140809P - OUR PURPOSE IS EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND KNOWLEDGE REFORM AS A BASIS FOR COMMUNITY REVIVAL

Presentation at the 1^st International Islamic Epistemology and Curriculum Development Conference held at the Muslim University of Morogoro 9-11 August 2014 by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard)

EPISTEMOLOGY:

• Definition of epistemology: Epistemology, a major branch of philosophy, is the science of knowledge, ‘ilm al ‘ilm. It is the study of the origin, nature, methods, and limits of knowledge.
• The aim of epistemology is certainty, yaqeen.
• The scope of epistemology: distinguish reality from appearance & perception from reality, evidence for the truth of a claim

ISLAMIC EPISTEMOLOGY

• Islamic epistemology has fixed parameters from Qur’ an and sunnat within the tauhid paradigm and space-time variables. It is characterized by objectivity and its sources of knowledge.
• Objectivity comes only next to iman, as the Prophet said 'qul amantu bi al laahi thumma istaqim'.
• Sources of knowledge: 1. wahy, 2. ‘aql, and 3. kawn (‘ilm tajriibi) related to causality, sababiyyat. Ibn Taymiyah proved conclusively that there is no contradiction between ‘aql and naql

EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A KEY TO SOCIAL CHANGE 1: Start in Makkah

• Islamic civilization started as a knowledge revolution in Makka: Islamic Dawa in the Arabian peninsula was a knowledge and methodology revolution that underlay the Islamic civilization.
• Qur’anic methodology inspired the empirical method and inductive logic. Muslim scientists inspired by the Qur’anic methodology experimented and corrected mistakes in Greek science

EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A KEY TO SOCIAL CHANGE 2: Muslim empiricism triggered the European Renaissance:

• Interactions in the Near East (crusades) and South Europe (Andalusia) enabled Europeans to learn the empirical method from Muslims that the knowledge renaissance in the 12^th century and the 14-17^th centuries.
• Renaissance was triggered by the translation of Arabic manuscripts of natural science, philosophy, and mathematics.
• Robert Grosseteste (ca. 1168–1253) (74): Was the first to make extensive use of the thoughts of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd. First used the experimental method in Europe

EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A KEY TO SOCIAL CHANGE 3: Muslim empiricism triggered the European Renaissance:

• Roger Bacon  (c. 1214–1294) (75) was inspired by the writings of Grosseteste. He mastered Arabic texts on the science of optics.
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626) called the creator of empiricism was influenced by Ibn Taymiyah.
• Start of European universities: Arabic books in translation were used.

EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A KEY TO SOCIAL CHANGE 4: Knowledge renaissance was the basis of modern Western power.

• Renaissance was followed by a religious revolution (reformation), and a thought revolution (enlightenment and rationality).
• Then the scientific revolution, the agricultural revolution, and the industrial/technological revolution.
• The political revolutions, communication, and information revolutions.
• While Europe developed the Muslim World stagnated because of knowledge decay

EPISTEMOLOGICAL CHANGE AS A KEY TO SOCIAL CHANGE 5: the Muslim renaissance

• The expected Third World Renaissance: The Third World today is backward technologically and needs to wake up from a long sleep
• Reform of society starts with reform of education hence the emphasis on Islamic universities.
• The challenge of dichotomy in education faces the 15th-century Renaissance; it needs epistemological reform leading to the integration of knowledge. An epistemological revolution will pioneer social reform. 

