The Quest for an Islamic Methodology The Islamization of Knowledge Project in Its Second Decade

Abstract

The Islamization of knowledge is one of the dominant themes that
continue to preoccupy contemporary Muslim intellectuals. Since Isma'il
a1 Fiifiqi presented this thesis little over a decade ago, numerous papers,
monographs, and books have been written on the subject. This paper attempts
to examine the progress of the project of Islamization in the last
decade by outlining the general framework of Islamization and examining
the work of its proponents and critics. Modifications aimed at overcoming
the difficulties inherent in the original plan are then proposed.
I argue that the project of Islamization is still in its premethodological
stage. This is due partially to the limitations of the original work
plan, which does not take into account some important logistical and psychological
factors. I therefore propose a slightly modified strategy in
which the emphasis is placed on a critical examination of methock and
techniques developed in both the classical Muslim and the modem Westem
scientific traditions.
Islamization Framework
Any study concerned with analyzing writings on methodology in the
context of the Islamization of knowledge has to start from the two essays
written by al Faruqi (IIIT 1987). In this monograph, he Singled out two
factors as being responsible for the present condition of the
ummah-conditions he termed the "malaise of the ummah"-namely, the
cutrent secular-religious duality of education systems in Muslim societies ...