From Streamlining to Mainstreaming “Islamization of Knowledge”: The Case of the International Islamic University of Malaysia Sari Hanafi Bio note: Sari Hanafi is currently a Professor of Sociology at the American University of Beirut and editor of Idafat: the Arab Journal of Sociology (Arabic) and Chair of Islamic Studies program. He is the President of the International Sociological Association (2018-2022) and previously its Vice President and member of its Executive Committee (2010-2018). Recently he created the “Portal for Social Impact of Scientific Research in/on the Arab World” (Athar). He is the winner of the 2014 Abdelhamid Shouman Award and the 2015 Kuwait Award for social science. Abstract Founded in 1983, the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) has been a laboratory of “Islamization of Human Knowledge” (IoK). Looking at theoretical models and practical applications of IIUM, this article unfolds the passage from a generation of faculty who established the “IoK” paradigm in order to streamline it, to a new generation that seeks to mainstream it. The aim is to show that this transition has been made possible due to the employment of Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, and yet, despite this possibility, this shift is, and will continue to be, accompanied with some contradictions, tensions, and shortages. This article concludes by highlighting three points: the extent to which IIUM succeeded in producing professionally-trained versus Islamically-oriented graduates; the level of success IoK mainstreaming has had using the Maqāṣidic approach; and, finally, how the implementation of the IoK paradigm may be impeding pluralism. Introduction Founded in 1983 with an approach it calls “Islamization of Human Knowledge” (IoK), the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) was established according to the visions developed by prominent Islamic scholars Ismail al-Faruqi (co-founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Virginia [IIIT]), Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman (current Chairman of IIIT), and Syed Muhammad Naqib al-Attas (founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilisation [ISTAC]), with the aim of linking what they call ‘revelation and heritage’ with social and human sciences. Drawing on fieldwork1 carried out at the IIUM in May 2018, this article will explore how the 38-year-old university implements its foundational IoK approach, through scrutinizing the programs, curricula, and research produced by both faculty and students. This fieldwork research consists of interviews with 42 faculty members and 12 students; content analysis of the syllabi of several departments in Sharia Studies, and the social sciences and humanities; content analysis of 35 Master’s and PhD theses produced within these departments; reviews of the publication and research conducted by the faculty of these departments; and, lastly, from personal attendance at four classes. Before examining its curriculum, faculty research, and Master’s and PhD theses, this paper begins by presenting relevant information regarding the university as a whole. This process will allow for an unfolding of the passage from a generation of faculty who established the “Islamization of Human Knowledge” paradigm in order to streamline it, to a new generation that seeks to mainstream it. The aim is to show that this transition has been made possible due to the employment of Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah2, and yet, despite this possibility, this shift is, and will continue to be, accompanied with some contradictions, tensions, and shortages. IIUM: The Laboratory of IoK Since it opened in 1983, the IIUM has grown to include 91,000 male and female alumni. The majority of these graduates are local, with approximately 15% being international, and all are given an education that combines conventional and Islamic knowledge.3 The university currently has 26,000 students enrolled (20,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduates) from 117 countries, who are served by 2,000 faculty members, 14 faculties, three institutions, and two centers. One of IIUM’s main missions is the “Islamization of Human Knowledge” (IoHK or IoK), which the university defines as: an alternative paradigm for pursuing, constructing, developing, adapting, sifting, critiquing, organizing, disseminating, reconstructing, utilising and evaluating contemporary human knowledge—as distinct from Divinely revealed knowledge—in accordance with the worldview, fundamental principles, ethical values and norms of Islam. This alternative paradigm, based on the theology, ontology, epistemology, axiology and ethics of Tawhid, views critically the different branches of contemporary human knowledge, particularly as represented and constructed by the secular Western behavioral sciences, social sciences and humanities, including the philosophical foundations and ethical orientations of the natural… (IIUM constitution cited by Hassan 2013, 17) Although there are other universities who share this approach,4 the “Islamization of Human Knowledge” is the unique, defining feature of IIUM, which is used to brand itself globally as the “The Premier Global Islamic University”. While other western and non-western universities have a sensitivity to religion or culture, they do not articulate it in the particular way IIUM does. One such example is Iowa State University (in the United States), which shares a statement calling for fostering “International and Multicultural awareness and sensitivity to diversity.”5 IIUM follows the views of both al-Attas and al-Faruqi. Al-Attas is more concerned with reforming the mind through properly establishing the Islamic worldview. As he explains, “[n]either ‘grafting’ nor ‘transplant’ can produce the desired result when the body is already possessed by foreign elements and consumed in disease. The foreign elements will have first to be drawn out and neutralized before the body of knowledge can be remoulded in the crucible of Islam” (al-Attas 1978, 163). Placing “Islamization of Human Knowledge” and other Islamically fundamental coursework in the first semester is a clear indicator of this very stance. In contrast, al-Faruqi is more interested in epistemological processes and the incorporation of Islamic values with the five unities that are used to form the first principals of Islamic methodology (these being the unities of Allah, of creation, of truth and knowledge, of life, and of humanity).6 Al-Faruqi was more influential not only because he had a strong, transnational institution behind him (IIIT)7 but because his nuanced and more dialogical approach is more conducive to reciprocity with what is traditionally perceived, or referred to, as western knowledge. This Islamic vision is clear across all faculties, departments, and programs. For instance, in the program mission statement of the Bachelor of Human Sciences in Sociology & Anthropology, it is stated that this undergraduate program offers “an integrated and balanced curriculum and at the same time, ensures solid foundations in sociological theory and empirical analyses of real-life issues in society. The courses offered in the programme are substantially infused with Islamic concepts, principles, theories, methods and approaches.” Offering courses that are infused with Islamic values can be said to be following the al- Faruqi method, without, as some faculty interviewed pointed out, becoming de-westernized as al-Attas had wished. For each program, the integrated curriculum is structured with required courses for a university core, others for a faculty, and other for departmental concentrations, all having supportive and elective courses; all of which are designed to meet the standards and requirements of higher Islamic education. For example, students in applied science have four required courses: “Islamic Worldview,” “Knowledge and Civilization in Islam,” “Ethics and Fiqh for Everyday Life,” “Creative Thinking and Problem Solving” and one related to Malaysia that was recently added entitled “The Malay World within Islamic Civilisation.” This paper will focus on an important faculty in IIUM, the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS), which aims to connect “Islamic sciences to other sciences.” This faculty has a Division of Islamic Revealed Knowledge (which includes the departments of Fiqh and Usul al Fiqh, Usul al Din and Comparative Religion, Quranic and Sunnah Studies, and General Studies), and departments in social sciences and humanities (which