Knowledge Froceedings and Selected Pãpers ofsecond Cbn¡erentt on Islamization of Knowle dge. Herndon, Virginia:
Intemalional Institute of Islamic Thought.
Al-Faruqi,Ismail R. and Al-Faruqi Lois L. (1986) The Cuttural Atlas of Islam. New York: Macmillan Publishers.
Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf (n.d) The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam. Translated by Kamal El-Helbawy, M.
Clarendon Press.
Bailey, Kenneth D. (1994) Methods
of social Research
Newyork: The Free Press' Baradat,Leon P. (19S4) Political ldeologies: Their Origins and Impact. Engle Wood Crifß, N.J.: Prentice = Hall 'Inc. El-Zeín,S. Atef (19 79) SuJism in the View of Islam BeirutLebanon: Dar Al-Kitab Allubnani Fakir, Mohammed S. (1992) "Tawards an ExternalistHistory of Islamic Science" The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol' 9 Sqmmer 1992
No.2. 'Western Garaudy, Roger(1989) "The Balance Sheet of Philosophy in this Centuary" in.Toward Is lamization of Discipline s Hendon,Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Harris, Kevin (lg7g) Eduèation and Knowledge London:'Routledge and Kegan Paul Junaid, Wazir (1972) The Relevance of the University.' Education to Our $ociety A speech delivered at Ahmadu Bello Uíiversity, Zatia, Convocation. Kausar, Zeenath ( I 996) " Oi ko s lP olis Confl ict: Perspectives of Gender Feminists and Islarnic Revivalists'? .The American Journal of Islatnic Social Sciences' Vol. 13 Winter 1996 No. 4.
Lenin,,V.I (1965) On Religion' Moscowi Progress Publishers' 57
[Reproduced from Lenin's Selected Works] Maiwada, Danjuma A. (1999) Islamization of Knowledge: Historical Background and Recent Developmezfs. Kano: International Institute Ishmið Thought - Nigeria Office.
of
Mc Connel, James V. (1977) Understanding Human Behauiour Newyork: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Miller, G. Tyler Jr. (1998) Living in the Environment Wadswqrth Publishing ComPanY.
Mousalli, Ahmad (1990) "sayyid Qutb's View of Knowledge" The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences. Vol. 7 December,1990 No. 3 Safi, Louay (1993) "The Quest for an Islamic Methodology: The Islamization of Knowledge in its Second Decade" The American Journal of Islamic Sociril Sciences. No. I SPring1993. Sardar, Ziauddin (1989) "Islamization of Knowledge: A Stateof- the-Art Report" in Sardar, Ziauddin (ed.) An
Eqrly Cresent: The Future of Knowledge and the Environment in Islam London: Mansell
Publishing Ltd. Shehu; Salisu (I998) Islamization þf.Knowledge: Conceptual Background, Vísions and Tasks. Kano:
,
International Institute of Islamic Thought Nigeria Office.
Sulaiman, baidu (1999) Muslim Educational Crisis: Historical
Anteòede:nts, D'Ănensions'and Solutions' A paper .presented at Bayero University Kano; Muslim
Forum LibrarY on 25ft March'
valiuddin, Mir (1973) The Qur'anic sufism. Latrore: Progress Books.
59
""
TIIE INTERNATTONAL INSTITI]TE OÍ' TSLAMIC TIIOI'GIIT IIIITI. Thc Intemational lnstitute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a cultural and intellectual institution, was established and registered in the United State America at the beginning of the fifteenth Hijrah century (1401/l9St) with the following objectives:-
r
To provide a comprehørsive Islamic outlook tlnough elucidating the principles oflslam and relatingthemto relevant isstæs ofconternpo-
rary thought;
r r
To regain the Intellectual, cultural, and civilizational idelrtity ofthe Ummah through the Islamization ofthe humanities and social sciences; and To recti$ the methodologr of conternporary Islamic thought in order to enable it to resume itscontibutions to the progress of hu man civilization and give it meaning and direction in line with Islamic values.
The Institutes seeks to achieve its goals through:
*,
il
Holding specialized academic conferences and serninars: Supporting and publishing selected works of ùhols and researchers in universities and academic research centes in the Muslim world and the West; and
r
Directing higher university studies towards furttrering the works on issues of Islamic thought and the Islamization of Knowledge.
The Institute has a number ofoverseas ofüces and academic advisors to help coordinate and promote its various activities. The Institute has also entered into joint academic agreements with several universities and resea¡ch cenües.
IIIT is one of its overseas offìces spread all over the Muslim world. Based in Kano, it undertakes activities similar to those ofthe head office. So far, it has organized seminars and lectures in many universities and colleges in the counûy. In addition to that the ofüce has also sponsored several undergraduate researches and few graduate and independent ones. The present book is its first original The Nigeria Office of the
publication.
Intern¡tion¡l Institutc of Islamic Thought (Nigeria ollice) Kano - Nigerìa lii
Ãvgsøg g a ç
I ç,9 I I ç I I I I g I g g p ç I I É I É É''.t ABOUT THIS BOOK
This book is largely a modification to a seminar paper entitled lslanrization of Knowledge: "A Working Concept and lmp.lementation Strategiesl' which the author had presented in a number of institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. ln the first section of the book the meaning of knowledge in
lslam, the need for the lslamization of Knowledge undertaking and the historical background of the undertaking have been discussed along with other issues.
ln the second section, five lslamizatibn models
or approaches to the lslmization of Knowdege undertaking Have been discussed. The required#rategies to sustain the lslamization of Knowledge undertaking and move it foruvard have also been expounded by the author.
The book is an eye-opener to readers wishing to know what the lslamization of Knowledge undertaking is about and a guide to readers willing to contribute to the Undertaking.
tsBN 978-044-110-7
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