Editorial 
Islamic Education Reform: Top Priority 

in Intellectual Islamic Work 

The earliest ijtihad, in the face of societal changes, can be traced back 
to the period of Khalifah Umar bin al-Khattab. The methodology of 
juristic preference ( i s f i b i n )  was developed later as one way of institut- 
ing Islamic reform. It emerged as a response to the inadequacy of the 
method of mere deduction. Other forms of intellectual reform can be 
seen in the works of Al-Ghazali in Ihya’ ‘Ulkn al-Din and Tahafat al- 
Falsifah, and in Ibn Rushd’s response, Tahafat al-Tahafat. 

Many of these early efforts toward intellectual reform were individual 
and accidental in nature and did not reflect any methodological school or 
institution. Reformers and creative thinkers seemed as flashes in the his- 
tory of Islamic thought. As the European challenge to the Ummah 
mounted, and the cultural and scientific imitation failed, many Muslim 
reformers surrendered themselves to culturally copying Europe while 
continuing to praise the heritage of the Ummah and the sublime values 
and concepts embedded in its legacy. 

The movement for Islamization of knowledge tried to dig deep into 
Islamic intellectual tradition in order to provide Muslim thinkers with the 
capabilities and potential for the reform of contemporary Islamic thought 
and methodology. The genesis of the movement can be traced to the birth 
of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists in the United States and - 
Canada (AMSS) in 1972, the establishment of the International Institute 
of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in 1981, and the development of the 
Islamization of Knowledge program of the International Islamic 
University of Malaysia (IIUM) in 1989. 
As a result of these efforts, the ideas of Islamization of knowledge and 

Islamic methodological reform have become central themes in the works 
of Muslim scholars, who find that these concepts give direction and pur- 
pose to their work. If we use the metaphor of a seed to describe the role 
of intellectual and methodological reform in developing and reforming 
societies, then political, economic, technological and all other contribu- 
tions and reforms can be seen as the fruits of civilization. The question 
that presents itself is, if the seed is there-meaning proper thinking- 



vi The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 15: 1 

how can we get civilizational fruits? The answer can be found in the 
missing link, that is, the tree with its trunk, branches, and other organs. 
The missing link in our Ummah is human potential-psychologically 
and mentally well-built Muslim individuals and an Ummatic societal 
system with the potential to bear the fruits and overcome the challenges 
of civilization. 

Mental recognition alone cannot produce real, creative, and efficient 
civilizational contributions and progress. Faith (‘uqidah) and perspective 
should develop an educational and nurturing way and methodology (tur- 
biyuh) with which to build the psychological foEe capable of positive 
contribution and creativity. Civilizational efficiency can be attained 
when the right ideas, developed through the right way of thinking, are 
planted and allowed to grow into an educational and nurturing system- 
that is, a healthy atmosphere that educates the members of the civiliza- 
tion to be morally strong, free, and dignified. A strong Muslim genera- 
tion of this kind will be able to take initiative, produce the political, eco- 
nomic, and scientific capabilities to achieve the long-awaited progress 
which will put the Ummah back on the track of progress and leadership. 
The seed-Islamization of Knowledge-once planted, needs to develop 
a robust trunk and a system of branches-the furbiyuh system-which 
will bear the fruit of increased capability and progress. 

Positive educational and furbiyuh systems may be developed by 
renewing the intellectual Islamic discourse, using originality, and going 
beyond the system of sermons and daydreams that characterize today’s 
intellectual discourse. Obviously this task is not an easy one. It requires 
deep understanding, scientific reformulation of the ‘uqidah discourse, 
comprehension of the nature and psychology of the human being-his 
stages of development and his educational requirements and implica- 
tions-and an understanding of the facts, laws, conditions, variables of 
life, and all input needed to motivate psychological potentials in 
Muslims. 

The trunk of this Islamic tree (the educational and turbiyuh system) 
necessitates the interaction of the ‘uqidah and knowledge to build coura- 
geous and persistant Muslim characters-basic to acquiring civilization- 
al efficiency and real progress. Muslim scholars---through IIlT, AMSS, 
and all other intellectual institutions and organizations-should take up 
this challenge of turbiyuh and educational reform. It is not only the most 
difficult task facing Muslim scholars, it is also the prerequisite for any 
other form of development and progress. 

In developing a course of action to perform this task, careful attention 
should be paid to a wide range of ‘uqidah concepts, and the distortions 
which these concepts have suffered in content and form through a long 
period of backwardness in the absence of intellectual discourse. 
Attention should also be paid to the results of this b a c k w a r d n e s d e  



Editorial vii 

many negative, hesitant, disabled, powerless, and uncreative personali- 
ties of so many of the youth of today’s Ummah. 

The required Islamic educational and rarbiyah discourse should be 
able to rebuild the psychological identity of Muslim individuals and 
Muslim society and realize the long-awaited Muslim presence and con- 
tribution to redirect the course of human civilization within the higher 
purposes and values of rawhid, ‘mran, ‘udZ, and razkiyuh. It is not pos- 
sible for Muslims to realize this noble mission while fear, powerlessness, 
and a sense of inferiority dominates the psychology of Muslim youth. 

Hopefully, more focus in this direction and increased efforts in ade- 
quately defining our goals in this area will accelerate our steps in all 
other Islamic intellectual domains. Placing rarbiyah as a top priority in 
our present and future efforts does not mean that IIJT, AMSS, and other 
institutions must give up their plans for the Islamization of Knowledge 
program; on the contrary, far from being an alternative, it is an effort to 
emphasize one of the important areas of Islamic intellectual work, which 
should enliven our ideas, triangulate our views, and push our experiences 
forward. Such efforts in the field of rarbiyah and education W l  develop 
our knowledge in a systematic manner and make it available for other 
fields and for practical life. It is a collaborative effort of all intellectuals, 
each in hisher field, because all fields are related and all basic concepts 
and values are common and shared. This way reform in the rarbyiah and 
educational systems may serve as a practical vehicle for our endeavors 
and may help intellectuals to understand the scope of our mission and 
realize the complementarity of our Islamic intellectual and civilizational 
project. 

May Allah Almighty guide us in the right direction and bless our deeds 
and actions. 

AbdulHamid AbuSulayman 
Editor-in-Chief