include Communication, History, Political Science, Psychology, History, Sociology, and English Language and Literature).8 Historically, students majoring in humanities and social sciences needed to have a minor in revealed knowledge, and vice versa. Many interviewees commented that this rounded education produced excellent alumni that benefited from this double formation. Faculty members in social sciences and humanities also then needed to complete a diploma in Revealed Knowledge. However, such certifications for students and faculty are now optional. KIRKHS currently provides 38 major courses, 14 of which are in Arabic. It also provides a selection of optional service courses, and two compulsory courses for all concentrations— Islamic Worldview (theoretical ideals) and Axiological Foundation—both of which are based on the principles of God’s transcendence and the universality of ethics. Something interesting to note is that, rather than Faculty of Law, it is called the Faculty of Laws, as it includes not only what they refer to as “human law”, but “revealed law”, and Master’s and PhD students are encouraged to study law on a comparative basis. IIUM is involved in training sharī‘a court judges to increase their knowledge regarding civil law, in training civil courts on sharī‘a law,9 and in harmonizing civil and sharī‘a laws.10 The university also has three institutes—the Institute of Halal Research and Training (INHART), the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF), and the International Institute of Islamic Civilisation and Malay World (ISTAC)—and the Centre for Islamic Economics, all of which work independently and together to ensure an interdisciplinary education. So, for instance, students from the sciences can choose to minor in Halal Studies, which is a combination of Islamic legal studies in relation to food and management (a common choice by students due to the importance of the halal licensing business in Malaysia). Many faculty members complained, however, that this orientation was changed under the new administration in 1996, where the IoK approach was not made a priority. The motivation for the change was sparked by the local market, and by the demand by the Ministry of Higher Education for accreditation, which called for more credit requirements per major. It is also important to note that the majority of our interlocutors chose to use the concepts of an “Islamic perspective” or “integration of knowledge” rather than IoK. This current debate among faculty members at IIUM is studied by Wiebke Keim in an excellent article,11 though I am more interested here in the current practices (teaching and research) than in the discourse. Already Abu-Baker Ibrahim had noted fifteen years ago that these concepts are used interchangeably.12 While the IIUM is open to all interested applicants, most students, at least in KIRKHS, are Muslim. There is a special course required only for Muslims that has no credit (“Tilawah al- Quran”) along with Co-curricular Activities (3 credits) in the form of halaqa13 or tahfiz. For non- Muslim students, these are replaced with a course on dialogue. The IIUM’s implementation of the concept of usra14 (halaqa) involves circles of informal Islamic study education held in the university’s mosque, not only for students but, since 2016, for non-academic Muslim staff and students who live on campus (called ‘Mahallah’ [at least in Gombak campus]). Nik Abdullah, Dollah, and Awang Marusin (2018) evaluate the usra culture, showing it to positively contribute to the sense of community among all IIUM students, faculty, and staff. Before delving into the curricula used at IIUM, I would like to present the working conditions of the faculty members as well about the extent to which this university is internationalized. These aspects are very important not only for the quality of teaching but also for the kind of knowledge produced by faculty. Challenging Working Conditions The working conditions at IIUM are similar to other universities in Malaysia, which includes a heavy teaching load, ranging between 12 and 15 credits per semester, with sometimes as many as 70 students in each course. The research grants given by the university are low, ranging annually between $1,200 and $2,400, which means it does not serve as a research university. Because the majority of the coursework is taught in English, the university had originally focused on recruiting faculty from international academic markets (the majority of whom came from the Arab world, India, and Pakistan), but, due to political reasons, the financial resources available for recruitment faded.15 Currently, most of the faculty members are Malaysian; for example, in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, only one faculty member among ten (a Palestinian from Gaza) has been internationally recruited. Some foreign faculty reported there being discriminatory treatment in favor of local faculty members; the former do not receive sabbatical leave but publish much more than the local faculty. In addition, most of them only get short contracts with IIUM that have to be renewed in order to stay in the country, including those who have been living in Malaysia for thirty years. There is no category of permanent residence for themselves and their families. Despite these challenging working conditions, in 2020 IIUM received a five-star (out of six) recognition from the Malaysia Research Assessment (MyRA, a state ranking agency).16 It is worth noting that, combined, faculty members produce publications in English, Malay, and sometimes Arabic. (Limited) Internationalization In addition to IIUM’s current limited international faculty, despite its past reliance on international recruitment of faculty, the university was an observant member of the Union of American Universities in the 1980s. In an effort to increase its internationalization, the IIUM accepts many international students, the majority of whom come from South Asia, Africa, and the Gulf countries. At the entrance of KIRKHS, a big banner is displayed announcing that the QS World University Rankings in Subjects for 2018 ranked its faculty as a 31 in Theology. The IIUMs board of trustees is composed of Malaysian officers and scholars and representatives from various Islamic countries and from Japan. IIUM cares to have good relations with Arab countries, recalling how (at the time of Malaysian independence from British colonialism) many Malay students went to al-Azhar University in Cairo and Damascus University in Syria to study Sharī‘a and Arabic. The current President of IIUM, Mohd Daud Bakar, received his Bachelor of Sharia from Kuwait University, being a “sharia star” and “the ambassador of Malaysia’s Islamic financial market to the world,”17 while some IIUM alumni are prominent officers or businessmen in Malaysia and abroad. For instance, the CEO of Bosnia Bank International, Amer Bukvic, graduated from KIRKHS in 1996. IIUM greatly benefited from being a hub for not only Malaysian scholars, but Arab, Indian, and Pakistani scholars who graduated from Al-Azhar and other important universities in Europe, and America. Now, however, it is much less internationalized. There are currently 13 refereed academic and intellectual journals published by different entities in IIUM, but only Al-Shajarah, IIUM’s Journal of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, is indexed in the ISI (Web of Science), and it is in fact the only ISI- indexed social science journal from the country. The Intellectual Discourse, the International Medical Journal Malaysia (IMJM), and Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature are indexed in many databases, particularly in SCOPUS,18 while additional journals are indexed or abstracted in various databases, such as al-Mandumah (Saudi Arabia). Curriculum: Conventional vs. Integrated In order to evaluate how the Islamic perspective was integrated into the courses, I collected the course outlines (syllabi) from several departments, with a systematic collection from Political Science, Psychology, and Media Studies. I also referenced the research Mohamed Aslam Haneef (2013) conducted regarding the Department of Economics. I attended to four categories, explored further below: the references (whether textbook or articles) listed in the syllabi; the terminology used in the course descriptions; objectives and learning outcomes; and items of the sessions. In regard to the learning outcomes, one often finds either a sentence that compares or contrasts the Islamic perspective with the Western one or