Critical Reflections on Fārūqī’s Islamization of Knowledge

Abstract

The assumptions on which the Islamization of knowledge project was linked to the movement for restoration of Islam to a position of leadership and dominance in contemporary society may not have all been correct. Knowledge creation and beneficial use of new knowledge are two distinct though complementary processes. Each has its own requirement. Morality rooted in spirituality is decisive in ensuring that new knowledge is used beneficially. But creation of new knowledge requires freedoms of thought and discussion, encouragement of creativity and innovation, and toleration of dissent and diversity. It requires a mindset that can entertain ambiguity, one that does not hasten to discard potential spoilers of legacies long established as sacred-requirements which the sponsors of the Islamization of knowledge project might have failed to give due weight. The project can be revived only by recognizing the primacy of expanding knowledge over the necessity of ensuring proper use of knowledge. It is in the nature of the first, expansion of knowledge (by creating new knowledge) that is universal. Differences of faith or moral vision, so important in the context of the second stage (putting knowledge to good use) need not stand in the way of cooperation and collaboration in the first stage. Have the sponsors of the Islamization project neglected this truth? What could be worse: have they abdicated the first step in their eagerness to do justice to the second?