The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 V 

EDITORIAL 

This issue is unprecedented in a variety of ways. It has five papers with 
extremely interesting materials, four Research Notes, four Book Reviews, 
eight conference/seminar reports, and one letter to the Editor. Its lead article 
has been written by one of our top intellectuals displacing many conventional 
notions to assert that Islamization is a force of global renewal. It is rare that 
one reads such a nicely worded, well-argued, and refreshing article. 

This issue begins with a selection from the Holy Qur'iin and commentary 
by the AMSS President, A b d e a m i d  AbiiSulaymSn. These selections always 
inspire the readers and provide the best framework for conceptualization. 
The lead article by Mona Abul Fadl of the International Institute of Islamic 
Thought contends, and rightly so, that Tmhidi Episteme is as relevant to 
modernity as anything else could be. Following her article are two papers 
germane to Islamic thought. In the first, Husain Kassim presents Sarakhsi's 
Doctrine of Zsti!zst?n as an approach towards Ahkiim al-Dunyii. In the second 
paper Hakim Rashid deals with the socialization of Muslim children in 
America. Discounting the dichotomy within and across societies between 
ideal and actual behavior in the West, he asserts that acquisition of knowledge, 
skills and socialization among Muslim children must conform to the Qur'iin 
and Sunnah. 

The third section on Islamization of Disciplines also presents two papers. 
In the first one, Mohammad Siddiqui describes an Islamic framework for 
the study of interpersonal communication. The other paper, by A. al Tayob, 
is a review of the religious, political, and social transformation of the Arabs 
after the advent of Islam. He compares pre-Islamic Arab societies with Muslim 
Arab societies and states that religio-cultural-political transformation in them 
was the expression of the holism of the Qur'iin which was capable of underhung 
the meaningfulness of the past, thus bridging the gap between past and present. 

The following section has four Research Notes. Rizwan Malik organizes 
his note in two parts. In the first, he discusses the role of the 'Ulama in 
the political development of late 19th and early 20th century India. In the 
second, he raises an interesting question concerning whether the role of 'Ulama 
was based on Islamic issues or was shaped by its response to British power. 
In the hllowing note, Marwan Obeidat examines Royal 'Ifiler's Algeiine Captive 
(1797), affirming that such novels and others like them, includmg the accounts 
of early travellers and missionaries gave a fragmentary and grossly inaccurate 



vi The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences Vol. 5, No. 2, 1988 

perception of the North African Barbary Muslims. In the first one, Mohammad 
Siddiqi briefly describes an Islamic framework for the study of interpersonal 
communication. Then Raquibuz W a n ,  in another note on insurance and 
risk management in a Muslim state, asserts that insurance must be provided 
to those who seek it to prevent catastrophes since state-based welfare systems 
are inadequate for financial protection. The last Research Note, by Rashid 
Siddiqi, is in support of Islamizing librarianships. He maintains that Islamizing 
Librarianship is essential to avoiding Western conceptualization of Islam and 
to developing the Islamic world view. 

Following the section on Research Notes are four Book Reviews, eight 
Conference Reports, and one letter to the Editor. All these and other materials 
reflect an appreciable heightened input by its readers. 

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists and the International Institute 
of Islamic Thought deserve every possible appreciation of all Muslim social 
scientists for so admirably sustaining the journal. Since this issue marks the 
end of my term as its Editor-in-Chief, let me thank the AMSS, the IIIT, 
and my colleagues who helped me, guided me, and supported me in doing 
my job for the AMSS. It is gratlfying that the Editorship is now going to 
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, who is more adept, more meticulous, more precise, 
and more professional. I believe he will serve the journal better, and build 
an even better image. I pray to Allah (SWT) that He gives him strength and 
guidance to serve the journal and you, the subscribers, better. I am also gratified 
to note that the AMSS President, Dr. ‘AbdulHamTd AbfiSulaymiin, has been 
appointed as the Rector of the International Islamic University in Malaysia 
at Kuala Lumpur. We pray to Allah (SWT) to give him the strength and foresight 
necessary to successfully add to building that University into a world class 
institution. I will always be available to offer whatever little I can for the 
betterment of the journal, Znsha’ Allah. 

Mushtaqur Rahman