that mentions or highlights the Islamic perspective on its own. For instance, the description for “Political Thought II” explains that the course “also highlights the epistemological and ideological differences between western and Muslim political thought,” with the objective being to “acquaint students with the development of key Islamic political concepts and institutions and their significance in the contemporary context.” Worth noting is that one of the ten program learning outcomes for IIUM and the IoK is what they call “Relevantization & Integration”, which means “the ability to provide solution approaches to inter-religious issues pertaining to extremism, deviant teachings, human rights issues, and inter and intra religious conflicts. The ability to integrate Usul al-Din principles in the study of philosophy, Islamic thought, civilizations, ideologies, and other religions.” The university’s “Islamic” textbooks and references are often published by either IIIT or IIUM press, or other local publishing houses. The process of “Integration” works in two directions: by giving an Islamic perspective to humanities and social sciences, and by making Islamic fiqh and ethics more relevant to contemporary social, political, and economic reality (“Relevantization”). Former Dean of KIRKHS Ibrahim Zein (2014) made it clear that, as a method of integration, many courses are taught serving many different departments as either university electives or as part of their majors, and that, even if there is no required course in Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah, its conceptualization is embedded into the course readings. Interviewees brought forward many examples about Relevantization & Integration. One of political science professor showed me how he teaches his students to conceptualize the Islamic heritage to fit current international relations, recalling as example of the concept of dar al-islam which he today understands as a norm, not a structure. Another professor in economics emphasized waqf as an integral part of the Islamic micro-finance model. As we will see below, IIUM does prove to be a laboratory for developing concepts such as Muhibah (which, loosely, refers to the spirit of living together), and provides policies aimed at multicultural nation-building.19 Following are the four categories related to the Islamic perspective: First Category: Conventional courses. These are the courses not involved in the IoK. Constituting one-third of the overall number of courses, integration of IoK is not possible here due to their technical nature. An example of this can be seen in Media Studies, where the coursework is 60% conventional. As will see below, Psychology, with 13% conventional coursework, has an advanced integration of Islamic perspective, while Political Science sits in the middle, with 35%. There are also a few surprise instances, like a theory course that has no reference to Islamic perspectives. Second Category: Minor Integration. A course will be considered such when the reference to Islamic perspective is recommended rather than required, and where it may be a learning outcome but discussions on it do not spill out in the sessions. Almost one third of courses in Psychology and Political Science are from this category, which constitute a significant contrast to the much smaller percentage in Media Studies and Economics. Third Category: Substantial Integration. A course is considered such when the reference to the Islamic perspective is required, and when this perspective is found in most of the sessions. The champion of this category is Psychology, with 44% of the courses having substantial integration, followed in order by Economics,20 Political Science, and Media Studies. To offer an example of the nature of this integration, the description of the course of “Psychology of Learning” states: “[t]he relevance and applications of these perspectives within the context of Islam (e.g., learning and memorizing the Qur’an) are integrated throughout this course,” and it is common among the 39 courses in this category to reference “Islamic ethics” or “Islamic moral and manner”. Also found in many of these courses are items at the end of each session description that evoke the Islamic perspective through one of two ways. First, the Islamic perspective can be presented by dichotomizing it with what is often described as “Western” philosophies, theories, methods, applications, and history of a discipline; for example, in seeking to “examine Muslim responses to Western ideas and approaches.” In this case, the “Islamic perspective” is a sort of local example of the relevance of the knowledge in each session. Or, it is done without such binaries, using what I call a mainstreaming of this perspective. An example of this is in the course “Contemporary Islamic Political Thought,” which has the objective to “discuss the contributions of contemporary Muslim scholars and activists towards the development of Islamic Political Thought and compare the ideas of contemporary Muslim scholars and activists.” Fourth Category: Complete Islamic Content. A course will be considered such when the reference to “Islamic” is in the course title, for example, the Master’s course “Issues of Islamization in Sociology and Anthropology,” and the PhD course, “Islamic Sociology.” As we see from Table 1 and Figure 1 (below), there are a few courses within this fourth category. In Political Science there are six (“Islamic Principles and Practices of Public Administration”; “Islam in Contemporary Southeast Asia”; “Islamic Theory of International Relations”; “Islāh/Tajdīd Movements in the Muslim World”; “Contemporary Islamic Political Thought”; and “Islamization of Political Science”). Half of the courses in Psychology fit this category (“Islam and Psychology”; “Undergraduate Seminar on Islamic Perspective of Psychology”; and “Psychology of Religion”), while in Media Studies there are only two (“Foundation of Communication in the Qur’an & Sunnah”; “Muslim Press”). In this fourth category, some courses encourage students to be pious. For instance, the description of “Islam and Psychology” explains, “[t]his course exposes students to the “scientific” and Islamic study of human behaviours and mental processes without neglecting the role of the souls… The course will also train students to use psychology as a tool to increase their efficiency in fulfilling the roles as `abid and khalifah of Allah” (emphasis by me). To take a case study showing how students are exposed to such integration of knowledge, the Department of Economics posits itself as providing a Bachelors in Islamic Economics, where, in addition to integrating Islamic perspectives students receive 18 hours on fiqh and usul al-fiqh and 12 hours in other Islamic courses. The total hours that are Islamically focused therefore constitute 16% of the total hours required (20 hours out of 128) for this degree.21 Haneef and Amin (2013) cite an external examiner of this Bachelor’s program, who, after studying the quantity and depth of conventional courses (based on outlines and examination questions), assessed it as being sufficient and equally comparable with international standards. Generally speaking, the references used in the syllabi are relatively old, with most of them stemming from before 2000 and only rare references to work released in the last five years. Some faculty members also pointed out that the anthologies on Islamic heritage are insufficient, a point that was made more generally by Abu-Baker Ibrahim and Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman about the lacking of proper textbooks, despite the contentious efforts of IIIT and IIUM.22 Table 1: Number of Courses according to IoK categories in selected disciplines23 Discipline Political Science Psychology Media Economics Total Conventional 17 6 24 9 56 Minor Integration 17 16 9 6 48 Substantial integration 8 20 4 7 39 Complete Islamic content 6 3 2 5 16 Total 48 45 39 27 159 Figure 1: Percentage of courses in selected disciplines according to IoK categories. I will now explore two case studies in further depth: the Departments of Economics and Psychology. Economics: IIUM’s Success Story The Department of Economics offers programs of study leading to a Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees, where they teach both conventional and Islamic economics. While the Master’s program clearly states that the department “provides graduate studies in Economics which combines both conventional and Islamic aspects,” the general mission statement of the department