The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5, No. 1, 1988 13 A1 Farilqi and Beyond: Future Directions in Islamization of Knowledge Ilyas Ba-Yunus Ismlil was born in an influential family in 1341 AH4922 AC in Palestine during the British Mandate. He received his early education in traditional Islamic schools and his college education from the American University, Beirut. At age 24, he was appointed as governor of Gallilee-the last Palestinian, before the Zionist occupation. Forced to migrate, his family took refuge in neighboring Lebanon. Having thus experienced this “fall” at the very onset of what was promising to be a brilliant political career in an otherwise independent Palestine, the refugee in Isma’il tumed toward the higher reaches of modem education in the contemporary West. Ismlil concentrated in philosophy first at Harvard and then at Indiana, where he earned his doctoral degree. He spent four years at A1 Azhar in Egypt, followed by two years at the School of Divinity at McGill, and two years at the newly established Islamic Research Institute in Islamabad, Pakistan, which gave him ample opportunity to apply his philosophy to religion or, more appropriately, to apply his religion to modem secular philosophy. This is what gave “the wounded Palestinian” a new weapon with which to start on a course of an intellectual encounter with the West. His books on On Arabism, The Origins of Zionism in Judaism, and The Christian Ethics came in a succession in the 1960’s. Naturally, as Rahman (1406 AHA986 AC) pointed out, while involved in this undertaking, he disturbed some and antagonized others. What is amazing is that in doing this, the “Arab Warrior” conquered himself. Ilyas Ba-Yunus is Professor of Sociology at the State University of New York, Cortland, NY. this is an edited text of Al Finiqi Memorial Lecture which was delivered at the 15th Annual Conference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists in 1986. *This paper, delivered as the first A1 Finiqi Memorial Lecture at the 15th Annual Con- ference of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, discusses the concept the methodology of Islamization of knowledge, as Ism22 al Finiqi’s legacy and it’s ramifications. In the begin- ning, the author gives a brief biography of Ism22 a1 Finiqi’s contributions to MSA and AMSS. 14 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 Isma’il had joined the Department of Religion at Syracuse University when the Muslim Students Association of U.S. and Canada was formed in 1381 AH/1962 AC. It took him six more years to find the students who were going to play such an important role in the rest of his life. In 1387 AH11968 AC Isma’il moved to Philadelphia to join the Department of Religion at Temple University. The Muslim Students Association had strong chapters at Temple as well as the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia and Pennsylvania State University, some 200 miles away. Contact between I s d i l and the students was inevitable, especially at the @law& al JamTrbh held by the Muslim students on their campuses. This contact between the two was highly meaningful. It brought a drastic change in Isma‘il’s self concept. While visiting the author,-then a patient at the Johns Hopkins Optholmological Center in the spring of 1387 AH/1968 AC-Isma’il intimated: “Until a few months ago, I was a Palentinian, an Arab and a Muslim. Now I am a Muslim who happens to be an Arab from Palestine.” The Muslim Students Isma’il’s presence among the student population gave a much needed enhancement to the image of the Muslim Students Association on this continent and overseas. Soon he became an advocate for the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and one of the most sought after speakers in its ranks. With his training in philosophy, his experience as a professor, and with his newly acquired commitment to Islam, Isma’il was almost irresistible. He spoke with poise, confidence, knowledge and with a mastery of rhetoric. He could articulate the principles of Islam in terms of Western thought and Western vocabulary so that his audience could see the relevance and the applicability of Islam to modern times as a universal “ideology? There is little doubt that he became instrumental in changing the image of the MSA from that of being rigidly conservative to an organization with very knowledgeable and rational practitioners and advocates of Islam. His association with the MSA also brought about a fundamental change in his character. Whereas his adversaries, Muslims as well as non-Muslims, were quickly overawed with the force of his eloquence and argument, he would be as a “student” all over again while in the company of the MSA rank and file. The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) Undaunted by any difficulties which invariably arise in any close Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 FSniqi and Beyond 15 interactional situation, Isma‘il continued