0% found this document useful (0 votes)
66 views

The Works and Contributions of Isma Il Raji Al-Faruqi in Islamization of Knowledge

This document summarizes the works and contributions of Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi in developing the concept of Islamization of Knowledge. It discusses al-Faruqi's seminal works on establishing the principles and framework for Islamizing various academic disciplines. The summary analyzes al-Faruqi's view that Islamizing knowledge is crucial for renewing Muslim thought and culture. It also briefly compares his ideas with other prominent scholars in the Islamization of Knowledge movement, such as Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and Fazlur Rahman.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
66 views

The Works and Contributions of Isma Il Raji Al-Faruqi in Islamization of Knowledge

This document summarizes the works and contributions of Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi in developing the concept of Islamization of Knowledge. It discusses al-Faruqi's seminal works on establishing the principles and framework for Islamizing various academic disciplines. The summary analyzes al-Faruqi's view that Islamizing knowledge is crucial for renewing Muslim thought and culture. It also briefly compares his ideas with other prominent scholars in the Islamization of Knowledge movement, such as Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and Fazlur Rahman.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/309291477

The Works and Contributions of Isma‘il Raji al-Faruqi in Islamization of


Knowledge

Article · January 2015

CITATIONS READS

0 1,449

1 author:

Ahmad Nabil
International Islamic University Malaysia
67 PUBLICATIONS   13 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

alfaruqi View project

islamic renaissance front View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ahmad Nabil on 20 October 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

The Works and Contributions of Isma‘ilRaji al-Faruqi in


Islamization of Knowledge

Tasnim Abdul Rahman (Corresponding author)

Faculty of Islamic Contemporary Studies (FKI), Universiti Sultan Zainal


Abidin (UniSZA), Kampus GongBadak, 21300 Kuala Terengganu,
Terengganu, Malaysia.

Zuriati Mohd Rashid

Centre for Language Studies and Generic Development (PBI),


Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), 17600 KampusJeli, Kelantan,
Malaysia
Wan Sabri, Wan Yusof

KolejUniversiti Islam Sultan Azlan Shah (KUISAS), Bukit Chandan,


33000 Bandar DiRaja Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia

Ahmad Nabil b. Amir

Islamic Renaissance Front, Pavilion KL,


168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan,
Malaysia

33
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Abstract
This paper will analyse the works and contributions of Prof. Ismail Raji al-
Faruqi in Islamization of knowledge and its critical impact and ramifications in
the Islamic world. It will discuss the method and framework he developed in
IOK’s project as illustrated in his works such as Islamization of Knowledge:
General Principles and Work Plan, Islamizing the Social Science and Toward
Islamic English. The discussion will also compare his ideas with Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and FazlurRahman. It will highlight al-Faruqi's
fundamental approach and worldview and its contemporary relevant to reclaim
the ideal of tajdid and reinvigorate the spirit of reform and reconstruct the
Islamic epistemology of knowledge and projecting the tawhidic vision and
Ummatic world order.

Keywords: Isma‘ilRaji al-Faruqi, Islamic science, Islamization of knowledge,


Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, FazlurRahman

Introduction
This work attempts to analyse the substantial contribution of Prof. Ismail Raji al-
Faruqi in Islamization of knowledge. It will provide a brief review of his works
and analysing his impact on the movement. Al-Faruqi’s magnificent contribution
to the project includes publication of many books such as Islamization of
Knowledge: General Principles and Work Plan, and Toward Islamic English,
and articles such as Islamizing the Social Sciences, Islam and the Social Sciences,
The First Principles of Islamic Methodology, Islamizing the Secondary School,
Aslimat al-Ma‘rifah, NahwaJami‘ahIslamiyah, IslamizationofKnowledge:
Problems, Principles and Prospective, Defining Islamic Traditionalism: First
Principles in the Islamization of Thought and the establishment of institutions to
realize this ideal such as International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