emphasizes that, in order to contribute to efforts to apply divine guidance to the understanding and direction of contemporary economics, the teachings are grounded in Islam.24 Does this mean they want to mainstream what is “Islamic” in economics? One-third of the courses within this faculty are conventional ones, while the remaining either integrate conventional and Islamic economics or are explicitly Islamically-focused, where the word “Islamic” is used in 20% of the course titles (e.g., “Islamic Political Economy”). Given the high degree of employability of its graduates compared to other departments, as shown by alumni tracer studies, 25 this mix seems to fit well with the form and standards of Malaysian economics. Patricia Sloane-White talks about a ‘shari‘a generation’ who were employed by the growing Islamic bureaucracy and legal system (dual civil and shari‘a) to which IIUM has heavily contributed.26 Some faculty members interviewed demonstrated interest in being of use to the broader, multicultural Malaysian society, and this was something I found reflected within the functioning of broader Malaysian society (in Kuala Lumpur) as well, as illustrated in the following three examples. First, I found a diverse mix of clients in three Islamic banks in Kuala Lumpur that I visited: not only Muslim Malays but also non-Muslim Chinese. This may indicate a sort of integration to mainstream economics in their Islamic behavior. Meanwhile, some of my interviewees in Arabic countries criticized IIUM for pushing the banking sector toward being Islamically minimalist (using for instance a tendency to rely on conventional, and thus anti- Islamic, derivatives). Second, after providing research to the Ministry of Tourism about criteria necessary for a company to be “Shariah-compliant”, they realized that this would alienate many businesses. They ended up creating a new label, “Shariah-friendly”, by which (for instance) a 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Political Science Psychology Media Economics Total Conventional Minor Integration Substantial integration Complete Islamic content hotel can have two restaurants, one of which serves alcohol and the other does not. Third, the Journal of Islamic Economics (est. 1984) was published by this faculty until 1994, when it was decided to broaden its scope, becoming the International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting (IJEMA), mixing conventional economics with Islamic ones (and, put alternately, mainstreaming Islamic ones). Based on my fieldwork, there are three distinct features of the Department of Economics in IIUM: first, Islamic Economics is part of a specialized Faculty of Economics and Management. In fact, while many departments of Islamic economics in the Muslim world are embedded in faculties of sharī‘a, there is sufficient evidence regarding the weak economic training for their graduates, including a lack of originality and innovation in their produced research. Baloufi and Bilaas27 carried out excellent bibliometric studies showing repetitions in many produced research. For instance, my bibliometric research in the Saudi universities using the al-Manduma database shows there to be a huge difference between serious research conducted in Umm al-Qora University in Mecca (where the program of Islamic economics is part of the Faculty of Economics and Management, like in the IIUM case) and other programs embedded in the Faculties of Shari‘ah there. Some interviewees from IIUM stated that the university’s economic training is not entirely adequate. Haneef and Amin (2013) argue that the majority of the lecturers teaching the courses of Islamic economics are trained in fiqh and sharī‘a rather than in Islamic economics specifically. They also argue that the curriculum gives the impression that Islamic banking and finance are the same as, or equivalent to, Islamic economics, while tending to associate Islamic economics with the legal aspects of fiqh (and even more so in the judgment outcomes of fiqh rather than in its axioms). Some of the interviewees said that the university needs to vary and expand the ‘Islamic’ content to include thought and history so that it is able to provide a more ‘civilizational’ outlook in the program. An interim report on the status of teachers in the field of Islamic economics reveals that the majority of them are from a sharī‘a background, and this imbalance between western educated and sharī‘a scholars can be counter-productive to achieving curriculum integration with contemporary disciplines.28 Others argue that confining sharī‘a only to legal matters is a reductionist approach that may not function well when dealing with social sciences like economics, which focuses on decision-making. This point was also raised by Mustafa Omar Mohamme, who points out that the Faculty of Economics at IIUM suffers from a dualism: where those who graduated from the West lack the “knowledge of truth”, and those from a sharī‘a education background lack the modern methodological tools necessary to derive concepts and principles from primary sources and to effectively undertake empirical research (wad‘i).29 Despite all these just criticisms, IIUM remains a conducive place for the double formation. Many faculty members at IIUM have, indeed, completed a minor in one of the programs of the Division of Revealed Knowledge. One of the interviewees from this division who was interested in providing his opinion about economic matters mentioned that he had audited some courses from the Department of Economics, which, he said, enabled him to produce sound religious opinions in these matters. He showed me a study he did on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, which was the first study conducted on how compliant these currencies are with Islamic thought. This fluidity between attending and mixing between Sharī‘a and other departments and faculties is a unique feature of IIUM. Second, IIUM becomes a critical hub to bridge the gap between theory and practice of Islamic economics. Their Islamic Economics Database in the university’s library alone holds approximately 5,000 publications on Islamic economics and finance from 1994 to 2005,30 making it a critical resource. This translates into remarkable research on Islamic economics published by many faculty members, such as Muhammad Umer Chapra, Anas Zarka, Monzer Kahf, Muhammad Najtullah Siddiqi, Abbas Mirakhor, Muhammad Akram Khan, and Mabid Ali Al-Jarhi, in addition to Masudul Alam Choudhury, who was simply a visiting professor for one year. Just to give one example of the serious research pursued here, Mohd Mahyudi Bin Mohd Yusop, a young faculty member also within the Department of Economics, insists on the importance of bringing Islamic economic science closer to how contemporary economics functions. For him, both homo economicus and homo islamicus must be abandoned by all scholars of economics. Instead, he proposes a fresh alternative concept called the “Universal Man”,31 explaining that “the fundamental problem is neither at the Islamic economics philosophical foundation nor its paradigm. Instead, it is at the basis of Islamic economics micro- foundation; that is, the conception of economic man.”32 This stance is indeed in line with mainstreaming Islamic economics. Third, beyond epistemology, the more one examines issues of microeconomics the more complications arise, which require empirical work. In this regard, the work of many faculty members at IIUM goes beyond the epistemological debate on Islamic banking, covering various areas of socio-economic life including Islamic microfinance, the sharīʿa screening of stocks that promote responsible consumption and production and support climate action, zakāt (a levy on wealth), ṣadaqa (charity), qarḍ ḥasan (free loans), waqf (endowment), micro-takāful (mutual insurance), poverty, hunger, well-being, and the sustainability of communities in “underperforming” Islamic economics. Interviewees were proud to mention the influence of Volker Nienhaus, a prominent German economist who advocates for Islamic economics as being an ethical economic science (while providing compelling criticism of many of its aspects as well).33 Some faculty members are taking the shortcoming in Islamic economics very seriously by providing compelling criticisms of Islamic financial sectors that have failed to develop in economic areas like agriculture and manufacturing, and to fill the gaps in welfare economics. Another important critique comes from Patricia Sloane-White, who has long studied Islamic economics in