ABSTRACT
The article
deals with the idea of islamisation, its brief history and progress. The idea
of islamisation and the islamisation of present-day knowledge are often
misunderstood. Some views the idea as unnecessary while some others sceptically
doubt its success. Knowledge is not neutral, thus it comes with the worldview
of one who propagates it. ScienceOn1, tawhidic (oneness of God)-based science as Persatuan Saintis Muslim (Muslim Scientist Organisation), PERINTIS’s
take on the islamisation of present-day knowledge proposes measures to
actualise the idea.
KEYWORDS
: islamisation, knowledge, islamisation
of present-day knowledge, worldview
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The progress in science
and technology plays a significant role in the development of a nation, Muslim
and Non-Muslim alike. As science and technology is generally accepted as the
product of the west, their philosophy, principles, and concepts, that underlie
it are alien to Muslim beliefs. Hence, a dilemma arises whether to wholly
embrace or to venture into it with caution. Being Muslims, our engagement with
science and technology dated far back into the middle of the seventh century as
the Umayyads in Syria began encountering with manuscripts on natural sciences
in Greek and Syriac language. Within a century of the ‘Abassid’s rule, which
began in 750 A.C. almost all had been translated into Arabic. Henceforth, the
appropriation, enrichment and development of sciences began in earnest and
moulded into the worldview of Islam. In more specific terms, the “materials” of
the various sciences procured by the Muslims from diverse sources during the
first three centuries of Islamic history, were gradually integrated and
absorbed into the unitary perspective of Islam. [1]
As of today, the Muslim
intellectual and scientific heritage remains obscure despite the fact it once
set to revolutionize the intellectual tradition of the west on the Andalusian
plain. In addition, the Western science and technology assumes the role once
played by the former. Realising the crucial role of science and technology, the
Muslims today have to tread on the footsteps of the early Muslim scholars and scientists
and notably al-Ghazali in his effort at the ‘islamisation’ of the Greek
philosophical treatises. In support of the idea, ScienceOn1 can be considered
as an attempt by Persatuan Saintis
Muslim, PERINTIS (Muslim Scientist Organization), at venturing into the
Muslims once trodden field that is ‘islamisation’. Specifically, we hope to
bring science and technology into the purview of tawhidic worldview.
2.0 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAMISATION
The idea of islamisation
is in fact a revolutionary thought of the modern day. Since the middle of the
twentieth century, the Muslims are not able to treat present-day knowledge with
justice. Although articles, books, academic papers have been published and
debated, however many fail to grasp the intended purpose of islamisation.
Confusion has led to losing its real meaning simply because of lack of caution
and careful explanation. As a result, its failure is often associated with the
idea itself. A number of Muslim contemporary scholars have attempted to
highlight the problem of contemporary knowledge but they fell short of
providing the solution.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal, for
example had long been aware of the weakness and the imbalanced nature of the
modern Western civilization. Although he showed concern, he did not provide
further explanation and steps for implementation of islamisation. [2] Professor
Syed Hussein, on the other hand, opines that one’s interpretation of facts of
nature is indirectly influenced by his worldview. He agrees that the Muslims
are able to absorb and integrate appropriate elements of other sciences
provided he or she has the general idea of the worldview of Islam.[2] His
significant contribution in islamisation is ‘The Encounter of Man and Nature’
in Sufi perspective dealing with the
crisis of epistemology in Western Civilisation. [3] Likewise, he too does not
elaborate islamisation as a conscious, educational and philosophical program. In
support of the idea of islamisation, Dr Ja’afar Syeikh Idris debates on the aspects
of socio-political of the Muslims but is silent on aspects of thoughts and
knowledge. It was only after islamisation has been widely discussed, he
proposes among others that knowledge should rest on the solid foundations of
Islam, its scope be widened, discover new facts and see old ones in the Islamic
worldview. [4]
Notably, Prof Dr Syed
Muhammad Naquib al-Attas defines with clarity the concept, process of islamisation
and those aspects that relate to worldview, knowledge and the concept of
university. As early as in the 1960s, he debates the idea of islamisation in his
well-known study of history of the arrival of Islam and her influence in the
Malay culture. Again in 1969, the idea of islamisation is highlighted in
‘Prelimanary Statement on the General Theory of the Islamisation of the Malay
Indonesian Archipelago’. He asserts that the islamisation process has completely
altered the Malays worldview on truth and existence academically and
scientifically. On the occasion of his conferment of professorship of Malay
language and literature, he lectures on the role of Islam in building Malay
culture and civilization. During the First World Conference of Islamic
Education in 1977 at Makkah, he elaborates on the characteristics of knowledge
as being shaped by the worldview of any/certain civilization. He clarifies the
concept of islamisation of the present-day knowledge, problems of knowledge,
purpose and meaning of knowledge, the meaning of education as well as the
concept of Islamic university. In ‘Islam and Secularism’ he elaborates on
background history of the thought and western Christian civilization, the
meaning of secular, secularization and secularism, the concept of Din, fundamentals of Islamic character,
the problems of Ummah and islamisation of knowledge. Finally, in 1980 during
the Second World Conference of Islamic Education at Islamabad, he espouses on
educational system and the characteristic of Arabic language as being
scientific. [5]
It was al-Faruqi, who
asserts that the ‘malaise of the Ummah’ lies in education. [6] He proposes ‘to
recast the whole legacy of human knowledge from the standpoint of Islam’ [7]
3.0 NATURE AND PURPOSE OF ISLAMISATION
Islamisation is in fact
an effort to bring about true actualization of ‘ubudiyah, total submission to Allah S.W.T. Islamisation involves a
two way process, which are the liberation of and the devolution to one’s fitrah, natural tendency. The Prophet
P.B.U.H. set a precedent with respect to these two aspects in his engagement
with and transformation of the Arabs of the jahili,
pagan society. Islamisation first liberates the mind and then thought
through islamisation of language. At the time of the Prophet P.B.U.H. the
process was executed through the language of the Qur’an, which redefines the
meaning of for example karim, kufr, and
illah. In fact, the first five ayah, verses of the Qur’an from Surah, Chapter al-’Alaq (the Clot),
1) Proclaim!