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Manifestations of the Crisis 1

• There is pervasive ignorance of uluum al diin and uluum al dunia, little respect for scholarship, and neglect of the empirical sciences.
• There is a dichotomy in the education system: traditional Islamic vs. imported European, ulum al diin vs. ulum al dunia. Integration of the 2 systems has failed or has been difficult because it has been mechanical and not conceptual.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Manifestations of the Crisis 2

• The process of secularization in education has removed the moral dimension from education and violated the aim of Islamic education to produce an integrated and perfect individual, insan kaamil.
• The brain drain has compounded the educational crisis.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Ummatic malaise due to the knowledge crises 1:

• Knowledge deficiency and intellectual weakness are the most significant manifestations of ummat’s decadence.
• Among the manifestations of the ummatic malaise are action deficiency, political weakness, economic dependency, military weakness, dependence on science and technology, and erosion of moral identity in lifestyle.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Ummatic malaise due to the knowledge crises 2:

• The intellectual crisis of the ummat is worsened by copying and using poorly digested alien ideas and concepts.
• The prophet warned the ummat about the lizard-hole phenomenon in which the ummat in later times would follow its enemies unquestionably like the lizard running into its hole.
• We are consumers and not producers of ideas and knowledge

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Knowledge, a prerequisite for tajdiid 1:

• Reform and revival of the ummat will occur through educational and knowledge reform.
• Tajdid is a recurring phenomenon in the ummat and is a sign of its health and dynamism.
• Tajdid is a basic characteristic of the ummat that periods of reform/revival alternate with periods of decay and return to jahiliyyat.
• Tajdid requires knowledge, ideas, and action related by the following mathematical equation: tajdid = idea + action.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Knowledge, a prerequisite for tajdiid 2

• Action without knowledge and guiding ideas will not lead to true change.
• Ideas without action do not change at all.
• Tajdid requires and is preceded by a reform in knowledge to provide ideas and motivation on which to build.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: Knowledge, a prerequisite for tajdiid 3

• All successful societal reform starts with a change in knowledge.
• The ideal society cannot be created without a knowledge base. That knowledge base must be correct, relevant, and useful.
• Successful revival movements throughout history have always been led by scholars.

CRISIS OF KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION: New knowledge strategy:

• Social change requires a change in attitudes, values, convictions, and behavior of a critical mass of the population. Attitudes, values, convictions, and behaviors are determined by the knowledge base.
• The vision of the knowledge strategy is an upright balanced person who understands the creator and knows his place, his roles, his rights, and his responsibilities in the cosmic order.
• The mission of the knowledge strategy is a conceptual transformation of the education system from kindergarten to postgraduate studies to reflect positive moral values, objectivity, and universality, and serve the larger causes of humanity.

THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE (IOK):

• IOK is a process of recasting the corpus of human knowledge to conform to the basic tenets of a moral worldview, ru’uyat kawniyyat.
• IOK does not call for re-invention of the wheel of knowledge but calls for reform, correction, and re-orientation.
• IOK is evolutionary and not revolutionary, It is corrective and reformative.
• It is the first step in the integration of the education system as a prelude to the integration of values and ethics for social reform.

HISTORY OF IOK:

• In the 2-3^rd centuries, H witnessed a failed effort at IOK because Greek science was transferred with the worldview and philosophy of the society that produced it.
• Greek science depended more on philosophical deduction than experimentally-based induction. It discouraged the scientific tarbiyat of the Qur’an which emphasized observation of nature as a basis for conclusions.
• The transfer of Muslim science to Europe was positive: knowledge with a universal empirical spirit
• The problem of rejection of modern knowledge is against the Islamic spirit. We need empirical knowledge but it must be presented within the context of our world view.

IOK IN DISCIPLINES:

• IOK has to start with reforming the epistemology, methodology, and corpus of knowledge of each discipline.
• IOK must be pro-active, academic, methodological, objective, and practical.
• The vision of IOK is objective, universal, and beneficial knowledge in the context of a harmonious interaction of humans with their physical, social, and spiritual environment.
• We have a lot of publications on IOK in various disciplines the most prominent being economics
• The existing writings can be the basis for developing course outlines and descriptions

THE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY AS A VEHICLE FOR IOK

• The first World Muslim Education Conference in Makka in 1977 identified dichotomy as the main problem of Muslim education
• Islamic universities were set up to solve the problem of dichotomy my teaching integrated curricula
• International Islamic University in Islamabad (Pakistan), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Kushtia (Bangladesh), Niger, Mbale  (Uganda). And others
• Indonesia has over 400 Islamic Universities set up even before the Makka Conference. Challenge  to show how different from others
• Islamic Universities in Europe and America