These works formed the groundwork of Islamization reflecting his progressive


and dynamic paradigm of Islamic science and knowledge, which aspired for the
Islamization of thought and renewal of ummatic spirit and culture, as
demonstrated by Stefano Bigliardi (2012) in his article, “Barbour’s Typologies
and the Contemporary Debate on Islam and Science”:
“an Islamization of science that is regarded (by al-Faruqi) as the preliminary and
most important stage in the regeneration of the Muslim community, a step not to
be neglected because of other apparently more important or urgent problems in
Muslim societies. It is the starting point and the backbone of a more general
process of Islamization, aimed at restoring the centrality of Islam on all fields of
life. Al-Faruqi also outlines practical measures to support this process: action
should be taken by a group of intellectuals conscious of the problem and eager to
spread awareness of; links should be established to Muslim universities.”1

34
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

This work will survey Al-Faruqi’s major ideas and contributions on the
Islamization of Knowledge project, by focusing on his leading works on
Islamization of Knowledge such as Islamization of Knowledge: General
Principles and Work Plan, Toward Islamic English and Islamizing the Social
Sciences. It will illustrate his tremendous efforts to inspire the profound ideal of
Islamization and its defining importance for cultural reform and intellectual
renewal in the Muslim world. The study will also discuss some critics of his
ideas of IOK, and other significant efforts by principal proponents of IOK such
as Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and Fazlur Rahman, and their pioneering
works that inspired major reform in Islamic thought and education and their
defining role in the movement for IOK.

Definition and Background


In 1982 Al-Faruqi wrote a monograph that outlined the comprehensive
framework of Islamization that was later published by IIIT as the Islamization of
Knowledge. The monograph was based on the discussion in the first Seminar on
the Islamization of Knowledge held in Islamabad from 4-9 January 1982 (7-12
Rabiul-Awwal 1402), and jointly-sponsored by National Hijra Committee,
Pakistan and International Institute of Islamic Thought, Wyncote, Pennsylvania,
USA. The key papers were published in the seminar’s proceeding entitled
“Knowledge for What”. Al-Faruqi’s work presented a decisive breakthrough and
radical shift of paradigm in projecting the Islamic worldview and reform of
contemporary knowledge, as argued by Anne Sofie Roald in Islamic Studies
(1998):
“a major focus of al-Faruqi’s work was the education of a new generation of
Muslims, schooled in modern methods, but Islamically oriented. Believing that
many of the problems of the Muslim world are due to its elites and the bifurcation
of education in Muslim societies, he addressed this problem in a variety of ways,
combining thought with action, and ideology with its institutionalization and
implementation…at the heart of his vision was the Islamization of
Knowledge…the purpose being to arouse Muslims to become active participants
in man’s intellectual life and contribute to it from an Islamic perspective.
Although ‘the Islamization of knowledge’ of Faruqi might now appear to some as
not all that mature, one has to remember what a sensation it created about two
decades ago when it was first published and found its way to Muslim
academicians all over the world.”2

Al-Faruqi proposed a systematic framework of Islamization and crafted the


principle vision and philosophical ground of the movement, and presented a
fundamental argument for the Islamization of thought
“the great task facing Muslim intellectuals and leaders is to recast the whole
legacy of human knowledge from the standpoint of Islam. The vision of Islam
would not be a vision unless it is a vision of something, namely, life, reality, and
the world. That vision is the object of study of various disciplines. To recast
knowledge as Islam relates to it, is to Islamize it; i.e., to redefine and reorder the
parameters and the data, to rethink the reasoning and interrelationships of the data,
to revaluate the conclusions, to re-project the goals, and to do so in such a way as

35
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

to make the reconstituted disciplines enrich the vision and serve the cause of
Islam.”3

