Presented by MD SAYED UDDIN PhD candidate in Sociology and Anthropology Presented at Postgraduate Islamization Seminar in conjunction with 25 anniversary of Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences May 08, 2015 (FRIDAY) Time: 9.00 Am -12.00 NOON Organized by Department of Sociology and Anthropology

1. ISLAMIZATION OF SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE: A REVIEW
MD SAYED UDDIN
This paper presented by
MD SAYED UDDIN
PhD candidate in Sociology and Anthropology
Presented at
Postgraduate Islamization Seminar in conjunction with 25 anniversary of
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
May 08, 2015 (FRIDAY)
Time: 9.00 Am -12.00 NOON
Organized by Department of Sociology and Anthropology

2. Islamisation of Human Knowledge
• Intellectual movement
• Hasan Dzilo (2012): it is an Islam-related way of thinking that has been
continuously re-established throughout Islamic history.
• WHY THIS MOVEMENT WAS INITIATED—
• response to the problems which Muslim face
• Muslim thinkers find Muslim situation catastrophic due to external and
internal causes and relates it two aspects

3. Muslim societies
IntellectualPhysical

4. • Muslims are backward
• Occupying low positions
• Divided
• Facing debacle (a sudden failure) in every aspect of life
• Not taking advantages of their ideology but deviating from it by adopting
antagonistic and contradictory alien ideologies

5. • As Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi (1982) – ‘malaise of the Ummah’ and finds its root
cause in the education systems of the Muslim world and lack of vision
• Abdul Hamid AbuSulayman (1994) – (Islamization : Reforming contemporary
knowledge) – Crisis of thought in Muslim Mind
• It caused Muslims to rely on West
• Instead of developing knowledge linking it with reason

6. • Syed Muhammad Al Naquib Al Attas (1993):
• He observes that the problematic situation of Muslims is internal, caused by
colonization and confrontation with Western culture and civilization
• Loss of Adab
• That is the discipline of body mind and soul; the discipline that assures the
recognition and acknowledgement of one’s proper place in relation to one’s
self, society and community…’
• It according to him loss of justice that causes confusion in knowledge.

7. • All Muslim thinkers and proponents of IOK question the validity of the
structure of contemporary knowledge
• Based on worldview which is different from Islamic Intellectual Tradition or W.V
• Not neutral but based on secular and materialistic – life and the world
• They claim that the Muslims are relying on knowledge produced in the West based
on its own assumption, supposition and vision of the world
• 16th century – America and Europe – sociopolitical scenario of the time
• Influenced by the natural sciences

8. Definition
• Al-Attas: (1993:44)
• “man’s liberation from non-Islamic tradition as well as from secular control
over his reason”
• Al- Faruqi (1982):
• “Recasting knowledge according to Islamic tenets. It according to him
includes various activities including removing dichotomy between modern
and traditional systems of education and producing university level text
books”.
• Sayyed Hossein Nasr (1994: 130):
• IOK is integrating various subjects into the Islamic worldview”.

9. • Mohd. Kamal Hassan (2009:6)
• Prefers the term “Islamization of Human Knowledge’ and considers it an
alternative paradigm for pursuing, teaching, developing, organizing,
dissemination, utilizing and evaluating contemporary human knowledge …
in accordance with the worldview, fundamnetal principles, ethical values
and norms of Islam.
• Above all expalnation of IOK show Muslim thinkers discomfort about the
existing corpus of modern knowledge and their concern to find an
alternative in the form of Islamization of Knowledge.

10. Application of sociology by
western social scientists
• M.K.A. Siddiqui (1992) Western Sociology : A Critique (JOS Vol.4 No.1 July 1992 pp.22-30)
• Critically evaluates how Western social science was used to study subjugated societies and
the application of the knowledge gathered and theories developed for the efficient
governance of the dominated people.
• Both field of sociology and anthropology emerged – Arab –West and subjugated Asian and
African societies by the new power
• The research and theories developed by these colonial period sociologists aided the colonial
administrative powers in maintaining their status quo
• Tool of Western colonial administration
• Period studies in India and Africa

11. • Some sociologist – such as Lyall, became so powerful within the British Empire
• Their advices were sought for formulation of imperial policies
• These anthropologists had a stake in the continuation of the empire and
looked down upon the religions, traditions, and cultures of the subjugated
Indians
• They used their observations to conclude that united the Muslims and the
Hindus posed a threat to the regime
• Communal conflicts
• The author blames these scientists for betraying the cardinal principles of
non-involvement, liberal mindedness, and sympathetic outlook and instead
focusing on cultural differences in order to serve their elite and exploiting
colonial masters.