to push the MSA toward the intellectual goals he had in mind. This resulted in enhancing the work of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, originally conceived by ‘AbdulHamid AbuSiilaymin in 1391 AH/1971 AC. Isma’il became the AMSS’ first president in that year and remained so through 1396 AH/1976 AC. It was an opportune time for him to do so. The MSAs ranks were swelling with intellectuals, who, after finishing their education from very reputable universities in the United States and Canada, were settling down as professionals and needed some professional outlet for their ideological orientations, in addition to the MSA, which made no such distinction. Thus, as the Islamic Medical Association was already in operation, the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers was also established about this very time, presumably with the blessings of Ismlil. The AMSS, at that time, was financially, the poorest of the three professional organizations operating under the auspices of the former MSA (now mostly taken over by the Islamic Society of North America, ISNA). Performance-wise and intellectually, however, it is perhaps, the most active of the three. This was due in part to the energies of Isma’il and his wife, Lamyl, who, having fulfilled her role as a mother, was able to shoulder her husband‘s aspirations and visions. Another important reason for the unusual success of the AMSS, especially in its formative years, was the fact that its forums attracted even those who were not social scientists. The topics, the debates and the papers presented in the AMSS gatherings were all movement oriented and this movement orientation could hardly materialize in other sister professional organizations. No doubt, Ismlil played a very important role in shaping the programs of the AMSS toward this orientation. Islamization of Knowledge Most importantly, the reason for Ismlil to start to groom the AMSS which was later called Islamization of Knowledge. While this concept could not be completely irrelevant to physical and natural sciences, it could bloom only in the context of the social sciences. After all, the Qur’in and the Sunnah have their own respective social thrusts, and if Islam is an “ideology”, it could be captured only through studying how people interact among themselves, by way of economics, politics and inter personal relations. This concept of Islamization of Knowledge, along with the concept of Islamic Social Sciences, was first presented by AbiiSulaymin in his early works on reforming Muslim thought and methodology in the late 1380s/1960s and early 1390s/l970s. This concept became a driving force in Ismlil’s activist career, particularly in 16 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 the formation of the AMSS. At that time, the objectives of the newly formed organization were still unclear to many members. Some thought that it was merely an academic outlet for those MSA members who were just beginning to enter professional fields in social sciences. Others thought that the AMSS represented a forum whereby interdisciplinary dialogue could generate more objective and practical strategies for the MSA and for the Islamic movement in North America in general. Still others more skeptically looked at the AMSS as being yet another stage for the leaership of the MSA in its quest for continued prominence. In spite of the author's association with the MSA, from the very beginning, the objectives of the AMSS were not clear to him. He could not conceive of the newly formed organization in terms of any thing other than being an appendage to the MSA or the larger Islamic movement in this continent. In the Second Annual Conference of the AMSS at Camp Hoyt, Indiana, in 19n, Isma'il, in his presidential address, however, put all misconceptions and apprehensions to rest by declaring: . . . . We have an extremely important task ahead of us. How long are we going to content ourselves with the crumbs that the West is throwing at us? It is about time that we make our own original contribution. As social scientists, we have to look back at our training and reshape it in the light of the Qur'Bn and the Sunnah. This is how our forefathers made their own original contributions to the study of history, law and culture. The West borrowed their heritage and put it in a secular mould. Is it asking for too much that we take this knowledge and Islamize it? (a1 Fgniqi, ed. 1392 AH/19?2 AC) As is evident, the AMSS represented for Isma'il, not merely an organization of the Muslim social scientists in North America, but the beginning of a world wide Islamic movement which, transcending the MSA itself, was aimed at introducing a new strain of social science in the world of modern academia. The AMSS however, was not the only forum which Isma'il used in order to materialize this dream. He became instrumental in holding several conferences and symposia all over the Muslim world and urged Muslim governments and Muslim universities to introduce Islamic curricula in their programs. It was partly through his efforts that the American Islamic College was established in Chicago in 1402 AH11982 AC. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) in Herndon, Virginia in 1401 AHA981 AC. As if this was not enough, he was able to attract a rather large group of graduate students, Americans as Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 Firiiqi and Beyond 17 well as those from Muslim countries, at Temple where he personally supervised them. Indeed, it is difficult to find a person these days who would, over such a long span of of time, follow with such dedication and single mindedness, a theme which many others did not pay much attention to despite their awareness of the problem. Islamization of Knowledge Defined Ever since the Western colonization of Muslim countries, a number of Muslim reformers have been concerned with the inadequacy of the Islamic educational system. First, the primary motive of the colonial administration was to prepare the colonized Muslim populations to run their administrative machinery. Thus, they started by teaching their Western languages to the indigenous colonized populations. Then, they introduced their laws and imposed them on the colonized populations. Consequently, the Muslim educational system, based primarily on the QurZn and the Sunnah necessitating the learning of Arabic and an exposure to the Shariizh, was rendered meaningless. It did not pay to be a graduate of the Islamic curriculum only. Acquiring money was in learning the Western language and mastering the Western law and their administrative techniques. And, as the colonial adminstrators opened new schools and colleges, their primary aim was to produce clerks to man their bureaucracies. Despite the fact that these seats of learning did introduce courses in physical and natural sciences, the probability of a colonial becoming a reputable scientist was one in millions. There were two consequences of the imposition of the colonial system. First, the traditional Islamic system was allowed to freeze, even decay, thus, it was rendered irrelevant. Second, and more seriously, Western education, because of economic rewards, became a prestige symbol which discredited not only Islamic education but the very tradition of Islam itself. Thus, while receiving Western secular education, many Muslims became convinced of the superiority of the secular knowledge over Islam as a source of knowledge. This notion was so deeply ingrained in the minds of the Muslim youth in general that no sooner than one was educated in a college or a university than he or she proudly started using the language of his colonial masters at the expense of his mother tongue; showed a great sense of superiority in displaying his mastery in Western sciences, philosophy, law and literature; and chmd of a higher education in the West. At the same time, however, it did nst even occur to him that most of the Western sciences, especially social sciences, philosophies and law, as well as literature are extremely pmuimid not universal in character. What for instance, does Wordsworth znean ta aslr Ar& who never saw a daffodil in his desert? Or, what does Keats 18 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5, No. 1 , 1988 mean to a Pakistani whose coast line is hardly ever touched by a Western wind? Nevertheless, the Muslim professors and students seemed to enjoy these Western authors in their arrogant display of ignorance. Worse yet, our intellectuals proudly are themselves often embroiled in the Western intellectual socio-political and economic controversies as represented by the works of Nietzsche, Hegel, Mam and many others drew their inspirations mainly from their Western regional experiences, but presented them in universal overtones. Our intellectuals unfortunately, have had little or no exposure to the rich and very stimulating debates generated during the centuries long Islamic civilization, and often prematurely reject them as being irrelevant, archaic and backward in character. There are three major consequences of this “cultural neo-imperialism” (Braibanti, 1986:76) in Muslim countries, although foreign colonizers have withdrawn from most of them. According to Isma’il (a1 Firiiqi, ed. 1402 AH11982 AC), these are: 3 . Stagnation of Islamic Learning: As the Islamic Madrassah system decayed, it ceased to become innovative and dynamic. Luck of Excellence in Modern Education: As implanted in Muslim countries, Western knowledge which produced results in Western countries, remained sterile and ritualistic with a false aura of progress. Muslim Dependence on Foreign Ideas: Because Muslim intellectuals and the policy makers looked up to it, Western knowledge, despite its irrelevance, made them dependent on its research and leadership in the West. These three together describe what Ismlil called a “threateningly dangerous malaise” (a1 Firiiqi, 1402 AH11982 AC). This malaise