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Discussion at the Islamic Education Trust in Minna Nigeria on 8th July 2008.
Introduction
I am of the opinion that the idea of ‘Islamic perspectives of knowledge’ pioneered by the Islamic Education Trust of Nigeria is a good and practical idea that deserves dissemination and further discussion. It is an empirical solution to the problem of duality in education that will be useful until further theoretical developments are achieved.
Defining the problem
Islamization of knowledge (IOK)[1] has been a strategy discussed over the past quarter century as a solution to the problem of duality in Muslim education. This problem is the teaching of traditional Islamic sciences alongside modern secular sciences. The student is confused by these 2 sources of knowledge because some concepts in the secular system contradict Islamic teachings. Islamization was initially conceived as removing the un-Islamic concepts from the secular subjects and replacing them with Islamic concepts before teaching the students. Over the past quarter century much progress has been made in the theoretical aspects of this process but the efforts have not been enough to produce curricular material that can be used in schools.
A preliminary solution: Islamic introduction to the disciplines
Rather than wait for a full theoretical formulation, efforts are being made to develop an Islamic introduction to each discipline[2]. The introduction is taught to the students to clarify the Islamic stand on some controversial issues in secular disciplines as well providing Islamic alternatives. The introduction is not wholly reactionary. It can also provide Islamic perspectives in a discipline for which there are no secular parallels. A student armed with the Islamic introduction is ready to study any book including the secular ones without being confused.
Practical steps in developing the Islamic introduction
The first step is a good grounding in Islamic methodological sciences of of usul al fiqh, ‘uluum al Qur’an, ulum al hadith, and 'uluum al llughat. This is followed by reading the Qur’an and sunnat with understanding of the changing time-space dimensions. This is followed by clarification of basic epistemological issues and relations: wahy and aql, ghaib and shahada, ‘ilm and iman. This is followed by an Islamic critique of basic paradigms, basic assumptions, and basic concepts of various disciplines using criteria of Islamic methodology and Islamic epistemology. Islamic reviews of existing text-books and teaching materials are then undertaken to identify deviations from the tauhidi episteme and the Islamic methodology. The initial output of the reform process will be Islamic introductions to disciplines, muqaddimat al ‘uluum, establishing basic Islamic principles and paradigms that determine and regulate the methodology, content, and teaching of disciplines. This parallels Ibn Khaldun’s Introduction to History, muqaddimat presented generalizing and methodological concepts on historical events.
[1] The term Islamization of Knowledge has caused a lot of controversies that are based on the terminology and not on its contents. When the content is discussed without the term broad agreement is reached easily. An alternative term would be ‘Reform of disciplines’, ‘Reform of Epistemology’, Reform of Knowledge’ or the term ‘Islamic Perspective of Knowledge’ pioneered at the Islamic Horizon School of the Islamic Education Trust of Nigeria
[2] The Islamic Horizon School of the Islamic Education Trust Minna has successfully pioneered the teaching of the Islamic Perspective of knowledge, This is the same as the ‘Islamic Introduction to Disciplines of Knowledge’ being discussed in this minute.