The Principles
In his paper presented at the International Seminar on Islamization of Knowledge
(1982), and partly published by the journal of Islamic Thought and Scientific
Creativity entitled “The First Principles of Islamic Methodology”, Al-Faruqi
established a systematic principle and comprehensive framework for Islamization
of knowledge, that strived to dismantle the western ideological claims and
reassert universal Islamic principles and values: “As pre-requisite for the removal
of dualism from the educational system, which is in turn a prerequisite for the
removal of dualism from life, for the solution of the malaise of the ummah,
knowledge ought to be Islamized. While avoiding the pitfalls and shortcomings
of traditional methodology, Islamization of knowledge ought to observe a
number of principles which constitute the essence of Islam”4.
He emphasized on five key principles of Islam, i.e. (1) The Unity of Allah
(Subhanahuwata‘ala) (2) The Unity of Creation. (3) The Unity of Truth and the
Unity of Knowledge (4) The Unity of Life (5) and The Unity of Humanity that
defined the Islamic principles. These principles were elaborated in detailed in his
article “Defining Islamic Traditionalism: First Principles in the Islamization of
Thought” that furnished significant framework of Islamization of thought and
outlined the principle task of Islamization and its systematic work plan,
“to this end, the methodological categories or methodologically-relevant
principles of Islam, namely, the unity of truth, the unity of knowledge, the unity of
humanity, the unity of life, the telic [purposeful] character of creation, and the
subservience of creation to man and of man to Allah (swt), must replace the
western categories and determine the perception and ordering of reality…these
values, especially the usefulness of knowledge for man’s felicity, the blossoming
of man’s faculties, and the remoulding of creation so as to concretize the divine
patterns, should be manifested in the building of culture and civilization and in
human models of knowledge and wisdom, heroism and virtue, and pietism and
saintliness.”5
Islamizing the Social Science
In his profound work, Social and Natural Science, which he co-edited with
Abdullah Omar Nascef, Al-Faruqi had contributed a major article
entitledIslamizing the Social Science that argued for the need “to develop
alternative paradigms of knowledge for both natural and social sciences and to
conceive and mould disciplines most relevant to the needs of contemporary
Muslim societies.”6It presented a comprehensive framework of Islamization and
discussed its fundamental construct and worldview as an alternative to the
western convention and system “because western social science is incomplete
and ‘violates a crucial requirement of Islamic methodology.’ The work was
crucial to demonstrate the principle philosophy of Islamic science and in
stressing “the importance of spirituality as a valid aspect of social science and in
suggesting that the Muslim social scientist must be trained in axiology,

36
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

deontology, theology and esthetics, in order to develop his capacity for the
apprehension of value”, which traditionally was accomplished through “the
science of the Holy Qur’an, Hadith, Usul, and Fiqh (and) Adab (Humanities).”7

This position was constructively argued by Al-Faruqi:


“We have an extremely important task ahead of us. How long are we going to
content ourselves with the crumbs that the West is throwing at us? It is about time
that we make our own original contribution. As social scientists, we have to look
back at our training and reshape it in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. This
is how our forefathers made their own original contributions to the study of
history, law and culture. The West borrowed their heritage and put it in a secular
mould. Is it asking for too much that we take this knowledge and Islamize it?”8

Islamization of English
In his principle work on the Islamic English, Toward Islamic English, Al-Faruqi
provided a constructive analysis of the nature of linguistic distortion of the
English language that needed rectification in transliteration (of letters and words)
and translation (of Islamic words/concepts and terms/expressions relevant to the
Islamic sciences). It strived to enrich the English language with Islamic
vocabulary and “injects into them new vision and new spiritual sensitivities,” as
he clearly stated in the introductory part: “the English language modified are to
enable it to carry Islamic proper nouns and meanings without distortion, and thus
to serve the linguistic needs of Muslim users of the English language.” 9 This
book attempts to reformulate and reconstruct the translation of basic terms and
concepts that have been reduced, and often ruined, through translation such as
salah, niyah, zakah, hajj, taqwa, siyam, fiqh, usul al-fiqh, hadith, etc. (of Islamic
vocabulary). This was illustrated in his contention with regard ofsalah: “consider
for instance the word salah, which is often translated as “prayer.” “Prayer” is any
communication with whatever is taken to be one’s god, even if that is an idol.”10

To dismantle the confusion of meanings “both in the religion and the culture” he
suggested that the terms “must be understood as it stands in its Arabic
form…constant use of their Arabic form will help to shield the English-speaking
Muslims from the onslaught of materialism, utilitarianism, scepticism, relativism,
secularism and hedonism that the last two hundred years have established firmly
in English consciousness. And it will – in sha’a Allah – inject a reforming and
salutary influence into the consciousness of all English speaking Muslims,
pulling them out of their tragic predicament in modern times.”11

