Ismail Raji al-Faruqi From 'Urubah to Ummatic Concerns

Abstract

The author highlights some of al-Faruqi's perceptions and approaches to the understanding of other faiths, his views on rasawwuf, his initia­tive for the movement for Islamization of Knowledge, and his concerns about the Ummah and da'wah. Although a brief article cannot do full justice to a lifetime of scholarship, this review may provide insights into, and also an overview of, al-Faruqi's thought: his understanding of other faiths, particularly the Abrahamic faiths; his treatment of differ­ent approaches to Islam, in particular, the Sufi perspective of tasawwuf and its relationship with other faiths; and his contributions as a Muslim intellectual seeking to spread the Islamic message in America and to harness Muslim intellectual resources in pursuit of Islamization of knowledge.