The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 vii 

Editorial 

Our first contributor is Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian Minister of 
Education. He has described in very convincing style the need to differentiate 
between science and non-science. The values, politics, ideology, power, prestige 
and polemics of science play an important role in it. In shaping a contemporary 
philosophy of science, Anwar IbIzlhim emphasizes the need to infuse the entire 
system of science, its method, its processes, and its goals with the ethical 
and value concerns of the world-view of Islam. Our study of the history of 
science in Islam should help us to understand what was original and Islamic 
about Islamic science and how the Muslim scientists infused their w r k  with 
Islamic ethics and values and interpreted their task through Muslim eyes. 

The purpose of developing a contemporary philosophy of Islamic science, 
according to Anwar Ibrahim, is to help our scientists to construct a global 
foundation for contemporary Islamic knowledge and science. This would allow 
the development of a pragmatic philosophy which takes the ethical concerns 
of Islam into the laboratory. This kind of theory should help prioritize certain 
research, and formulate science policies for Muslim societies. 

This theory should be able to demonstrate to both Muslims and non- 
Muslims alike that science not only helps in meeting the intellectual and 
physical challenges of modern times but can also solve contemporary problems 
of mankind in more satisfying and ethically sound ways. 

In his opening remarks at the Seminar on ‘‘Paradigms in Pblitical Science: 
Muslim Perspectives,” organized by the International Institute of Islamic 
Thought (IIIT) and The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) in 
Jumiidii a1 M a 1  I4lO/Dec. 1989, Dr. TW Jabir Al ‘Alwgni, President of 
IIIT, traced political science in classical Islamic heritage. A1 ‘ N w h -  
acknowledges that we do not have specializep studies in our classical legacy 
that may be described today as political thought. Issues related to subjects 
like international relations, systems of government, history of diplomacy, 
political development, or methods of political planning, however, were treated 
through the medium of fiqh. There were no well-defined divisions between 
all other aspects of life and the political issues as there are’in contemporary 
social sciences. A1 ‘Alwhi argues that the fiqh of contemporary politics and 
government must turn to the goals and purposes of Islam, to its general 
principles and to its precepts. This will build a complete system of political 
thought that will interact with contemporary realities for the realization of 
Islam’s greater purposes. A1 ‘Alwiini, however, warns that theories will have 
to be erected upon the basis of accepted Shari‘ah source-evidence, while 
drawing from the experience of historical and contemporary humanity. 

. *  



viii The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 

Mona Abul-Fadl carries the debate in the disciplines to its epistemic 
foundations and this makes it possible to postulate alternative valid conceptions 
of social sciences compatible with different intellectual traditions. The different 
epistemes, or ways of knowing about reality, lead to their c o m s p o n w  systems 
of belief and action which structure society and history and come to be filtered 
through modulating optics of lifestyles and civilizations. She identifies one 
optic as ‘Oscillating Culture’ based on a secular paradigm of knowledge and 
being. The other optic is the ‘Median Culture’ distinguished by a center that 
is known and knowable, an acknowledged core which constitutes a model 
reference point for the operational social/historical dynamic. For Muslim 
social scientists, their access to Median Culture is both intimate and detached 
because of their access to this culture. She argues that the Tawhidi episteme 
has a liberating influence on the psyche of the social scientist because it creates 
a climate of creativity. Abul-Fad1 singles out the specific characteristics of 
a sociology developed in a taw@& perspective as a discipline which is 
grounded in an ethical matrix understood as a realistic sociological proposition 
and not as an idealization or an abstraction of social reality. The Taw@ic 
episteme can provide an opportunity not only for reconstructing social theory 
but society and polity as well. This is due to its bridging the gap between 
theory and practice or normative and empirical. 

Once again we have an engaging paper from Muhammad Hashim Kamali 
on the Varieties of Ra‘y (personal opinion) in Islam. His research paper outlines 
the parameters of personal opinion and looks into the evidence in support 
of and against an emphasis on rational enquiry, exercise of personal opinion 
and judgment pointing to the need for compliance with the directives of the 
Qur’an and Sunnah. He discusses the methodology and criteria h r  evaluating 
the acceptability of ru‘y. His enquiry into the detailed classification of ra‘y 
by the ‘ulama shows how they tried to balance their concern for latitude and 
tolerance on the one hand with their respect for recognized authority and 
Islamic values on the other. 

There has been a recent upsurge of interest in Muslim-American political 
activity demonstrated by important events such as the Muslim-American 
Political Awareness Conference held Mu(mrrurn 3-5, 141OlAug. 4-6, 1989 in 
Washington, D.C. This and other events have sparked the interest of Muslims 
and non-Muslims for differing reasons. One area of political activity to which 
Kathleen Moore calls our special attention is judicial lobbying. The importance 
of courts as policymakers and as vehicles of social and political change she 
urges, should not be overlooked. Those who wish to promote an Islamic 
political agenda may find it useful and even necessary to lobby the courts. 
At the outset this article suggests ways in which Muslims can participate 
in the judicial level of American politics and develop-litigation strategy. Then 
it reviews Muslim current involvement in the judicial process and the impact 



The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990 iX 

of that involvement. Moore argues that limiting one's activity to the litigation 
process risks missing a crucial part of constitutional interpretative activity. 
Thus an alternative-which involves filing "friend of the court" briefs-is 
offered. 

Our review article this time is on Leonard Binder's book Islamic 
Liberalism. Binder, considered one of the most original Western writers 
analyzing the Middle East and Islam today, began his intellectual career with 
the now classical work on the interaction of Islam and politics, Religion and 
Politics in Pakistan, followed by writings on Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and North 
Africa. In each of his contributions, Binder has effectively woven together 
a broad array of conceptual tools, theoretical perspectives and socio-historical 
data. What has distinguished him most is his sensibility to the issues of 
normative theory, both Islamic and Western. In his latest work, Islamic 
Liberalism, Binder engages in a bold and lively discourse on liberalism in 
contemporary Islam. Given the importance of the work, Parvez Manzoor 
of Stockholm University was requested to review it for MISS. As expected, 
Manzoor's review was a serious dialogue with Binder. An advance copy of 
this review was sent to Binder who responded to questions raised in the review 
and offered a counter critique. The response follows the review. 

This issue includes two book reviews, four conference reports and two 
responses to earlier articles under the views and comments section. 

As we are venturing into the lWs, a lot of research on Islam and Muslims 
is accumulating. Scores of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars are completing 
their doctoral dissertations in social sciences involving issues related to Islam 
and Muslim society. In order to make these researches and the researchers 
known to our readership we will be dedicating a good portion of our journal 
to the reproduction of the abstracts of their dissertations. In this way we hope 
to identify significant social scientists and to introduce them to the forum 
that MISS provides. 

Sayyid M. Syeed