Islamization of knowledge

The phrase Islamization of knowledge has been used in contemporary Islamic philosophy since the later 20th century to refer to attempts to reconcile Islam and modernity, specifically seeking for a way to adopt the scientific method in a way consistent with Islamic ethical norms.

Some Muslims both liberal and traditional are skeptical of the approach, viewing the construction of fields such as Islamic science and Islamic economics largely as propaganda created to further the Islamist view that Islam is an all-encompassing social system.

The phrase "Islamization of knowledge" was first used and proposed by the Malaysian scholar Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas in his book "Islam and Secularism" (first published in 1978).

It was also proposed by the Palestinian philosopher Ismail Al-Faruqi, in 1982, in response to what he called "the malaise of the ummah" (faithful). He argued that by using tools, categories, concepts and modes of analysis that originated wholly in the secular West (like Marxism), there was a disconnect between the ecological and social reality of Muslim nations, and worse, a total inability to respect or even notice the violations of ethics of Islam itself. In his view, clashes between traditionalist ulema and reformers seeking to revive Muslim society with modern science and professional categories, were inevitable without the strong ethical constraints that applied to methods of early Muslim philosophy. He proposed therefore to revive those methods, restore ijtihad and integrate scientific method within Islamic limits.

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