Malaysia. While she first praises the zakat institution, she argues that by privileging the corporation itself as the solution to social and economic development, Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility moves influence over state social policy. This, for her, produces “a version of Islam that is increasingly conservative, financially and fiscally powerful, and committed to social control over Muslim public and private lives and over non-Muslims.”34 Finally, IIUM is expected to excel in the domain of Islamic economics. Indeed the current president of the university is a prominent scholar in Islamic finance. His first book, Shariah Minds in Islamic Finance: An Inside Story of a Shariah Scholar, won the “Islamic Finance Book of the Year 2016” by the Global Islamic Finance Award (GIFA). Psychology: Integrating the Soul While some argue that psychology has a disciplinary tendency to disregard the soul (rūḥ), rendering man nothing more than his physical body, emotion, thought, and behavior, IIUM has continually taught its students to incorporate the soul and to acknowledge the role of religion and spirituality in clinical practice. This focus is in line with the growth of research generally over the last few decades, which indicates substantial increasing interest in the successful integration of spirituality and religion into clinical practice.35 One of the interviewees reminded us how Malek Bader, a Sudanese professor at KIRKHS, father of Islamic psychology, and current President of the International Association of Muslim Psychologists, set the agenda regarding the IoK in psychology: We don’t want to Islamize psychophysics or the physiology of sight and hearing and the anatomy of the eye and ear. Nor do we need to Islamize studies about the role of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin in our sleep behavior and in adjusting our body clock, the role of the hormone noradrenaline in setting our energy level not the influence of caffeine, alcohol or heroin on the human nervous system. We do not need to develop our own Islamic statistical psychology or to raise an ethical battle against neutral theories of learning. Such areas are “no man’s land” between psychology and other exact sciences. But [we do it] when we come to areas such as the theories of personality, abnormal psychology, the whole area of humanistic psychology and its reliance on existential philosophy, psychoanalysis, and most of the schools of psychotherapy and cultural psychology.36 Another interviewee mentioned the importance of Carl Jung as opposed to Freudian psychoanalysis, acknowledging Jung’s notion of a collective consciousness that contains the whole spiritual heritage of mankind’s evolution born anew in the brain structure of the individual. One of the textbooks used is Psychology from an Islamic Perspective: A Guide to Teaching and Learning.37 In their co-authored chapter “Motivation and Emotion,” IIUM faculty members Mohamad Zaki Samsuddin and Alizi Alias provide examples regarding the impact of IoK and how they see it affecting psychology. For them, Freud’s argument that an individual’s personality is largely shaped by what they experience in the first five years of their life, is not in harmony with the perspective of Islam, which takes a more humanistic approach that sees a consistent human nature (one inclined to goodness and self-improvement) from birth to death.38 However, the human free will is not without boundaries, and a Muslim has to abide by the shari‘a, which directs consciousness toward both his personality as an individual and collectively within family and community settings.39 Finally, the cognitive approach in psychology focuses on the individual differences in thought processes, which include how people perceive and evaluate information and how they use their interpretations and assessment of this information to solve problems and make decisions. The social-cognitive learning theory specifically is considered the most comprehensive theory of personality due to the balance between biological and environmental factors. However, according to Samsuddin and Alias, in Islam, one cannot begin to understand human nature without the installment of belief (īmān) as a moderating variable and without understanding the existence of fiṭra as the underlying basic state of being. Yet, contrary to the western perspective, instinct is not inflexible, as Muslims believe that the soul and faith moderate the relationship between instinct and behavior.40 Faculty Research and Theses: Generational Differences At IIUM, research conducted by faculty, the curriculum taught, and Master’s and PhD theses defended are very closely connected. Many researchers that I interviewed highlighted that revelation and reason strive toward the same goal: seeking truth—but that, where they conflict, preference will be given to revealed knowledge. Another argued that ijtihād can mediate between revelation and reason. When I asked how revelation is defined, the existence of ijtihād is raised, where revelation is reduced to unchangeable pillars (thawābit) of faith, leaving plenty of room for innovation. Another issue raised is with regards to the commitment of the objective of scientific research to serve society. One example was brought up by Haslina Ibrahim, who has contributed to the conceptualization of Malaysia’s Muhibah value41 and how it should guide religious communities in approaching diversity. Her contribution is to spell out seven distinctive principles of this concept: Dialogue, Kinship, Harmony, Sincerity, Mutual Trust, Integrity and Respect. Another topic, which goes beyond Malaysia, is religious pluralism. I found two books published by the IIUM Press and others by the Islamic Strategic Studies Institute – Malaysia (ISSI). The first is the work of Anies Malik Taha,42 who carefully studied the emergence of the concept of religious pluralism. For him, while historically salient in its western context, it now serves little more than admitting respect for differences between religions and for being more tolerant. The second one was also published by Haslina Ibrahim (2016). While both scholars are faculty in the Department of Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion of KIRKHS, the work of Ibrahim is more molded in a strictly academic way and includes an extensive review of the literature within this topic from western philosophy and religious studies, and in studies done in South Asia. Ibrahim is also much younger than Taha, which may confirm my hypothesis about the question of generation (see below), and its new focus in relation to IoK. Master’s and PhD Theses Between 1991 and 2013, there were 3,192 theses and dissertations produced by various kulliyyahs at IIUM (of which 47% (1,501 theses) were produced at KIRKHS), providing a picture of the steady development of the intellectual and academic achievements of the university’s graduates. Approximately one-quarter of the KIRKHS theses are submitted in Arabic while the rest are in English.43 Mohamed El-Tahir El-Mesawi rightly notes that, while there is a large number of theses being produced overall, few have been published by either local or international publishers. Most are frozen in the physical and electronic stores of the university. Analyzing 35 PhD theses submitted in IIUM, a convenient sample selected from KIRKHS and the department of education, and taking into account dates of defense and a diversity of topics, certain differences in approach come to the fore. It seems the new generation has novel methods for integrating knowledge. In the 1980s and 1990s many theses sought to set the foundation for the paradigm of IoK,44 but this trend is now over. More recent students are interested in the application of this paradigm, examining reform-oriented topics45, and exploring practical topics.46 Others, particularly in the department of education, set clear binaries between what is Islamic (fiṭra) and western.47 Most of these recent theses can be considered important for mainstreaming the Islamic perspective. Notably, their literature reviews take into account local and international knowledge production while managing to avoid deploying dichotomous theories. For instance, there is extensive use of Ibn Khaldun (although sometimes more decorative than necessary). To be sure, most current research produced in the Arab and Islamic world tends to be more empirical than theoretical. The other aspect is related to the research’s serious account of religious phenomena, including dealing with what is ethical, spiritual, and