(or Read) in the name of your Lord and Cherisher, who created
2) Created
man, out of a leech-like clot.
3) Proclaim!
And your Lord is Most Bountiful,
4) He
Who taught (the use of) the Pen,
5) Taught
man that which he knew not.[8]
had transformed the
worldview of the Arab society with respect to their theological, metaphysical
and epistemological dimensions. In sum, islamisation is the liberation of man
i)
first from magical, mythological,
animistic and national, cultural tradition opposed to Islam
ii)
and then from secular control over his
reason and language.[9]
iii)
and also from subservience to his
physical demands which incline towards the secular and injustice to his true
self or soul for man as physical being inclines towards forgetfulness of his
true nature, becoming ignorant of his true purpose and unjust to it.[10]
4.0 ISLAMISATION OF PRESENT-DAY KNOWLEDGE
The main challenge in
the area of islamisation is that of knowledge itself. Knowledge has lost its
true objective and become the source of confusion and doubts. The content of
education is no longer the true knowledge in fact it is knowledge masqueraded
along with confused and harmful values. The concept of western knowledge is a
problem, void of direction and true meaning since ‘the present-day or the
modern knowledge is founded on, interpreted and projected through the
worldview, intellectual vision and psychological perception of the Western
culture and civilisation.’ [11] The essential spirit of this culture and civilisation
are characterised inter-relatedly by
a)
reliance upon the powers of human reason
alone to guide man through life
b)
adherence to the validity of the
dualistic vision of reality and truth
c)
affirmation of evanescent aspect of
existence projecting a secular worldview
d)
espousal of doctrine of humanism
e)
emulation of the allegedly universal
reality of drama and tragedy in the spiritual, or transcendental, or inner life
of man, making drama and tragedy real and dominant elements in human nature and
existence. [11]
In short, the
present-day knowledge is understood and elaborated according to western
worldview, which is supported by elements of secularism, dualism, humanism and
tragedy.
5.0 PROSESS OF IMPLEMENTATION AT THE
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
LEVEL
At the educational
institution level, Islamisation is implemented via organization of hierarchy of
knowledge scheme which includes the reality and existence according to the hierarchy
comprising the Creator, the Messengers, man, animals et cetera. Neglecting this
aspect will result in chaos and disorder. The challenge, which confronts
education, is to determine the exact and true position for every field of
knowledge and skill. The consideration should include
i)
that man is of ruh, spirit and body
ii)
the position of naqli (revealed) knowledge with respect to aqli (acquired) knowledge
iii)
the obligation between fard ‘ayn, obligation towards the Self and
fard kifayah, obligation towards the
Society bearing in mind the dynamic nature of fard ‘ayn as ‘it increases according to the spiritual and
intellectual abilities as well as social and professional responsibilities of a
person’ and the integrative nature of the two.[12]
As islamisation or dewesternization
deals with problem of secularization, al-Attas proposes that first we isolate
the key elements, western cultural influence from every discipline of knowledge
especially human sciences. As for facts and theories of natural science, they
must be interpreted in accordance with Islam by introducing Islamic concepts
and principles in the thought and physical actions. Al-Attas proposes that
these elements and concepts should replace those alien concepts.