is such that it alienates our youth from our basic values and makes them attribute our material backwardness to something which does not exist, Islamic “ideology” in practice. Thus, our present system of education is not only non-productive, it is also culturally alienating. Many Muslim reformers in the past have tried to remedy this sickness. Syed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad ‘Abduh, just to name a few, have been most famous in this respect. They believed that what the system needed was the addition of Western sciences to our existing curriculum of Islamic disciplines. Their view was based on the assumption that Western sciences were value neutral and that they would not do any harm to Islamic values. Abd a1 Nisir of Egypt put this idea into practice by changing the very character of A1 Azhar, but without any fruitful results in the area of modern sciences and technology. Worse yet, the traditional Islamic teachings, desperately in need of reform, remained as sterile as ever. Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 Frlniqi and Beyond 19 According to Isma’il, we do not need this kind of educational reform. What we need, according to him, is Islamization of Knowledge. In his own words: As disciplines, the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences must be reconceived and rebuilt, given a new Islamic base and assigned new purposes consistent with Islam. Every discipline must be recast so as to embody the principles of Islam in its methodology, in its strategy, in what it regards as its data, its problems, its objectives, its aspirations. (a1 Fariiqi, ed. 1382 AHA982 AC) Further, he reported a tripartite scheme for Islamization of Knowledge: 1. 2 . 3 . Every discipline must seek rational, objective and critical knowledge of truth so that there must not be any distinction between Aqli and Naqli sciences. This he called Unity of Knowledge, All disciplines must take into account the telic nature of life. This should put to rest the distinction that some sciences are value-involved and some are value free. This he called the Unity of Life, and All disciplines must recognize the societal nature of all human activity and must serve the purpose of the Ummah through history. This is what he called the Unity of History. Ismalization of knowledge a1 fafiiqi ed., IIIT publication 1382, AHA982 These three strategies, according to him, describe the three sides of the triangle he called Tawhid as applied to the pursuit of knowledge. Call it “neo Salafism” if you will (Nasr, 1406 AH4986 AC:29), for Isma’il, it is only through Islamized knowledge that one may understand Tawhid. Briefly then, Islamization of Knowledge for Ismiiil as “the Union of the two systems” such as would be expected to bring Islamic knowledge to the secular and modern knowledge to the Islamic system.” Conceived in this fashion, the process of Islamization of Knowledge must encompass chiIdren’s education as much as adult education. As regards elementary and secondary education, the crime of entrusting Muslim youths to missionaries or non-Muslim educators must be stopped. Every Muslim youth is entitled to receive full education in religion, ethics, law, history and culture of IsIam. The Ummah or any section of it, as well as its leaders, are legally 20 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 responsible, and in the eye of God criminally indictable if they fail to give that basic instruction in Islam to every Muslim child. (a1 FBriiqi, 1402 AHA982 AC:lO) The Workplan Isma'il presented twelve necessary steps leading to Islamization of Knowledge. These are as follows: 1 . 2 . 3. 4 . 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 1 2 . Mastery of modern disciplines. Discipline survey. Mastery of the Islamic legacy (The Anthology). Mastery of the Islamic legacy (The Analysis). Specific relevance of Islam to the discipline. Critical assessment of the modern discipline. Critical assessment of the Islamic legacy. Survey of the Ummuhk major problems. Survey of the problems of humankind. Creative analysis and synthesis. Recasting the disciplines under the framework of Islam. Dissemination of Islamized knowledge. Other than these steps, Ismlil also considered conferences, seminars and class room workshops as important tools in realizing the objective he had in mind. Toward this end, Isma'il also emphasized the need to invite all Muslim governments to cooperate in this effort and fund it at every step in the process. In this respect, he had only limited success. Of course, given the present political situation in the Muslim world, no one expects that these heads of the states would respond to a refugee scholar positively or even see his point of view. Even so, Ismalization of knowledge touched a responsive chord iq Pakistan and Malaysia. The Islamic University at Islamabad and the Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs in Malaysia held a number of conferenbes in cooperation with IIIT under his guidance. Finally, in order to realizeihis dream, he prepared to establish an Islamic University (Islamic Institute df Higher Studies) in Virginia; Death however, finally overtook him and his wife, Lamyl. In Retr spect Throu 1 hout this presentation, it may be noted that Lamya's contributions have been referred to only scantilly. This is not to belittle her contributions. Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 Fariiqi and Beyond 21 Lamyl was an active Muslimah in her own right and she showed her own originality especially in the area of Islamic esthetics, including music and calligraphy. Also, as Martin (1406AHA986 AC:67) pointed out, she was a great critic of the Women’s Liberation Movement in America. She was quite vocal in rejecting the myth that it was Eve who lured Adam into Original Sin and that Eve was created out of a rib of Adam. Referring to the Qur’ln, she insisted on the companionship between husband and wife and the original brother-sister relationships between the two sexes. From this point of view, she saw the women’s liberation movement could be seen as an ultimate consequence of rejecting the Qur’ln commandments by non-Muslims. Thus, Lamyl was active in her own areas of interest and specialization in the Islamic movement. One of her most noteable contributions was that she was a mother of five children whom she raised as Muslims while still finding time to help her husband in reviewing his speeches, correcting his scripts, spreading his ideas and shielding him with her constant companionship. No wonder the dagger of their assassin went through her feeble body before it could ever reach that of Isma’il. Thus, in her life, as well as in her death, Lamyl presented a role a Muslim woman could play in this world-as a champion of her husband‘s just Islamic efforts. There is little doubt that Ismlil could not have been so energetic and so successful without Lamyif’s nurturing support. Thus, when we speak of Ismlil’s contributions, we, in fact, refer to the contributions of the team of Isma’il and Lamya’. Having said this, it is about time that we have a second look at the practical implications of Islamization of Knowledge. Collective Legacy To begin with, it must be mentioned that Islamization of Knowledge is not an idea presented for the first time by Ismlil himself. As mentioned above, Syed Ahmed Khan and Muhammad ‘Abduh, like many others in the Muslim world, have shown this concern before Ismlil. Most recently, Syed Ali Ashraf with the active help from Abdullah Nasif and Salah Jamjoom, became instrumental in holding the first ever Muslim Education conference in Makkah under the auspices of King Abdul Aziz University. In this very conference Ismlil and AbfiSulaymln clearly vocalized the concept of Islamization of Knowledge although we know of their efforts in this direction long before this conference was held in 1392 AHA972 AC. And, let us not forget that the the Muslim Education Quarterly, published by the Islamic Academy at Cambridge, England, has focused primarily on the same issues. Thus, Islamization of Knowledge is a collective legacy of concerned and conscious Muslims of the past and present. What distinguished Isma’il, 22 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5, No. 1 , 1988 along with AbiiSulaym8n and AMSS from others in this respect, was his knowledge of the Islamic sciences as well as his mastery of the Western social philosophy. Because of these qualities, coupled with the fact that he had a long and distinguished career of teaching in reputable American universities, he was able not only to disarm many non-Muslim orientalists, but also to easily impress Muslim apologists and other Westernized scholars. The important aspect of the concept of Islamization of Isrniiiil, AbiiSulaymin and AMSS is the offering of their approach to solving the problem of Muslim education which differed from that of Muhammad Abduh, in the sense that, as mentioned above, the latter could not move the teachers of the traditional system of Islamic learning to bring about change in that stagnant system. Their approach also differed from that of Syed Ahmed Khan, in that Syed Ahmed‘s system was more for Muslims than Islamic in itself, i.e., that it was aimed at moderninzing Muslims by exposing them to modern Western education while assuming that Muslims are being raised as Muslims anyway. This approach resulted for instance in the Aligarh Muslim University following the Western pattern of shoving Islam under the rubric of religious studies while letting other disciplines mimic the Western pattern uncritically. Likewise, Isma’il was a great critic of the “Westernization” of A1 Azhar under Jam81 ‘Abd a1 N@ir. In the same vein, he also differed from many of his contemporaries, active in this respect, in the sense that his was a wholistic, societal approach. Knowledgs, for him, was Urnmutic. Islamization of Children Thus, Isma’il’s and AMSS’s approach was basically societal which