ritualistic as important factors in our understanding of human behavior and social relations. This approach does not deny the material analysis of history but adds new dimensions. Comparing two theses submitted in IIUM and in France, for instance, one notices that though they might share a topic (an ethnography of women experiencing cancer in Malaysia and Tunisia, respectively), the first one illustrates cases of Qur’an recitation being helpful in alleviating pain, while the other did not see such practices at all. In religious studies at IIUM one rarely finds students editing old works (taḥqīq). Rather, they seek to show more engagement with contemporary issues. This is the opposite trend to what one finds in the Faculty of Shari‘a in many Arab countries. While challenges exist in the process of integrating Islamic knowledge and revelation with the social sciences, the tensions, dilemmas, and paradoxes that arise from this practice are made more challenging when the IoK in areas like Islamic law and jurisprudence are not taking into account innovation according to the high objectives of Islam (ijtihād and maqāṣid al- sharī‘a). Discussion In light of the broader description and analysis of IIUM as an institution, its curricula and knowledge production by faculty and students, I will further highlight three points: the extent to which IIUM succeeds in producing professionally-trained versus Islamically-oriented graduates; the level of success IoK mainstreaming has had using the Maqāṣidic approach; and, finally, how the implementation of the IoK paradigm may be impeding pluralism. Professionally-Trained vs. Islamically-Oriented Graduates The IIUM promises to produce professionally-trained and Islamically-oriented graduates. For the latter, this was very clear. The main campus of IIUM is dominated by the beautiful Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah mosque, and the harmonious circulation of students, faculty, and staff between classrooms and the mosque was evident. There is close collaboration between the Friday sermon preachers and the action-oriented research conducted by some faculty. When Iyad Eid, a sociology professor at IIUM, requested to disseminate some information through a Friday sermon about his project on blood donation, the preacher asked him to give the Friday sermon himself, which Eid agreed to. The preacher did not ask him about his religious formation, nor require a beard from him, but he was generally sure that a faculty member in social sciences would be able to deliver a sermon. When it comes to “professional” training, by contrast, IIUM needs to make a greater effort to balance the local relevance of teaching and research and their internationalization. Internationalization is required not only because of the nature of globalization but because IIUM advances epistemological reasoning that needs to be furnished by reality-check exercises, both locally and globally. Entanglements of value and fact require both local relevance and internationalization, and, while curricula at IIUM blur the demarcation line between positive and normative social scientific inquiry in some benign ways, there are also large gaps between the ideal Islamic society and current Muslim (or human) behavior. Haneef rightly puts it regarding Islamic economics that “comparing ‘economic teachings’ of the Quran, sunnah or even the writings of Muslim scholars of the 12-15th century with that of modern economists, is occasionally like comparing ‘general principles’ to specific detail operation manuals.”48 In other words, the greatest challenge for research at IIUM is to transform the meta-religious principle from its philosophical outlook into a more feasible scheme for practical intellectual engagement. Wisdom is needed in this process. Successful IoK Mainstreaming with Mitigated Outcome in Maqāṣidic Approach The founding fathers of IIUM sought to make this university the laboratory for IoK and for streamlining this paradigm, while the new generation, through their use of maqāṣid al-sharī‘a for ijtihād, succeeds in mainstreaming it. The maqāṣid approach has two features: first, rather than being specific to a religion, it is postulated on the universality of ethics and the relationality of values to human beings;49 and, second, it takes into account the complex structure of values, goals, and means, and attempts to balance the way we look at human needs, rights, and obligations (for example, balancing moral agency and social responsibility).50 As beneficial as this approach may seem, however, it is not always well implemented. The university is sufficiently liberal to accommodate different Islamic trends inside, yet discussions of the social sciences and humanities with regards to maqāsid al-sharī‘a proves challenging when coming up against some classic sharī‘a rulings (in favor of understanding the spirit of Islam and its ethics— i.e., relevantization). This challenge can be seen in gender issues, for instance: while IIUM is a laboratory of innovation pushing Malaysian society to be more respectful of universal human rights,51 it also sometimes fails to meet its own goal.52 The need for a new maqāsidic approach to ijtihād is essentially based on creative synthesis between social sciences and revealed knowledge. Some interviewees argued that there is no proper training beyond the traditional application of qiyās (analogy), which can only be used when the phenomenon under study has a similar ‘illa (cause or reason) in both old and new cases. This approach is different from that of Imam Shāṭibī (1320-1388), who preferred to look at ‘illa from its macro-original contexts that refer to the objectives, wisdom, and meaning of sharī‘a. Yet, IIUM has taken some efforts to facilitate the production of methodologically creative syntheses. For instance, students from science backgrounds are encouraged to opt for a multi-disciplinary program in halal management, combining courses in halal sciences (Institute of Halal Science) and management courses (Faculty of Economics and Management). Others use the notion of culture to determine the best style of advocating religion (da‘wa).53 While IIUM seeks to keep its curriculum relevant, it would benefit from addressing courses at such broad contemporary issues as climate change or wealth disparities. These issues are relevant not only for the program of economics but for all of the majors at KIRKHS, particularly given that one of its main missions is IoK. And this focus on integration, which is very important for the maqāsidic approach, should be seen more broadly—a shortcoming noticed by IIUM’s Former Dean of the Faculty of Education, Rosnani Hashim: Sometimes the curriculum is unbalanced and lacks integration between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge, this life and the afterlife, the sacred and the profane, and the perennial and the acquired. Students are unable to see how these sciences can be applied to other spheres of life. The classification of knowledge into ‘ilm naqlī and ‘ilm ‘aqlī, based upon its sources, has not helped this integration. Similarly, classifying knowledge according to priority and duty into farḍ ‘ayn and farḍ kifāya, albeit with good intention, also works against the unity of knowledge. […] Unless our students fill in the gaps through their own initiative, they will have no aesthetic imagination and taste, no ability to undertake philosophical and scientific analysis, and no appreciation for culture. Many Muslim scholars and Sufis have articulated the relationship of art and aesthetics and the refinement of the human soul. For example, IIUM students have already encountered “Study of Qur’an I and II,” “Introduction to Fiqh,” “Introduction to Usul al- Fiqh,” “Sciences of Qur’an,” “Sciences of Hadith,” “Fiqh al-Sirah,” “Islamic `Aqidah,” “Islamic Ethics,” and “A Survey of Islamic History and Civilization.” Too much repetition dulls the mind and creates boredom, instead of motivating students to engage in further exploration.54 IoK as a Paradigm vs. Pluralism IoK as a paradigm is seen as useful for combining or integrating value with fact, but this must be done with care. Some Islamic scholars, such as Tariq Ramadan, reject the label “Islamization of human knowledge” and the categorization of scientific fields as being “Islamic” or not. For Ramadan, what is Islamic are “the ethics, the norms, and the goals” rather than the fields themselves.55 So, by removing the label of “Islamic” from the social sciences to Islamic- ethically-based social sciences, then, one may open the pathway for a new paradigm