English literature, according to Dr. Md. Mahmud ul Hasan (2013) carries the
“western ethos, values,” and “retains its powerful remnants of multi-layered
colonial paternalism.” He argues “among all western disciplines, English
literature is arguably the most culturally charged carrier of western value-laden
ideas. As a result, looking at it from Islamic perspectives would allow Muslims
to maintain their socio cultural and religious value and traditions.” From this
important ground, Al-Faruqi’s attempt to reformulate and reconstruct the Islamic

37
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

term based on the Qur’anic worldview was crucial to “connect the importance of
Arabic-Islamic key concepts in the process of Islamization”12

38
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Critique of al-Faruqi’s Ideas on IOK


This part of the article will examine the philosophical ideal and scientific
framework of Islamization of Knowledge as systematically propounded by Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and FazlurRahman. It will discuss the contentious
issue on the real proponent of the ideas of Islamization of knowledge and analyse
the response to Islamization of knowledge by Muslim scholars such as
FazlurRahman. In his work that discussed the philosophical ideas and practice of
education of al-Attas, i.e., The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of
Islamization, Prof.Dr. Wan MohdNor Wan Daud disclosed that al-Attas was the
first to coined the termed Islamization of modern knowledge and has the
legitimate claim as the genuine proponent and pioneer of original concept of
IOK.

According to Prof.Dr. Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, there are many indications to
suggest “al-Faruqi benefitted profoundly from al-Attas’ writings”. For example,
in his ideas of adab, the concept of kulliyyah and jami‘ah, the nature of dualism,
the hegemony of science and modern secular onslaught, the reintroducing of all
Arabic-Islamic key terms and concepts in discourses concerning Islam in English
and the “deeper-lying malaise (of the ummah) on the intellectual and moral
levels.”13 In this regard, Prof.Dr. Wan reiterated:
“in the case of al-Faruqi, the suddenness of his devotion to the cause can be
attributed to his direct acquaintance with al-Attas’ ideas through many discussions
and through an actual reading of the latter’s manuscript dealing with the problems
of the confusion in the minds of the Muslims due to secularization, Westernization
and disconnectedness from their own heritage.”14

In his Islam and Culture, published in 1980,al-Faruqi had manifested the


influenced of al-Attas’ in his writing, for instances, in his preference for the
translation of the key word adab, as culture: “Culture” is sometimes translated as
“thaqafah,” which means the act of becoming more intelligent and
knowledgeable. It is more proper to translate it as “adab,” which in the classical
tradition means husn (“beauty, goodness”) of word, attitude and deed, as the
Prophet (SAW) had said of himself: “My God has given me my culture. He has
made it a good culture.”15

In 1976, as president of Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) al-


Faruqi requested al-Attas to “write a book of 40,000 words entitled “Dialogue
with Secularism” 16. This was simply indicated in his letter dated 17 February
1976 “your personal experience, especially your fight with the anthropologists,
political scientists, men of linguistics and literature, secularists in all wakes of
life, government, university, etc. – all this is very relevant and ought to be written
down for the benefit of Muslims, everywhere.”17.The manuscript was completed
by al-Attas within several months and dispatched to al-Faruqi, who
acknowledged receiving it in his letter issued in July 11 1977 “I read it through
with delight; and I can say that I am truly proud of you and your writing. May

39
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Allah bless you and give you the life, vigour and strength to write a hundred
more volumes as good as this one or better. I take no issue with you as to the
content. For I agree with everything you say…” and in his correspondence with
him in 30 August 1977: “I am happy to acknowledge receipt of your manuscript
“Islam and Secularism”…I have read it through…and found it an excellent piece
of work.”18

It is evident that al-Attas was the prime source of al-Faruqi’s works as


demonstrated in his book Islamization of Knowledge which he published five
years after al-Attas’ ‘Dialogue with Secularism” that echo the ideas and concerns
of al-Attas on issues such as secularization, westernization and modernization.

