The Islamization of Knowledge Yesterday and Today

Abstract

Introduction
Within the Islamization of Knowledge school, the idea of the Islamization
of Knowledge has always been understood as an intellectual and
methodological outlook rather than as an academic field, a specialization,
an ideology, or a new sect. Thus, the school has sought to view issues of
knowledge and methodology from the perspectives of reform, inquiry, and
self-discovery without any preconceptions, doctrinal or temporal constraints,
or limitations on its intellectual horizons. The school is keenly
aware of the workings of time on ideas as they pass from stage to stage and
mature and is therefore the first to say that the Islamization of Knowledge
is not to be understood as a set of axioms, a rigid ideology, or a religious
movement. Rather, in order to comprehend the full meaning of the term, it
must be viewed as designating a methodology for dealing with knowledge
and its sources or as an intellectual outlook in its beginning stages.
An ongoing critique and the attempt to derive particulars from the general
are essential to the process of development. The initial articulation of
the Islamization of Knowledge undertaking and the workplan was therefore
produced in general terms. At that early stage, the focus was on presenting
a criticism of both traditional Muslim and western methodologies and then
introducing the Islamization of Knowledge and explaining its significance.
The first edition of the Islamization of Knowledge pointed out the principles
essential to any attempt to fashion an Islamic paradigm of knowledge
based on the. Islamic worldview and its unique constitutive concepts and
factors. It also addressed, briefly, the intellectual aspect of the Islamization
of Knowledge. The main focus, however, was on the practical aspects of
producing textbooks for use in teaching the social sciences, as this was considered
the first priority at a time when the Muslim world was losing its best
minds to the West and the western cultural and intellectual invasion.
Accordingly, twelve steps were identified as the basis from which the
preparation of introductory social science texts might proceed ...