[ 280 ] AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 3 Number 2 December 2014 Title: Trace of Islamic Educational Thought Pontianak: STAIN Pontianak Press By: Erwin Mahrus and Syamsul Kurniawan Reviewed By Farninda Aditya (Pontianak State Institute of Islamic Studies) Don’t judge a book by its cover, goes the popular saying. It is probably true as the cover does not always represent the contents of the book. However, this one is an exception. Without looking at the title, one will immediately think of: the important figures in Islamic education. The book  that traces  the thought of  Islamic education figures  such as  Ibnu Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Muhammad Abduh, Hasan Al-Banna, Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Atlas, Muhammad Iqbal, K.H. Ahmad Dahlan, K.H Hasyim Asy’ari, Azyumardi Azra in pictures displayed in a golden frame on the cover of the book. The contents of the book focus on one important thing: the thought of Islamic education. In addition to the figures shown on the cover, H asan Langgulung and Imran Basiuni are also discussed. The  book  that introduces the thought  of  Islamic education  from various periods not only discusses the figures from other Islamic countries and Indonesia, it also explores the thoughts of those born in West Kalimantan. Ba- siuni Imran who was born in Sambas and studied in Mecca and Egypt had an important role for Islamic education of West Kalimantan. Dominant  in green, this book does not directly present the thoughts of the figures to the reader.  The first part begins with the biography of each no- table.  These figures can  inspire  the readers. Both  authors  of this book are lecturers at  IAIN  Pontianak. Through this works, they  introduced  the characters the students. In addition to serving as an Islamic education refer- ence, it also may become life inspiration for the students. The thought  of  the figures shown  in the book  should be introduced to the students especially those who major in Islamic education. Students as the younger generation  can learn more about  the development of  Islamic edu- cation from time to  time. The purpose of writing of  this book is “to elabo- rate and explain the concept of education put forward by educational profes- sionals among Muslims». According to  the  authors,  the  thought  of Islamic  educators  is important as it may serve as a basis for  consideration in  policy  decisions  in  accordanc [ 281 ] AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 3 Number 2 December 2014 e with the conditions  in order to  restructure the  Islamic  educational sys- tem, particularly in Indonesia. By reading the introduction, it is clear that the figures shown in this book are the reliable references. In total, 158 referenc- es were used to write the 316 page book. Erwin Mahrus who currently is a lecturer of Islamic education studies once wrote a biography of Basuni Im- ran, and Syamsul Basuni Kurniawan has a master’s degree in Islamic studies in the field of Islamic educational thought. This book  is divided into  16  chapters.  In  the early  chapters  the au- thors first discusses the study of Islamic education in general. The first chap- ter is dedicated to the thought of Islamic education in Indonesia in which the authors explained  the notion of  Islamic thought, the purpose of the  study, and the principles of Islamic educational thought. The second chapter is about the periods of Islamic education before and after independence to show that different were struggles carried out so that the community under any circum- stances should get education. The next chapter is about the Islamic education in the early days. The devel- opment of Islamic education thought during the time of the Prophet, Khu- lafa  Al-Rasyidin,  Umayya,  and Abbasiya. After  a discussion of  the study  of Islamic educational thought in general in chapter four, the author laid out the ideas of Islamic education proposed by the figures in chapter four and the next twelve chapters. In  each chapter,  it is not merely a discussion of the  Islamic  education- al thought  leaders  in general or  its conclusion.  The biography of those fig- ures is also an interesting topic.  The authors also  deliver  important  factors in education  based on the  thoughts of  the figures.  In fact, every  chapter  is not only focused on finding  an explanation of  the purpose of education, curriculum,  teaching methods, the concept of  a teacher, the  duties and responsibilities of  students, evaluation, the concept of  punishment  in the teaching, etc, but the authors also stressed on the significance of Islamic edu- cational thought to restructure education in Indonesia. From the  description of the  educational  thoughts, one can learn  about the development  of thought  in  Islamic education.  AR-Ruzz  Media  as the pub- lisher of the book said “... the advancement of civilization of a nation will be determined  by how education  is carried  out by  its people.”  To advance the civilization of the  community, Islamic  education  proponents  continue to make educational innovations. This is evident from modern educational insti- tutions initiated by Imran Basiuni in 1936. The development of a more mod- ern education can be seen from the thought of Islamic education put forward by Azyumardi Azra who, according to the author, is a contemporary think- [ 282 ] AL ALBAB - Borneo Journal of Religious Studies (BJRS) Volume 3 Number 2 December 2014 er that paid attention to the ‘Islamization’ of knowledge. On the last page of the last chapter in this book, the thought of Azyumardi Azra concludes the development of  education.  «His thought  has  relevance to the development of science and technology, even in his works he strived to anticipate the fu- ture so he ought to be placed into the modernist group.