1) the concept
of religion (din)
2) the concept
of man (insan)
3) the concept
of knowledge (‘ilm and ma’rifah)
4) the concept
of wisdom (al-hikmah)
5) the concept
of justice (‘adl)
6) the concept
of right action (amal as adab)
7) the concept
of the university (kuliyyah-jami’ah)
[12]
Al-Faruqi opts
for replacement of Western and Modern influences in metaphysics and sciences through mastery of modern discipline,
mastery of Islamic legacy and creative synthesis between the two, which some
find problematic. The problem lies in the fact that ‘disciplines are not divided
into water tight compartments and they arose out within the matrix of a
particular worldview and organised hierarchically subordinated to that
worldview’.[13] Mastery of Islamic legacy and command of modern science is sufficiently
equipped for anyone to embark on Islamisation as viewed by Abu Sulayman.
5.1 ScienceOn1’s Proposed Practical
Implementation
Many
groups have attempted to translate the idea of islamisation of knowledge into
practical action. For one, in the early eighties the effort at Islamisation in
school was seen practiced in Maktab
Rendah Sains MARA Seremban (Seremban MARA Junior Science College). The
effort is indirectly cited in the paper ‘Islamisasi
Pendidikan Di Sekolah : Prospek Dan Masalah’ (Islamisation of Education in
School : Prospect And Problem) presented during National Seminar on
Islamisation of Education : Meeting The Challenge which was held at the International
Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in July 1999.[14] Next, the idea of
islamisation is highlighted in ‘Dinamika
Kurikulum SRI-SMI : Antara Ideal Dan Realiti (Dynamics of Curriculum
SRI-SMI : Between Ideal And Reality) [15] and is then proposed in ‘Model Baru Dan Komponen Utama Dalam
Kurikulum Al-Amin’ (New Model and Main Component in Al-Amin’s Curriculum)[16].
Finally, Projek MERKURI (MERKURI
Project) clearly states the objectives of islamisation of Kurikulum Baru Sekolah Rendah, KBSR (New Curriculum of Primary
School) and Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah
Menengah, KBSM (Integrated Curriculum of Secondary School), which are to be
attained by schools under Pusat
Pendidikan Al-Amin (Al-Amin Education Centre).[17] By early 2002, the
MERKURI Project committee successfully
documented relevant parts of KBSR and KBSM curriculum in the light of Islamic
perspective and were transmitted in respective classes. However, the attempt
was met with challenges among others time constraints, change of syllabus and
change in medium of instruction. It was then agreed that islamisation of
curriculum is to be at the discretion of teachers. All these spirits are
supporting the idea of islamisation as proposed by al-Faruqi.
Upon
realizing that islamisation has its own philosophical, theological and
metaphysical dimensions as examined by Al-Attas, a concerted effort and a well
laid out plan of execution is needed from all levels. As a starting point,
PERINTIS will support the idea of islamisation of present-day knowledge in
schools via ScienceOn1 project by organising the followings :
1)
At the philosophical level :
Synthesising, integrating and converging of ideas of islamisation and
islamisation of present-day knowledge
2)
At the translational level : Training of
writers, instructors or teachers on the idea of islamisation and islamisation
of present-day knowledge and what they entail.
3)
At the implementational level :
Educating the instructors or teachers on the use of teaching manuals on the
islamisation of present-day knowledge
These
measures are to ensure all the interested parties will consolidate ideas and
efforts in empowering and translating the idea of islamisation of present-day
knowledge.
6.0 CONCLUSION
Islamisation
of present-day knowledge is a process of description of facts, establishment
and expression of meanings (at the individual and societal level) grounded on Islamic
metaphysical sources. It is not merely transporting knowledge and Islamic
principles within the framework of contemporary knowledge. Therefore, it calls
for high knowledge ability that is in depth mastery of Islam as religion,
culture and civilization. A re-look at the practices undertaken by various
groups at translating the idea of islamisation of present-day knowledge is
crucial. It is to avoid failure and in its stead to bear fruitful results. It
should be emphasised that,
the
task before Muslim intelligentsia, then, is to develop, using the epistemology
of Islam, alternative paradigms of knowledge for both natural and social
sciences and mould disciplines most relevant to the needs of contemporary
societies. [18]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author would like
to acknowledge PERINTIS for the support with regards to ScienceOn1 project and
PPAA for providing the venue to implement the idea of islamisation of
knowledge.
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[3] Ziauddin, Sardar. 1985. Islamic Futures : The Shape of Ideas to Come.
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[4] Wan Mohd Nor, W.D. 1998. : The Educational Philosophy and Practice of
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Exposition of the Original Concept of Islamisation. Kuala Lumpur : ISTAC.
309-310.
[5] Syed Muhammad Naquib, Al-Attas. 1999. The Concept of Education in Islam : A
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[6] Ismail Raji, al-Faruqi. 1989. Islamisation of Knowledge. Virginia : International Institute of
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[7] Ziauddin,
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[10]
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[15] Nor Zalmiah, Jahidin. Dinamika Kurikulum SRI-SMI : Antara Ideal dan Realiti (The Dynamics
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[16] Saari, S. Model Baru dan Komponen Utama dalam Kurikulum Al-Amin (The New
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