12. • A.R Momin (1992) “Islamic sociology towards a conceptual framework”
• Before he submitted the outline of an Islamic sociology the author discusses
the discipline of sociology and its emergence situation and contemporary
critique
• In 16th century Europe progress its modern science, which established the
scientific worldview
• Scientific worldview refers to the Cartesian-Newtonian cosmology, which is
based on scientific methodology of Francis Bacon, the philosophy of Rene
Decartes and the mathematical theory of Isaac Newton

13. • Also the scientific worldview based on
two inter-linked epistemological
premises are rationalism and empiricism
empiricism
Scientific worldview
rationalism

14. • In western world has gain by the success of the Cartesian-Newtonian
worldview which also influenced physics, chemistry, physiology, biology,
medicine, philosophy and as well as human and social sciences.
• Thus, anyhow at that time human and social sciences were modeled by
natural sciences.
• The worldview, methodology and even the vocabulary of the natural
sciences were thoroughly borrowed by the social sciences.

15. • It was 18th century – when philosopher sought to fashion an ideal-critical science of
man as an instrument of human welfare and betterment, which is under of the
scientific worldview
• At the end of the 19th century – separation of sociology and anthropology had
divided due to subject matter –
• Anthropology – primitive societies and non-literate communities (Asia and Africa)
• Sociology– largely study of Western societies
• Sociology is based on positivism and Eurocentrism
• The conception of man, methodology and model are the adoption of natural
sciences

16. • Formulating Islamic sociology the auhtor suggested Islamzation of
Knowledge, which is rooted from Islamic epistemology and ontology
• And the methodological and theoretical framework for an Islamic sociology
is guided by the Islamic view of Knowledge and the Islamic ethos

17. • Ilyas Ba-Yunus (1981)
• His article critically analyzes the ideologies and biases of modern
sociological thoughts and approaches; and outlines why the so-called
Western sociology misinterprets the beliefs, practices, and ideologies of the
Muslim world.
• Biases: first: though sociology begun in the seminal works of Ibn Khaldun late
1300s – whereas French philosopher Auguste Comte 1800s treated the father
of sociology
• Thus, sociology from its birth had a bias towards the Western mode of
thinking

18. • Second: Most of its theories, observations, practices and conclusions have
been derived from studying Western civilizations in America and Europe,
especially since the time of the industrial revolution.
• Therefore, the teachings and motives of contemporary sociology fail to
understand the ideals of Muslims;
• Its avoids one of the major realtions ad its followers perspective
• To them, Islam is a very confusing way of life, set outside the norms and practices
of contemporary sociology

19. • He expounded in detail the three main approaches in modern sociology:
• Structural Functional approach or consensus model:
• Marxian Approach or conflict model
• Symbolic interactionism or self-theory

20. • Richard Tapper (1995): “Islamic Anthropology and the Anthropology of
Islam”
• Paper reviews different proposals and new approach to Islamic
anthropology.
• Critically analyzes four notable works:
• First book by Ilyas Ba-Yunus and Farid Ahmed;
• Second and third: two main publications on the topic by Akbar Ahmed (Towards
Islamic anthropology and Discovering Islam)
• Fourth: Book by Wyn Davies (knowing one another)

21. • Richard Tapper claims that although the book differ on their proposal of
what should be the ideal Islamic Anthropological Approach, they are all
based on the study of the same Islamic texts.
• Problem faced by Muslim anthropologist:
• Some oriental anthropologist
• Western sociology, cncluding anthropology s ethnocentric and influence by
colonial connections

22. • The author then menifest his views about the ideals type of Islamic
anthropology. He believes that Islamic anthropology, like the teaching of
Islam, should be holistic and thus address all levels of human life, including
international relations and ethnic houndaries.
• The problematic and controversial area in Islam like gender, polygamy, and
Koranic punshment should also be addressed in order to gain universal
acknowledgements.
•

23. Thank You
This paper presented by
MD SAYED UDDIN
PhD candidate in Sociology and Anthropology
Presented at
Postgraduate Islamization Seminar in conjunction with 25 anniversary of Kulliyyah of
Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
May 08, 2015 (FRIDAY)
Time: 9.00 Am -12.00 NOON
Organized by Department of Sociology and Anthropology