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: background

• Our main objective is to resolve the crisis of duality in education which has severe adverse intellectual and practical consequences for individuals and communities in our ummah.
• Integrating Islamic values and concepts in all disciplines of learning is the best approach to resolving the crisis of duality in knowledge and education.
• Epistemology and curriculum reform are necessary as a step to integrating Islamic values into education. This will lead to a knowledge renaissance that will eventually lead to an overall renaissance and revival of the ummah.
• Education reform is the necessary condition for social reform and rebuilding the ummatic civilization.

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Review Of Past Achievements In Bangladesh

• Epistemology and curriculum reform seminars have been held 2007-present to raise awareness of the problem of duality and to propose epistemological and curricular reform as the needed solution. These were followed by specific seminars with visiting discipline experts.
• Discipline-specific working groups were set up for each discipline of knowledge. These groups worked very hard and have now been able to develop a total of 75-course outlines with integrated Islamic input.
• The next step is to develop textbooks that will be used to teach those courses.

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Stages Of Implementation Of The Textbook Project 1

• Finalizing course descriptions and course outlines to be completed by March 1, 2010
• Compiling references available in Bangladesh both general and Islamic for all the courses to be completed by March 10, 2010.
• Determining for each book: the title, units/sections, and chapters (a chapter is one classroom session) to be completed by March 20, 2010

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Stages Of Implementation Of The Textbook Project 2

• Structuring each chapter: learning objectives, detailed outlines (headings and sub-headings), keywords.
• Islamic input, glossary, index, case studies, texts from Islamic sources (Qur’an, Sunnat, other books), illustrations (pictures and drawings), chapter summary, review (questions, tests, exercises), and assignments. These assignments will be completed by March 31, 2010.

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Stages Of Implementation Of The Textbook Project 3

• Designation of the editorial board for each book (chief editor and co-editors), chapter writers, reviewers (from Bangladesh and overseas), advisors (Bangladesh and overseas), and consultants (Bangladesh and overseas). Full names, addresses, emails, and brief CVs for each person are to be submitted by April 10, 2010.
• Allocation of chapters to writers by April 20, 2010.
• Submission of the final version of the book plans by May 1, 2010

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Stages Of Implementation Of The Textbook Project 4

• Collection of references by IIIT to be completed by June 1, 2010. General references can be obtained from online databases like amazon.com and from various bookstores outside Bangladesh. Islamic sources will be supplied by IIIT and many of them will be translations from Arabic material available in Riyadh, Kuala Lumpur, Cairo, and Amman.
• Regular workshops for chapter writers and editors to review the written material preferably once every 1-2 months.
• Testing the chapters written as classroom notes for university students and getting feedback.

CONCEPT PAPER ON WRITING TEXTBOOKS FOR BANGLA UNIVERSITIES: Stages Of Implementation Of The Textbook Project 5

• Evaluation and adoption of the final versions by the editorial board of each book to be completed by December 31, 2010.
• Evaluation by IIIT consultants by March 1, 2011
• Editing, proofreading, and typesetting by the IIIT publications department are to be completed by June 30, 2011.
• The IIIT style sheet will be used for transliteration and other editorial aspects.
• Printing and distribution by IIIT / BIIT by October 1, 2011.

DESIRED FEATURES OF THE TEXTBOOK

• Scope: 1-2 textbook(s) for each course
• Size: 150-300 pages
• Cover: soft (80%) and hard (20%)
• Attractive fonts (Times New Roman no 12), multicolors
• Price: USD5-15 cover price
• Accompanying CD / DVD and web-based resources

BUSINESS ASPECTS

• Copyright held by IIIT/BIIT
• Editing, reviewing, printing, and distribution costs by IIIT/BIIT
• A royalty will be paid for each book to be divided among the authors: 50% on submission of the manuscript and 50% on completion of all corrections prior to printing.
• New editions every 2-3 years