But, since after almost 15 years no acknowledgement was made to his specific
writings, and “realizing that some of his major ideas have been taken without due
acknowledgement”.19 Al-Attas was “compelled to mention briefly how the idea
of the Islamization of present-day knowledge was taken-up by al-Faruqi (Wan
Mohd Nor Wan Daud, 1998: 389) as expressed in his preface to the second
impression of Islam and Secularism:
“the purpose of acknowledging the source of an important idea is - apart from the
moral obligation to do so - to point those who pursue the subject for the sake of
the Community to the right direction; so that they might not be misled concerning
the value and validity of that idea, and its further development and clarification
along logical lines which only the original source is justly capable of doing. But if
Muslim writers, whether in English, Arabic, or other languages, are in the habit of
either pointing to themselves or to others in respect of significant ideas not really
originated by them, then they obliterate thereby the real source and deprive the
Community of knowledge of the right direction.”20.

Consistent with the ideas of Islamization of knowledge, al-Attas further


articulated his project on Islamic University that represented the concrete
aspiration of the Mecca Conference on 1977 that substantially inspired from his
conceptual framework of Islamic education. In his letter to Islamic Secretariat in
1973, he consistently repeated this philosophical ideal for the accomplishment of
Islamic University that reflected the ideal of universal or perfect man
(insankamil) and projected its vision and rigorously sustained and inculcated
Islamic adab (ta’dib): “an Islamic university be established whose structure is
different from a western university; whose conception of what constitutes
knowledge is different from what western philosophers set forth as knowledge;
whose aims and aspirations are different from western conceptions. The purpose
of higher education in Islam is…to produce the complete man, or the universal
man…a Muslim scholar is a man who is not a specialist in any one branch of
knowledge but is universal in his outlook and is authoritative in several branches
of related knowledge.”21

Perhaps, this ideal was embodied in the International Institute of Islamic Thought
and Civilization (ISTAC), established in 1991. After two decades contemplating
this idea, it was realized with the historic opening of the International Institute of

40
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), in 4th October 1991. In his


welcoming address, he described its principle ideal and struggle, to reclaim the
scientific glory and high achievement of the medieval Islam and to restore its
dynamic creativity and rational foundation:
“as its overall designer and planner, as well as its interior decorator and
landscapist, I have attempted to convey an Islamic presence; an atmosphere of
serenity wherein should issue forth lofty and noble thoughts; wherein meanness
and pettiness and mediocrity shall have no place; wherein the noisy strife and
anxiety of secular life may be shaken off; wherein intellectual quests may be
pursued amidst beautiful surroundings. I have situated it [i.e., ISTAC] in such a
manner that it faces the qiblah. The groundbreaking ceremony was performed on
the 27th of Rajab, which commemorates the Night Journey of the Holy Prophet
(saw) to the Highest Heaven…the spot where the ground was first broken is where
the bowl of the fountain now stands – water being the symbol of knowledge.”22
The historical foundation of ISTAC since its inception in 1987 reflected the
profound contributions of its Founder-Director - al-Attas - in the systematic
planning and construction of its architectural landscape, the creative design of its
façade, the projection of its philosophy, the setting up of its curriculum, and the
designing of courses offered at its postgraduate level. ISTAC symbolized the true
ideal of Islamic University he envisioned, which strived to restore the leading
role of the ummah at global stage and to provide Islamic responses to the
intellectual and cultural challenges of the modern world. This profound aim was
reinforced with the rigorous works and intellectual formation of ISTAC to revive
and revitalize the historical, civilizational and intellectual heritage of Islam and to
reclaim the creative role of the ummah in the contemporary world.

ISTAC officially took off in 1991, “as a research and postgraduate institution
offering a specialized program of studies”23 In broad discipline, the courses and
research in three main, yet overlapping, areas of study, Islamic thought, Islamic
civilization, and Islamic science. Al-Attas led the institution from 1987-2002, as
its Director-General for 15 years, and had lasting impact and profound legacy in
its great intellectual tradition, in its inclusive philosophy and epistemological
orientation, in inspiring and designing of its architecture, drawing of its
courtyard, and in building its superb library collection. ISTAC was regarded as
the nucleus of Islamic University, whose
“aim is to create a learning institution which reflects the aspirations of man and the
development of all his faculties, and not only that of the state and its limited
functions; and to establish a true university to produce the perfect man who is
accountable to God, and not merely the perfect citizen answerable only to the
state.”24
FazlurRahman’s philosophical ideas and important works on Islamization of
Knowledge can be reflected from his books such as Islam and Modernity: The
Transformation of Intellectual Tradition;Islam;Major Themes of the Qur’an and
in his brief articles such as Islamization of Knowledge: A Response;TheQur’anic
Solution of Pakistan’s Educational Problems; and Islamic Modernism: Its Scope,
Method and Alternatives that conclusively established his position and standpoint