was to parallel, even compliment many other movement orientations, such as has been characteristic in recent times by the Jumiiti Zslumi in Pakistan, and a1 Ikhwiin ul Muslimiin in the Arab World and many others. This, in my opinion, was at once their strongest point as well as their weakness. The strength of their vision lay in its logic and its weakness in its practice. Thus, Isma’il, AbiiSulaymsn and AMSS were right in emphasizing that Islamic Knowledge has to be rational, telic and societal in scope. That this education has to start from bottom up, however, the eminent professor continued to ignore. Although they did emphasize children’s education as quoted above, all of their theoretical as well as practical strategies, in Muslim countries and in North America, converged on university education; an example being the concept of the American Islamic College at Chicago, which met with great difficulties before it could even take off effectively. Nonetheless, the lesson learned from Chicago was that first principle of higher education is, that colleges and universities depend primarily upon Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 FaxGqi and Beyond 23 the population which graduates from schools. The equation is rather simple. If we have to have institutes of higher learning for the sake of Islamization of knowledge, then, we have to have Islamic high schools and Islamic grade schools for the sake of these institutes of higher learning. Islamization of the Ummah Whereas Islamization of Knowledge could be initiated at higher, as well as lower levels of education, what we need, above all, is the motivated student - the student who would feel the need for Islamization of Knowledge at the lower level before he continues in the same direction at higher levels. The student motivation comes largely from their parents, who form the adult population of the Muslim Ummah or the community of the believers, whether in Muslim majority countries or where Muslims are in the minority. During the past few hundred years, the Muslim U m m h has not only decayed politically and educationally, but also experienced moral decay. More specifically, instead of keeping a balance between materialism and spiritualism, our values have moved quite rapidly toward the materialist end of the scale. Consequently, as a whole world, we are much more materialistic today than we were before. We are, perhaps, more materialistic in some ways than the West itself. In this situation, Islamization of Knowledge and Islamic educa- tion as espoused by the very few, generally fall on deaf ears. The process of Islamization of Knowledge then, must rest on the process of re-Islamization of the Ummah itself. Or, at least, the movement of correcting the Ummah and directing it on the right course, must go hand in hand with the movement of correcting our knowledge. Here Isma'il, AbiiSulaymgn, and the Interna- tional Institute of Islamic Thought movement seemed to have ignored another important principle of institutionalized education; namely that these are the communities which make educational institutions and not that educational institutions make and shape communities. This observation is especially ger- mane to the North American scene which constituted their main m~ and experimental grounds. Logically, Islamic universities could not flourish without a supporting population at the school level and schools could not flourish without a wholehearted support from Islamic communities, which in North America as elsewhere, exist more in name than in reality. Not that Isma'il did not care for Muslim community education at the lower school level - Muslim schools, especially in Philadelphia, owe a great deal to his activities in that area. Increasingly, however, Isma'il and AMSS were assuming the role of an educationist rather than a Muslim commuNty activist. As they became more preoccupied with Islamization of Knowledge, they gradually and perhaps unintentionally distanced themselves from the 24 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 MSA as it was passing through the pangs of giving birth to the Muslim Communities Association and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) itself. This happened at the time that these organizations of Muslims in North America needed Ismi‘il’s eloquence, his motivating power and his ability to raise funds more than ever. Granted that there is only so much time at our disposal, a man of his talents could be expected to ration his time in order to build a strong Muslim community base upon which to erect institutions of higher learning. Islamization of the Methodology Community involvement or effort to establish true Islamic life in its totality, is a duty on every conscious Muslim. No one can claim an exemption to this rule whether he or she is a scholar or a student. Additionally, the very basic data of Islamized knowledge has to come from, among other sources, the involvement of the teacher and his students