of pluralism. This new paradigm requires presenting, genuinely listening to, and engaging different schools of thought, and the intellectual welcoming of different (and often opposing) views before taking one’s position based on Islamic ethics. This approach may be effective at pushing IIUM into improving its internationalization, allowing it to become more relevant not only to Malaysia and the Islamic world (umma) but to humanity on a global scale. This beautiful tawḥīdī epistemology needs to establish a micro-foundation, which can only be achieved through the production of grounded research that allows Islamic culture to engage effectively with contemporary issues rather than just historical ones. Some of my student interviewees were eager to have a better micro-foundation. Jung Dietrich, who taught several seminars in the IIUM Political Science department for over fifteen years, argues that his teaching was barely different from other universities in the world. He added, “Some—but only a few—students asked me about how to put that social science now in an Islamic context. But these discussions went not very far and my understanding of ‘western social science’ resonated much more amongst the students.” As opposed to implementing a given Islamic “paradigm,” pluralism provides a more conducive environment for collaboration. Why is collaboration important? As Nienhaus explains: If doubts emerge at some point of a normative argument about the acceptability of implications of a particular understanding of the divine guidance (e.g. due to contradictions with other moral rules), a reconsideration of the understanding and a new interpretation of the respective divine guidance may become necessary. Secular economists could contribute to the unfolding of the implications, but not to the (re)interpretation of religious texts. This falls into the competencies of Islamic economists and Sharīʿah scholars.56 A principled macro-foundation about all humans being equal (even if in Islamic terms) needs a theoretical micro-foundation on how to deal with income and wealth redistribution, social security and healthcare programs, and ecological responsibility for future generations. These matters could be augmented by considering a wide variety of approaches. IIUM would benefit from considering revelation and heritage knowledge as sources of inspiration for the development of new theories, which can then be tested by methods recognized by specialized peers through fruitful scientific discussions and engagement. Researchers and academics should put the consequences of the epistemological claim of a unique source of knowledge in a perspective that will not scare away potential dialogue partners. Malik Badri once eloquently formulated that one needs to understand the origin of any field and the basic premises underlying its different perspectives so as not to be drawn into the “lizard’s hole”. Contradictions between curriculum in Islamic and western visions exist, but by working simultaneously with both visions one will be better equipped to remove or work with those things that are contrary to Islamic fundamentals (al-thawābit). The schools of Frankfurt, Marxism, and radical philosophers, ecologists, convivialists, and anti-utilitarian social scientists all have important critiques that may helpfully inform those of the proponents of IoK. There is no alternative to the social, economic, and political diseases of late modernity without mobilizing all alternative views, and establishing dialogue between them. As Islamic economist Ayman Reda states, “I have tried to discover through Islamic scriptures, philosophers’ texts and jurisprudence the Islamic view of markets and I found out a lot of similarities with Christian views regarding how markets should work, how firms should behave in markets and how individuals should behave in markets.”57 Conclusion IIUM summarizes its mission with four concepts: “Integration; Islamization; Internationalization; and Comprehensive Excellence”.58 Looking at theoretical models and practical applications of IIUM with “critical sympathy”, as discussed in the previous section, I found that some of these dimensions were well advanced while others were more challenging. Assessments of future progress by IIUM should include a focus on how it advances its liberal arts education, a vision dear to some scholars in IIUM itself.59 Definitions or gauges need to include the provision of well-rounded or holistically-minded education that produce individuals who are able to think and write effectively; who have critical appreciation regarding the ways one gains knowledge and understands the universe, society, one another, and ourselves; who are informed of other cultures and other times; who hold understanding and experience concerning moral and ethical problems; and who have attained some in-depth field of knowledge. Such an endeavor also insists on being education conducted in a spirit of free inquiry undertaken without concern for topical relevance or vocational utility. IIUM’s advancement can be improved not only by expanding the confines of traditional epistemological terms but by improving the working conditions of its faculty and enhancing overall academic freedom (a major problem generally in many authoritarian Muslim states). Pluralism emerges in democratic systems with free media, which are important for creating healthy, engaging, and mutually-beneficial relationships between society and academia. 1 I would like to thank Professors Ibrahim Zein from Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar and Mohamed El Tahir El Mesawi and Iyad Eid from the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS) of IIUM for all help providing to facilitate my fieldwork and commenting on an early version of this paper. I extend my gratitude to for all those who gave me time for interviewing them, and also to Jung Dietrich from Head of the Center for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark, who taught in IIUM for many years for his comments on an early version of this paper. 2 This is a school of thought that established ijtihād (innovation) while looking to the higher objectives or purposes behind Islamic rulings. 3 For full history of this university, see Ibrahim Zein and Hazizan Noon, “Relevantisation and Islamisation: The Experience of the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences,” in IIUM: The Premier Global Islamic University (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2013), 171–79; Ibrahim Muhammad Zain, “Issues of Teaching Islam at the International Islamic University of Malaysia: Practical Reflections and Recommendations in Curriculum Reform for Islamic Sciences and Humanities,” in Towards the Reconstruction of Islamic Studies, ed. Radwan al- Sayed, Sari Hanafi, and Bilal Orfali (Beirut: Arab Scientific Publishers, 2019), 315–74. 4 For instance, the International Islamic University in Islamabad (Pakistan) (1980) or Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) (1974). Yet they don’t use the label IoK. 5 Rosnani Hashim, “Higher Education Curriculum Development for Islamization of Knowledge,” in Islamic Economics Education in Southeast Asian Universities, ed. Mohd Nizam Barom et al. (Kuala Lumpur: IIIT & IIUM, 2013), 52. 6 Ibid. 7 For a comprehensive analysis of Faruqi’s impact over 25 years, see Al-Sayyed Omar, Evaluating the Methodology of Islamization of Knowledge in a Quarter of a Century (Khartoum: Knowledge Rooting Administration - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, 2016). 8 For a comprehensive analysis of this Kuliyya, see Abu-Baker Mohamad Ahmad Mohamad Ibrahim, The Knowledge Integration and Its Applicability in the University Curricula (Virginia, USA: IIIT, 2007). 9 IIUM was the first to establish a formal, one-year training and certification program for shari‘a court judges in 1986. Tamir Moustafa, Constituting Religion: Islam, Liberal Rights, and the Malaysian State (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018). 10 Beginning in 2003, the Ahmad Ibrahim School of Law at IIUM began to organize biennial conferences on the “Harmonization of Civil Law and Shariah” (ibid.) 11 Wiebke Keim, “Islamization of Knowledge: Symptom of the Failed Internationalization of the Social Sciences?” Méthod(e)s: African Review of Social Sciences Methodology 2, no. 1–2 (July 2, 2016): 127–54. 12 Ibrahim, The Knowledge Integration and Its Applicability. 