41
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

on Islamization. He wrote extensively on Islamic philosophy and metaphysic and


the challenge of western modernity and analyse the rigorous movement of
Islamic reform in the late 19s and the basic structures and themes of the Qur’an.
Al-Attas highly regarded him as “one of the most illustrious Muslim scholars in
Greek and Islamic philosophy, especially on IbnSina”25.

In Islamization of Knowledge: A Response, he discussed the fundamental


philosophy and epistemology of knowledge and gave some perspective on the
subject based on his own experiences “in both Islamic and Western learning”26.
He argued, “Knowledge is a tool the good or bad utility of which depends on the
ethical quality of the user.” (1988). In Islam and Modernity, he defined the
struggle to Islamize education of the Muslims, as “to inform it with certain key
concepts of Islam” which involve two intellectual aspects: first, to mould the
character of the students with Islamic values for personal and collective life;
second, to imbue higher fields of learning with Islamic values.” 27 . He also
emphasized on the need for “an intellectual task of elaborating an Islamic
metaphysics on the basis of the Qur’an” - the metaphysical conforming to the
spirit of the Qur’an and informed by the Qur’anic weltanschauung.

His endeavour to reform education was to take precedence than to indulge in the
strife of secular and Islamic knowledge, as illustrated by Prof. Dr. Wan Daud “it
is due to FazlurRahman’s rather justified frustration with the contemporary
traditional Islamic learning that he regarded reforming it as more prior than to
debate on the Islamization of secular knowledge”28. He devoted such agenda of
Islamization on social and political reconstruction, reforming of law, education,
and metaphysics.

According to Prof.Dr. Wan, who had benefitted immensely from the teaching and
supervision of FazlurRahman in the University of Chicago, “FazlurRahman is a
late and indirect participant in this agenda of Islamization of knowledge. His
interest in Islamization, which began when he was closely associated with the
Ayyub Khan regime in 1960s, centres mostly in the area of law.”29The patronage
he had received has made him Director of the Central Institute of Islamic
Research (1961), which “promotes Islam in everyday life of the nation.” In this
political situation that he attempted to Islamize law and articulated significant
Islamic issues. Rahman’s tremendous works on Islamic metaphysics and
philosophical thought has great positive ramifications in the Islamic world
although he did not produced any significant writing to articulate the
philosophical and scientific ideas of knowledge and established fundamental text
on Islamization of knowledge: “the term “Islamization” used by FazlurRahman
during this time is vague, with no positive meaning given to it; its structure and
method is unknown to him.”30
Perhaps it is instructive to sum up this exposition with the conclusion of Prof.Dr.
WanMohd Nor Wan Daud in his comprehensive survey on the principle works
and contributions of al-Faruqi, al-Attas, SeyyedHossein Nasr, and FazlurRahman
in projecting the ideas of Islamization in their writings: “perhaps it might be
worthwhile to mention that FazlurRahman, SeyyedHossein Nasr, Isma‘il R. al-

