More known for his world wide movement of Islamization of
knowledge program, Ismail Farooqui’s primary concern was to shape and update Islamic
Education curriculum for the Western world and the education in general for the
Muslim Ummah. Islamization of knowledge program and his protgonism for it made
him a champion of Islamization and diminished his primary concern of education
of the Muslims. It must, however, be noted that his drive for Islamization was
an effort of an intellectual, as he actually was, aiming to explore the reasons
for Muslim’s apathy for modern education, the world over. The education system
which had cultural, historical and civilization roots in the west dominated the
world and was obviously not appealing to the non-west. Being external to their
mindset, this system needed additional features to identify itself with the
Islamic civilization and making it appealing to the Muslim people. His twelve
point program as given in the Islamization of knowledge: General Principles and
work plan quite intelligently the develops necessary features in the education
system which on the one hand make it civilizationally acceptable to Muslims and
also maintain the dynamism on the other.
Education is civilization bound
Colonization
of Muslim land and its continuation for at least two centuries was not merely a
geographical annexation and political subjugation. It was also intellectual domination
by the colonizers. Life as a whole was now governed by ideology, traditions,
culture and civilization of the colonial people. The education system, health
care, agriculture, business and trade, management and every other thing related
to life was defined, formed, shaped and formulated by ethos alien. This
resulted in gradual isolation of Muslims from civil life and when it became
difficult to carry on, they began to adopt the western values and the system,
although reluctantly. Gradually the mindset began to change. Those who could
not adapt failed to take part in the onward movement of civilization and
development of society. And those who did, began to lose their intellectual
identity. Till recently dominant system gradually became out dated making those
trained in it, irrelevant. Muslim’s earliest response to face the challenge was
simply defensive. They thought it urgent and necessary to take measures to
safeguard and strengthen their identity which best reflected in their religious
education system carried out in institutions called madarsas.
However,
large cross-section of madarsas, which did attract students, could not make
them relevant to the world. They could neither make the religious issues and
questions relevant to the time nor could their religious intellectualism
benefit or give direction to solving the issues of life.
This
was the scenario in which Ismail Farooqui began to formulate his ideas. Briefly
he had two objectives in mind.1
1.
Modification of the Islamic religious education
so that it could become relevant to time and make its students contemporary.
2.
Reunderstand and research Islamic civilizational
roots of disciplines which go into creating modern knowledge and system of
education.
Central idea behind these two targets was to totally discard
the view that Islam encouraged two systems one for the world and other for
religion life. According to him Islam’s basic belief and doctrine and also its
system of values, are meant to simultaneously harness the spiritual i.e.
religious and the worldly needs. In fact Islam is dynamic enough to entertain
the problems and issues arising in both the realms.
Tawheed, the basic ingredient
Ismail Farooqui emphasis is on the cardinal principle of
Tawheed which constitute the backbone of Islamic thoughts, culture and actions.
This is evident in his seminal work on Tawheed and also in the preface of his
Islamization of knowledge General Principle and work plan monograph.
“The first is the
unity of knowledge, under which all disciplines must seek rational, objective,
critical knowledge of the truth. This will put to rest once and for all the
claim that some science is aqli and
some science is naqli and hence
irrational; that some disciplines are scientific and absolute and others
dogmatic and relative. The second is the unity of life under which all
disciplines must take intro cognizance and serve the telic nature of creation.
This will put to rest the claim that some disciplines are value-full while
others are value-free or neutral. The third is the unity of history, under
which all disciplines will acknowledge the ummatic or societal nature of all
human activity, and serve the purposes of the ummah in history. This will put
to rest the division of knowledge into individual and social sciences, making all
the disciplines at once humanistic and ummatic.”2
The essence of Tawheed is both spiritual as well as
intellectual and therefore the Islamic world-view, when dominant transforms
heart and mind both, shaping religious performance of individuals and
civilizatoinal growth of people and communities. In civilzational growth, the
study of nature and human-nature relations and the ensuring education system
are deeply impacted by the world view and this gives it a distinct character.
Farooqui’s analysis of the malice of present day Ummah manifests a deep seated
understanding of the implications of tawheed on thought, practice and
intellection. His concern for developing Islamic identity in knowledge in
general and social sciences in particular is a manifestation of this
realization. Unfortunately however, the realms of knowledge which are shaped by
observation and experiments and are of public utility and which require, apart
from conceptual facts, functional values as well, have been overlooked in his Work
Plan. No stress on functional Islamic values seems to have made Ismail
Farooqui’s thoughts almost irrelevant to observational sciences. These sciences
being primary source of innovations and creativity, his concern for education
remains bereft of the potential necessary for civilizational and intellectual
growth of ummah.
However
most important aspect of his educational thoughts for which he used the
controversial term of Islamization of knowledge, is the realization that for
its non-conformity with Islamic world-view, the modern knowledge has been
unable to seat itself in the Muslims psyche. For this reason there is a general
lack of enthusiasm among Muslims, for participation and involvement in it. His
twelve points are interesting but can’t be operative in a modern university
system which is governed by a non-Islamic rather alien world-view. That for
these twelve points to be really productive a alternative structure is needed
to be proposed, did not occur to Ismail Farooqui and perhaps for that one reason
his Work Plan soon lost steam.
1-
Islam and Knowledge. Al Faruqi’s concept of
Religion in Islamic Thought. Edited by Imtiaz Yusuf I.B. Tauris(2012)
2- Islmaization of knowledge: General Principles
and Work Plan. By Ismail Raji al Faruqi IIIT(1982
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