in socio-political and economic affairs of the Ummuh. This claim goes against the very grain of what we are taught in Western schools of higher learning. If knowledge has to be telic in its objectives, however, it has to be, at least, partly telic in its methodology. Consequently, the more you get involved, the more you learn. A new outlook on life, new insights and theories, new strategies of research- all of these experiences could, then, become parts of the new knowledge to be taught in formal settings in schools, colleges and universities. Modern disciplines, even applied subjects, not only in social sciences but also in disciplines such as engineering often draw a great deal of criticism as “being distant” from the every day reality of actual work situations. This is because modern teachers, sealed off in their ivory towers, remain detached from the dynamics of life in the factories, streets and homes of the society. Even when they interact with their subjects for the sake of research, they keep their distance from them. This detachment is claimed to be a virtue in objectivity. It is, in fact, the greatest source of faulty theorization which, especially in social science, constitutes nothing but mere speculation. On the contrary, the Muslim Fuquhii‘ (Jurists) and the ‘Ulumii‘ (Scholars) followed the path of involvement as Ismi‘il wrote: The Fuqih was at the same time Zmiim (leader), Mujtuhid (independent thinker), Qiiri‘ (reciter of the Qur‘an), Muhuddith (well versed in the science of Hadith), teacher, Mutukallim (theologian) as well as political leader, army general, farmer or business person, and professional. . . . If that period witnessed little speculative or metaphysical thought, the reason is not that Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 Firiiqi and Beyond 25 they were incapable of it, but that priority for most Muslim thinkers lay in enabling the masses of people to lead healthy, rational, virtuous and prosperous lives. (a1 Firfiqi, ed. 1402 AHA982 AC:20) Despite this appreciation of the involvement of the Muslim ‘Ulumii‘ in Muslim community life, the “First Principles of Islamic Methodology, taught and preached by the IIIT movement (al Firiiqi, ed., 1402 AH/1982 AC:22) basically remained epistemological and not strategic in nature. Consequently, this methodology remained theoretically inspiring but begged the question to begin with. Islamization of the Non-Muslim As mentioned above, working for the establishment of Islam as a total way of life, is a duty on every Muslim. Another duty, and just as important, is to take the message of Islam to the non-Muslim. What would Islamization of Knowledge mean if it is not practiced in the Muslim community? What would Islamization of Knowledge amount to if it only helps create a Muslim cocoon and does not allow the non-Muslim to expand his horizons of knowledge and behold the beauty of Islam? Maybe he did not know this when he was living, but was it not Isma‘il himself who made Esposito (1406 AH/1986 AC:49) wonder “Why? How could this American, Roman Catholic, who knew nothing about Islam and had little interest in it, completely change his mind and his course of studies?” There is a close relationship between Islamization of Knowledge and Dabuh “propogation of Islam” among non-Muslims. First of all, knowledge is universal. It must be available to all humanity. Muslims cannot act like high “priests” of Islamization of Knowledge. Second, Dub& means knowledge, much as Islam entails knowledge and its practice. Dubuh entails knowledge not only of Islam but also of non-Islam. One may not be able to do the Dub& among non-Muslims unless one is committed to his Din (religion) and at the same time possesses a thorough knowledge of the religion, culture, rituals, beliefs, history, institutions and the psychology of those non-Muslims he is inviting towards Islam. Thus, as far as D u h h is an objective, Islamization of Knowledge must include information on non-Muslims that one is interested in. Finally, based on this information, Islamization of Knowledge must develop strategies of Du’mh in that particular group of non-Muslims. 26 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 Conclusions It seems that Isma’il, AbiiSulaymiin, AMSS and the IIIT movement consciously or unconsciously touched a variety of points on Islamization of Knowledge as discussed in this paper. By preoccupying themselves with the thought of establishing institutions of academic research and higher studies as breeding grounds for the Islamization of Knowledge, they paid relatively less attention to these other facets inherent in the same process. What, then, should we do to make this vision successful? First, simultaneously or as quickly as the program outlined by IIIT is unfolding, attention must be paid to the opening of grade and high schools and all that goes with it, i.e., reshaping of the curriculum, retraining of the teachers and an active program of recruiting