42
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Faruqi and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas are four of the widely respected
and historically related Muslim scholars (who were provided with opportunities
to carry out their Islamic educational ideas at an institutional level).”31
To conclude, such contention as to who first coin the idea of IOK has lost its
significance, since it is parallel effort aspiring for the same goal, and not a clash
of ideas or worldview, as articulated by DS Anwar (2013) in his exposition of the
works of al-Faruqi and al-Attas in reforming Muslim education:
“To my mind, and in this regard, it might constitute a contrarian view, rather than
viewing it as a clash of views, I see a convergence of approaches between al-
Faruqi and al-Attas. If I may use the analogy of the Baytul-Haram, there are
various entrances to the holiest of holy sites in Islam but by whichever entrance
used, the ultimate destination remains the Ka‘aba. In both their approaches, we can
discern a unified concern for the revivification of Islamic knowledge and
thought.”32
Conclusion
From the discussion, we have exposed the tremendous efforts of al-Faruqi in
gearing and inspiring the movement of Islamization of knowledge and in
inspiring tajdid and revival of science in the Islamic world. His contributions
were instrumental in restoring the crucial element and essence of tawhidic
consciousness and to reinvigorate the scientific spirit and indigenous knowledge
and to dismantle the general confusion and malaise present in the ummah. The
work has also compared his ideas with Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and
FazlurRahman, and illustrated their important legacy and influences in the
movement that was superior or parallel to that al-Faruqi. The dynamic and
substantive contributions of al-Faruqi, al-Attas and FazlurRahman in
Islamization of knowledge and their philosophical arguments and
epistemological principles must be sustained and expanded. Their aspirations,
works and struggle in championing IOK’s project must be advanced to transcend
the ideals and aspirations of IOK in contemporary times.

43
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

Bibliography
1. Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib.Islam and Secularism. Kuala Lumpur:
Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM), 1978.
2. Al-Attas, Syed Muhammad Naquib.Islam and Secularism. 2ndimpr. Kuala
Lumpur: ISTAC. 1993.
3. Rahman, Fazlur. “Islamization of Knowledge: A Response.”American
Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 5 (1): 3-12. 1988.
4. Baharudin, bin Hazarudin. “Ismail Faruqi’s Theory on Islamization of
Knowledge: A Study on the Implementation of the Package of Open Certificate
(SPM/KBSM).” Ministry of Education Malaysia. (Unpublished Master thesis)
University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. 2002.
5. Ibrahim, Anwar. “The Reform of Muslim Education and the Quest for
Intellectual Renewal.” Keynote Address, Symposium on “Reform of Higher
Education in Muslim Societies,” organized by the International Institute of
Isalmic Thought (IIIT), Dec 9-10, Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars, Washington. DC. 2013.
6. Rossidy, Imron,“An Analysis of al-Attas’s and al-Faruqi’s Conceptions of
Islamization of Knowledge: Implications for Muslim Education.” (Unpublished
Master thesis) International Islamic University, Malaysia, 1998.
7. Rajial-Faruqi, Ismail.Presidential Address, The Association of Muslim Social
Scientists. First Annual Conference. 1972.
8. RajiFaruqi, Ismail. Islam and Culture. Kuala Lumpur: ABIM, 1980.
9. Rajial-Faruqi, Ismail. “Islamizing the Social Science.” In Social and Natural
Science. Edited by Al-Faruqi, I.R. and Nascef, Abdullah Omar. Jeddah: King
Abdul Aziz University, 1981.
10. al-Faruqi, Ismail R.Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and
Work Plan. Washington DC: International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT),
1982.
11. Rajial-Faruqi, Isma‘il R. Toward Islamic English. Herndon, Virginia: IIIT,
1986.
12. Rajial-Faruqi, Isma‘il, and Lois L.al-Faruqi, The Cultural Atlas of Islam.
New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1986.
13. R. al-Faruqi, Isma‘il, The First Principles of Islamic Methodology. Islamic
Thought and Scientific Creativity. 1 (5): (1993), 37-50.
14. Ismail, MohdZaidi, and Wan Suhaimi Wan Abdullah,
eds.AdabdanPeradaban: KaryaPengi‘irafanuntuk Syed Muhammad Naquib al-
Attas. Kuala Lumpur, 2012.
15. Abdul Halim, Miriam.“A Study of the Thought of Ismail Faruqi on Science,
Islam and Modernity.”(Unpublished M.sc. Dissertation). Department of Science
& Technology Studies, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 2007.
16. Abd. Rahman, Mohd. Zain, Postgraduate Research in Islamic Thought and
Civilization, International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC),
Malaysia.Malaysian Journal of Library &Information Science, vol. 10 (1, July,
2005): 49-64.

