Islamization of Knowledge
Islamization of knowledge is a term for the project of synthesizing the world-view and system and beliefs of Islam with the secular system of knowledge. The idea was first used and proposed by the Malaysian scholar Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas in Islam and Secularism, first published in 1978, closely followed by the Palestinian philosopher Ismail Al-Faruqi in 1982, who borrowed many of the ideas of al-Attas.
Curriculum
Secular Curriculum
The purpose of Islamization is to counter the secular curriculum which is based on five core principles:[1]
- The sovereignty of man, as though supreme (humanism)
- Basing all knowledge on human reasoning and experience (empiricism)
- Unrestricted freedom of thought and expression (libertarianism)
- Unwillingness to accept 'spiritual' truths (naturalism)
- Individualism, relativism and materialism
Islamized Curriculum
By contrast, the purpose of an Islamic curriculum is:
- To include an Islamic perspective in the curriculum, which reflects the contribution of Islam and Muslims to civilization
- To ensure that all students gain knowledge and understanding of the Islamic legacy
- To unify the educational system by removing "the dualism of sacred and secular from education"
- To prevent Muslims being influenced by "Godless ideologies".
- To emphasize that Islamic teaching is relevant to every aspect of life and every ‘subject’ of the curriculum
Examples of this would include: giving an Islamic context and an Islamic perspective to the subject or discipline under study; Islamic critique of basic paradigms of various disciplines or subjects; mentioning relevant attribute of Allah at every opportunity; publication and testing of new school textbooks; relating all aspects of the teaching and learning to the example of the Prophet Muhammad; publication of Islam-friendly or Shari'ah compliant teaching materials; establishment of specialized research institutions; clarifying and collaborating scientific facts with Qur'anic verses and Ahadith; stressing the sacred nature of all knowledge; reading Qur’an and Sunnah[1].