students. Second, in order to mobilize a student population, it is imperative that efforts be made to mobilize the parent population. In this respect, it is important to note that the average Muslim citizen is as important as the community leader or the elites in governments. In Muslim-majority countries, this movement should go hand in hand with or must be an integral part of the general ideological movements wherever they exist. If they do not exist, such ideological societal movements must be initiated or encouraged. In Muslim- minority populations, this means efforts to promote communities on the basis of Islamic principles of organization, i.e., gravitation toward a unified organization with its own Shiirii (consultation) and collection of Zakah “The Public Welfare Tax” and other community funds. The main thrust of these movements, whether in majority or minority areas, should ideally be the total involvement of all concerned so that they come to learn the indispensability of the establishment of modern Islamic schools. Third, as a part of the curriculum, teachers as well as students, both at school and college level, must be required to work on projects aimed at analyzing community problems and seeking their solutions. Thus acquired, this information could then be used to determine how our prevalent views in sociology, psychology, political science, economics, history and the law could be reviewed. More importantly, this information could be used for the purposes of casting another look at many an Islamic law and the ruling which may be in dire need of modification. Zjtihiid (creative self exertion to derive laws from the legitimate sources) then, must be re-introduced as a part of this educational process. Last but not least, both at the college and school levels, in both Muslim- majority and minority areas, a substantial number of seats must be reserved for the non-Muslim students so that they can have the opportunity of growing in an Islamic learning environment, while at the same time have exposure to the main sources of Islamized knowledge. Ilyas Ba-Yunus A1 Finiqi and Beyond 27 Finally, there is no doubt that achieving the goal of Islamization of Knowledge is one great hope for the Ummah to successfully start reforming its thought, and rehabilitate its capabilities. This can be done only if the Muslim leaders, scholars and intel.lectuals join hands with IIIT and AMSS in sharing the burden, sharpening the skills and developing the necessary means and methods for success. Although the IIIT and AMSS lost a Shahid (a martyr) from among its finest generals, yet a1 flamd li Allah, the vision and the leadership is still here and the caravan is still marching to achieve the noble goals. The Shahiidah (martyrdom) of Professors Isma’il and Lamya’ is one more reason for more efforts, hardwork and sacrifice in the way of Islam and its hidayah (guidance), in shiih Allah. References a1 Flriiqi, Isma’il, 1391 AH/l9?2 AC - Presidential Address, The Association of Muslim Social Scientists. First Annual Conference (Mimeographed) a1 Ftiriiqi, ed . , Isma’il, 1402 AHA982 AC -Islamization of Knowledge: General Principles and Workplan. International Institute of Islamic Thought (Reston, Virginia) Braibanti, Ralph, 1406 AHA986 AC -A Memorial Tribute, Islamic Horizons Special Issue (August/September) Esposito, John, 1406 AHA986 AC -Teaching Islam the Old Fashioned Way- Living It. Islamic Horizons, Special Issue (August/September) Martin, Zaynam, 1406 AH/1986 AC-Feminism From the Heart, Islamic Horizons, Special Issue (August/September) Nasr, Sayyed H., 1406 AHA986 AC -The Essense of Dr. Flriiq?s Life’s Work, Islamic Horizons, Special Issue (AugustBeptember) Rahman, Fazlur, 1406 AH/1986 AC - Palestine and My Experiences With Young Ffiriiqi, Islamic Horizons, Special Issue (August/September) AbiiSulaymln, AbdulHam-d A. The Arabic edition of Islamization of Knowledge, Zsliimiyah al Mazifah” 1406 AH11986 AC. Translated into English by IIIT and now under publication. AbiiSulaymiin, A. A., Islamization of Knowledge with Special Reference to Political Science; a paper written originally in Arabic was presented to The Second International Conference on Islamization of Knowledge, Islamabad, Pakistan, 1402 AHA982 AC, its English translation was published in The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Vol. 11:2, Dec. 1405 AH 11985 AC. AbfiSulaymsin A. A. The Zslamic Theory of International Relations: New 28 The American Journal of Islamic Social Science Vol. 5 , No. 1, 1988 Directions fir Islamic Methodology and Z’hought” 1407 AH11987 AC (AbiiSulaya Ph.D. Thesis, 1393 AH/1973 AC.) AbiiSulqmiin A. A.: the other works on Islamization of Knowledge and establishment of Islamic Social Sciences are now available only in Arabic in the proceeding of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth’s World Annual Conferences 1392-1399 AH/1972-1979 AC and at the IIIT and A M S S on Islamization of Knowledge 1402-1407 AH/1982-1987 AC.