44
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

17. Hasan, Md. Mahmudul, “The Islamization of English Literary Studies: A


Postcolonial Approach.”American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, vol. 30
(Spring, 2, 2013): 21-41.
18. Hashim,Rosnani and ImronRossidy, “Islamization of Knowledge: A
Comparative Analysis of the Conceptions of al-Attas and al-Faruqi.” Intellectual
Discourse, 8 (1), (2000): 19-44.
19. Bigliardi, Stefano, Barbour’s “Typologies and the Contemporary Debate on
Islam and Science.”Zygon 47 (3), (2012): 501-519.
20. Nor Wan Daud, Wan Mohd, BudayaIlmu: Konsep,
PrasyaratdanPerlaksanaan di Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur: Nurin Enterprise, 1988.
21. Nor Wan Daud, Wan Mohd, The Beacon on the Crest of a Hill: A Brief
History and Philosophy of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and
Civilization. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1991.
22. Nor Wan Daud, Wan Mohd, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of
Islamization. Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1998.
23. Nor Wan Daud, Wan Mohd,and Muhammad ZainiyUthman, eds,
Knowledge, Language, Thought, and the Civilization of Islam: Essays in Honour
of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. Skudai: UTM Press, 2010.
24. Nor Wan Daud, Wan Mohd, RihlahIlmiah: Dari
NeomodernismekeIslamisasiIlmu. Kuala Lumpur: UTM-CASIS, 2012.
References and Endnotes

1Stefano Bigliardi, Barbour’s “Typologies and the Contemporary Debate on Islam and
Science,” Zygon 47 (3), (2012): 501-519.
2
Miriam Abdul Halim, “A Study of the Thought of Ismail Faruqi on Science, Islam and
Modernity,” (Unpublished M.sc. Dissertation), Department of Science & Technology
Studies, Faculty of Science, (University of Malaya, 2007): 42.
3
Isma‘ilRaji al-Faruqi, Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and Work
Plan(Washington DC: International Institute of Islamic Thought IIIT, 1982), 15-16.
4
Isma‘ilRaji al-Faruqi“The First Principles of Islamic Methodology Islamic Thought and
Scientific Creativity”. 1 (5): (1993), 37-50.
5
Miriam Abdul Halim, A study of the Thought: 41
6
Isma‘ilRaji al-Faruqi, “Islamizing the Social Science,” in Social and Natural Science.
Edited by Al-Faruqi, I.R. and Nascef, Abdullah Omar. Jeddah: King Abdul Aziz
University, 1981(Mona Abaza, 2002: 82)
7
Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas: An Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamization.
(Kuala Lumpur: ISTAC, 1998), 383
8 Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, Presidential Address, The Association of Muslim Social
Scientists, First Annual Conference, 1972.
9
Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (Herndon, Virginia: IIIT, 1986), 7.
10
Ibid., 11.
11
Ibid.,15.
12
Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practiceof Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, 1998.
13
Al-Faruqi, Islamization of Knowledge, 1982.

45
Volume 5, Issue I Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization Spring 2015

14
Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, 1998.
15 Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, Islam and Culture (Kuala Lumpur: ABIM, 1980), 1
16Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed

Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, 382.


17 Ibid.
18Ibid.,383.
19Ibid.,388.
20 Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Islam and Secularism (Kuala Lumpur: Muslim

Youth Movement of Malaysia ABIM), 1978.


21Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed

Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, 172.


22Ibid., 177.
23Mohd. ZainAbdur Rahman, “Postgraduate Research in Islamic Thought and

Civilization, International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC)


Malaysia,”Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, vol. 10 (1, July, 2005):
49-64.
24 Ibid.
25Wan MohdNor Wan Daud, RihlahIlmiah: Dari NeomodernismekeIslamisasiIlmu.

Kuala Lumpur: UTM-CASIS, (2012): 114.


26FazlurRahman, “Islamization of Knowledge: A Response,”American Journal of Islamic

Social Sciences, 5 (1): 3-12.(1988): 3.


27Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed

Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, (1998)


28Ibid.
29Ibid.
30Ibid.,395.
31Ibid.,404.
32 Anwar Ibrahim, “The Reform of Muslim Education and the Quest for Intellectual

Renewal.” Keynote Address, Symposium on “Reform of Higher Education in Muslim


Societies,” organized by the International Institute of Isalmic Thought (IIIT) 2013.

46

View publication stats

You might also like