Islam and the Western Philosophy of Knowledge By Muhammad Mumtaz Ali. Selangor, Malaysia: Pelanduk Publications, 1994, 103 pp.

Abstract

It is a simple truism to state that any scholar who treats such a vast topic
as "Islam and the Western Philosophy of Knowledge" must be familiar with
the different domains of intellectual and philosophical discourses in bvth the
Muslim and the western worlds, their epistemological bases (i.e., foundational
conceputal principles), historical evolution, and cultural expressions. In
addition, such a scholar cannot do justice to this imponant topic without constructing
an appropriate and comprehensive comparative method that might
shed some light on why there have been some important divergences between
the Muslim worldview and the western one, especially in the modern period
(e.g., the past few centuries). Third, in dealing with the above subject, a
scholar must know at least one Islamic language (e.g., Arabic) and one
European language in addition to English (e.g., French or German). Measured
against this criteria, the author of this (very) tiny work fails miserably to justify
his goal(s) for writing this book, to offer a convincing method of comparative
analysis, and to prove that he possesses the appropiate tools (i.e., sources
and languages) with which to conduct his research.
To begin with, the author states in the Preface that he intends to offer "a
humble contribution to the contemporary debate on the need for a new epistemology.” The nature of the contemporary debate the author refers to is unclear:
Is it an Islamic debate? Western or African? Second, what is the nature of this
new epistemology of which he speaks? His entire discussion throughout the
book does not mention any new epistemology per se, but rather a historically
old and established one: that of the Qur’an and other revelations. So, is the author
offering a Qur’anic rationale for and justification of some uiucial philosophical
issues arising in the modem westem world, or is he interested in measuring the
impact of western philosophy on the modem Muslim mind in the context of
colonialism and the new world order? No such desire is expressed. When the
author states in his Acknowledgment that “I came to the conclusion that the real
malaise of the Muslim Umma is the intellectual,” he does not tell us why it is so
and why it is not economic, political, social, or a combination of the abov ...