Editorial

Abstract

Five years of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS)
seem trivial, but there has been a good reason to seize upon this occasion
as a brief respite from the here-and-now to look back at our objectives and
accomplishments. It is gratifying that AJISS is now a lading journal of Islamic
research published in United States, and a major international journal. It
has published medium and longer length articles by scholars within and outside
the United States, representing original, significant, and major Islamic
conceptual and interpretative advances within all subfields of the social
sciences. The articles have reflected the breadth, depth, and scale of modern
Islamic scholarship, regardless of their perspectives and orientations.
Among of the objectives of AJISS, and its sponsors, namely the
International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Association of Muslim
Social Scientists (AMSS), has been the effort to restore confidence among
the Muslim scholars and revive Islamic scholarship to its former high standards.
In addition there has been a modest effort to bring the ummah out of its
present decadent situation and historic Nostalgic bonds. Ordinarily, such a
situation develops when a nation starts living in memories and monuments,
memorizes history and narrates it while ignoring or relegating the realities
of the time. The other perspective of history, and perhaps more desirable,
is when the people learn from history, interpret history and transform the
present knowledge according to their history, values, and ethics. During the
past five years, AJISS has persistently attempted to lead the way in fashioning
a proper historical perspective by reverting to the basics, and by Islamizing
the current knowledge.
This issue begins with selections from the Holy Qur'an and commentary
by 'AbdulHamid A. AbuSulayman. Three major sections follow. Section one
includes two papers on the need and philosophy of Islamization of knowledge.
In the first paper, Fazlur Rahman, presents his perspective on the Islamization
of Knowledge and suggests modification of the present approach. The second
paper by Ilyas By-Yunus gives a brief biography of Isma'il al Faruqi, and
traces the development of his ideas of Islamization as one of the effective
means for Muslim resurgence.
The second section of this issue has three papers on matters concerning
Islamic Thought. In the first, Louay Safi discusses war and peace in Islam,
challenging the classical doctrines as issue-specific and incomprehensive.
Arguing his case with credible support from other sources, Safi offers an
alternative approach based on Islamic principles. The other paper by Abdulaziz
Sachedena elaborates the importance of the Shari'ah by upholding the Tawhid
principles in assimilating diverse groups with varied interests into one Ummah ...