13 Each semester comprises ten sessions of halaqa conducted by facilitators appointed by IIUM, usually among postgraduate students. See Nik Md Saiful Azizi Nik Abdullah, Hanafi Dollah, and Awang Abdul Muizz Awang Marusin, “The Implementation of Usrah in the International Islamic University Malaysia and Its Contributions to Holistic Student Development” (6th International Prophetic Heritage Conference (SWAN) 2018, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan: Penerbit USIM, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), 2018), 64–75. 14 Usrah means family; its figuration as a mutual study circle and comes from Muslim Brotherhood culture, but in the case of IIUM is not related to the Brotherhood. 15 Zain, “Issues of Teaching Islam at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.” For more critical assessment of the working conditions of IIUM, see Louay Safi, Options: My Journey Through the Whirlwinds of East and West (Beirut: Dar Al-Fikr, 2018), chapter 3. 16 http://www.iium.edu.my/news/iium-receives-5-star-recognition-of-malaysia-research-assessment-myra-2020 and https://the-european.eu/story-12028/empowering-islamic-with-knowledge.html. 17 Patricia Sloane-White, Corporate Islam: Sharia and the Modern Workplace (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 43. 18 Mohamed El-Tahir El-Mesawi, “Promoting Islam through Research and Publications: Theses and Journals,” in IIUM: The premier Global Islamic University, ed. Zaleha Kamaruddin and A. Rashid Moten (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2013), 139-152. 19 See, for instance, Rosnani Hashim, “Intellectualism in Higher Islamic Traditional Studies: Implications for the Curriculum,” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 24, no. 3 (2007). 20 Haneef uses five categories for classifying courses, rather than four. I collapsed ‘moderate integration’ and ‘comparative content between conventional and Islamic perspective’ into one category (substantial integration). 21 Mohamed Aslam Haneef, “Teaching of Economics at IIUM: The Challenges of Integration and Islamization,” in Islamic Economics Education in Southeast Asian Universities, ed. Mohd Nizam Barom et al. (Kuala Lumpur: IIIT & IIUM, 2013), 95. 22 See Ibrahim, The Knowledge Integration and Its Applicability and Abdul Hamid Abu Sulayman, “An Islamic University and Activating Higher Education between Theory and Practice: The International Islamic University Is a Model,” Journal of Islamization of Knowledge, no. 26 (2008). 23 These are undergraduate courses, except for Political Science, where the courses cited are graduate and undergraduate ones. 24 It “seeks to develop in students an ability to think critically from a firm grounding in the sources of Islam in order to contribute to efforts to apply divine guidance to the understanding and direction of contemporary economics activities.” 25 IIUM Alumni Tracer Study, Alumni and Career Services Division, 2012. 26 Sloane-White, Corporate Islam, 38. 27 Ahmed Belwafi and Abdel Razzaq Belabbas, “Kowledege Production of Researchers in Islamic Economics of the Global Financial Crisis: An Analytical Study” (International Scientific Conference: The Global Financial and Economic Crisis from an Islamic Economic Perspective, Amman, 2010) (in Arabic). 28 Mustafa Omar Mohammed, “Integrating Al-Turath al-Islami to Modern University Curriculum: Issues and the Need for a Benchmark,” in Islamic Economics Education in Southeast Asian Universities, ed. Mohd Nizam Barom et al. (Kuala Lumpur: IIIT & IIUM, 2013), 74–89. 29 Ibid. 30 Mohd Mahyudi, “Rethinking the Concept of Economic Man and Its Relevance to the Future of Islamic Economics,” Intellectual Discourse 24, no. 1 (2016): 111–32. 31 Mohd Mahyudi and Enizahura Abdul Aziz, “Method and Substance of Islamic Economics Revisited,” Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics 31, no. 1 (2018): 33–50. 32 Mahyudi, “Rethinking the Concept of Economic Man.” 33 Volker Nienhaus, “The Reform Agenda of Mainstream Economics: Importance, Relevance, and Obstacles for Islamic Economics,” Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics 2, no. 32 (2019): 89–97. 34 Sloane-White, Corporate Islam, 192. 35 Amber Haque et al., “Integrating Islamic Traditions in Modern Psychology: Research Trends in Last Ten Years,” Journal of Muslim Mental Health 10, no. 1 (2016). In fact, spirituality was mainstreamed in psychological research. For instance, the American Psychological Association has published two journals, Spirituality in Clinical Practice (since 2014) and Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. Other publishers’ journals include Journal of Muslim Mental Health and, in the domain of social work, Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work. 36 Malik Badri, “The Islamisation of Psychology: Its ‘Why’, Its ‘What’, Its ‘How’ and Its ‘Who,’” in Psychology from an Islamic Perspective: A Guide to Teaching and Learning, ed. Notaini M. Noor (IIUM Press, 2009), 24. 37 Edited by Noraini M. Noor (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2009). 38 Mohamad Zaki Samsuddin and Alizi Alias, “Motivation and Emotion,” in Psychology from an Islamic Perspective, 102. 39 Samsuddin and Alias, “Motivation and Emotion.” 40 Ibid. 41 Haslina Ibrahim, Mariam Adawiah Dzulkifli, Rohaiza Rokis, and Wan Nurhasniah Wan Husin, “Muhibah and Religious Pluralism: Maintaining Religious Harmony in Malaysia,” in Religion, Culture, Society: Readings in the Humanities and Revealed Knowledge (Kuala Lumpur: Silverfish Books, 2017), 112-138. 42 Anis Malik Taha, Religious Pluralism: An Islamic View (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2005). 43 El-Mesawi, “Promoting Islam through Research and Publications.” 44 For instance, Hayatullah Laluddin, “The Concept of Maslahah with Special Reference to Imam al-Ghazali: A Study of its Relevance to Islamization of Knowledge” (1998); Mron Rossidy, “An Analysis of al-Attas’ and al- Faruqi’s Conceptions of Islamization of Knowledge: Implications for Muslim Education” (1998). 45 For instance, Nik Noriani bte Dato Nik Badli Shah, “Controversial Areas in the Law Relating Marriage and Divorce in Modern Times: Possible Reforms within Islamic Framework” (1997); Abdul Kabir Hussain Solihu, “Fazlur Rahman’s Methodology of Qur`anic Exegesis: A Comparative Analysis” (1998). 46 For instance, Abdul Khair Mohd. Jalaluddin, “Savings Behaviour in Islamic Framework” (1992); Abdurrahman Raden Aji Haqqi, “al-Qiyas (the analogy) and Banking Interest: Special Study on the Suitability of Qiyas in Proving the Rule of Banking Interest in the Contemporary Juristic Discourse” (1992); Muhammad Naqib Numan, “Fundamental Rights in Shariah and Modern Law with Special Reference to Justice and Equality” (1992). 47 For instance, Taiwo Hanbal Abdulraheem “The Nature of Man in Islam as a Basis for School Counselling” (1998); Ali Moh`d Jubran Saleh, “Philosophy and Principles of Educational Administration: An Islamic Perspective” (1998). 48 Haneef, “Teaching of Economics at IIUM.” 49 Ibrahim Zein, “Teaching and Learning Islam in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM): Some Aspects of Relevantization of Islamic Sciences,” Revelation and Science 4, no. 2 (2014): 19–30. 50 Mohamed El-Tahir El-Mesawi, “Gender Issues in Islam: ‘Recovering the Measure’ and Restoring the Balance,” International Journal of Islamic Thoughts 6, no. 2 (December 2017): 31–52. 51 See for instance Zaleha Kamaruddin and Raihanah Abdullah, “Protecting Muslim Women against Abuse of Polygamy in Malaysia: Legal Perspective,” Hawwa 6, no. 2 (January 1, 2008): 176–201. 52 See for instance, Arif Ali Arif, Mohamad Sabri Zakaria, and Nurazzura Moamed Diah, “Wife Beating between Maqasid Al-Shariah and the Malaysian Law,” Al-Tajdeed, no. 41 (2017): 157–76. 53 See for instance K.A.M. Yasin and M.A.B.M. Sharafaldine, “An Islamic Perspective of Culture: A Priliminary View,” in Islamic Perspective of Sociology and Anthropology: Some Reflections, ed. Hazizan Noon (Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2017), 123–45. 54 Rosnani Hashim, “The Curriculum of Islamic Studies and Islamic Studies Education Programmes in Meeting the Challenges of Globalization: A Case Study of Selected Malaysian Universities,” Al-Shajara: Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization, special issue (2017): 12. 55 Tariq Ramadan, Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), 128. 56 Nienhaus, “The Reform Agenda of Mainstream Economics,” 93. 57 Ayman Reda, “Islam and Markets,” Review of Social Economy 71, no. 1 (April 2013): 20–43, 41. 58 http://www.iium.edu.my/page/vision-mission-1. 59 See for instance, Hashim, “Higher Education Curriculum Development for Islamization of Knowledge,” 52.