scholarly journals Arabic Medicine: Continuation of Greek Tradition and Innovation

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-551
Author(s):  
Gotthard Strohmaier
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Islamic Philosophy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Spiritual Leader ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Greek Tradition ◽  
The Right ◽  
Philosophical Writings

An ‘International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has earned the merit of editing an interesting tract by Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā’ al-Rāzī, in Latin tradition known as Rhazes (854–925 or 935), with the title ‘Doubts on Galen’.1This sounds programmatic, but it is confined to minor details, and the author confesses that he feels very uneasy when criticizing a man whom he reveres as his most benevolent master in the medical art, but he is compelled to comply with the principle ‘magis amica veritas’ as Galen himself has always done in his time. The edition is intended to be the start of a series with the title ‘Islamic Thought’, and the director of the institute, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas,2announces in his foreword its aim ‘to formulate an Islamic philosophy of science’, which he further specifies with the following words: ‘In order to learn from the past and be able to equip ourselves spiritually and intellectually for the future, we must return to the early masters of the religious and intellectual tradition of Islam, which was established upon the sacred foundation of the Holy Qur’an and the Tradition of the Holy Prophet.’ (Ref. 1, p. 3). But here we feel obliged to add that Rhazes was not the right man to inaugurate such a series, as he showed himself in his philosophical writings as an outright apostate who deemed all prophets of the revealed religions to be frauds and had even chosen as his spiritual leader, his imam, none else than Socrates.3

scholarly journals Editoral

1987 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Sulayman S. Nyang
Keyword(s):  
Financial Analysis ◽  
International Institute ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
Community Justice ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Political Governance ◽  
Lead Article

This issue of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences completesthe Symposium on Political Governance, begun by Muhammad Salahuddin’sijtihiid in the last issue. The lead article in this issue is a summary of Islamicpolitical principles by Hasan Turabi, long-time head of the MuslimBrotherhood in The Sudan.Following this is an article by Sister Mona Abul Fadl, a ResearchAssociate at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, taken from hernew book, Alternative Perspective: Introducing Islam From Within, to bepublished by the World Muslim League in Makkah. She explores the coreIslamic concepts of community, justice, and jihad, and concludes that theclimax of Islamization is Istish had or martyrdom in submission to Allah.In the third article of the symposium, Fadel Abdallah uses ‘ijtihad to explorethe textual and historical evidence showing both the absolute condemnationof slavery in Islam and Islam’s use of an indirect strategy to abolish itwithout unduly risking the destruction of the Muslim Ummah. This mayhighlight the symposium’s introductory suggestion by Muhammad Salahuddinthat, within limits, even in extreme cases, balance and patience can be virtues.The second section of this issue presents two papers comparing theIslamization of knowledge with the process of building a new paradigm ofthought and reality, which process many historians now believe is the precursorof all great advances in human knowledge and culture. The concept ofparadigms is simply explained in the second article by Hasan Langgulung asapplied to revolutionary change in the discipline of psychology. In the first article,Muhammad ‘Arif discusses the scholarly battle of the past two decadeson the nature of paradigms. He concludes that, whatever criteria one uses, theIslamization of Knowledge as proposed by Shaheed Isma’il Faruqi introducesa true paradigmatic revolution in human history, compamble to the revolutionthat destroyed the decadent world of 1400 years ago when the originalparadigm of Tawhid was revealed in Qur’an al karim.The Research Notes contain a scholarly piece by Professor Theodore P.Wright, Jr., identifying ten ways in which Jews as a group have influenced thedevelopment of thought and action in America and ten characteristics that explainwhy Jews have been able to exert this influence and Muslims have not.The concluding research note, The Shari‘ah and its Implications forIslamic Financial Analysis: An Opportunity to Study Interactions Among ...

Intellectualism in Higher Islamic Traditional Studies

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-115
Author(s):  
Rosnani Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Basic Problem ◽  
Islamic Education ◽  
Islamic Philosophy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Curriculum Structure ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Ethical Thinking ◽  
State Of Affairs

The number of faculties and universities offering Islamic traditional sciences or studies has slowly increased over the past decades. However, the Islamic community has not felt their graduates’ impact other than as teachers or religious personnel. In fact, if the criteria used to assess Islamic education is the growth of a genuine, original, and adequate Islamic thought or intellectualism, then most of these institutions have failed to provide such an education. I examine the goals and curriculum of higher Islamic education and the conditions conducive for the growth of intellectualism. I argue that poor pedagogy, which does not offer teaching methods that encourage critical and ethical thinking, contributed to the state of affairs. Further, I argue that the basic problem is the inadequate conceptualization of knowledge as regards Islamic epistemology in the curriculum and the lack of academic freedom. I assert that the issue of what knowledge is most valuable for today’s intellectual and ethical Muslims has not been resolved and that this affects the curriculum structure and, inevitably, the programs of Islamic traditional sciences. The need to reintroduce Islamic philosophy into the curriculum is one of this article’s major arguments.

Aristotelianism in Islamic philosophy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiki Kennedy-Day
Keyword(s):  
Tenth Century ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Islamic Philosophy ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ibn Rushd ◽  
Islamic Thought

In Arabic, Aristotle was referred to by name as Aristutalis or, more frequently, Aristu, although when quoted he was often referred to by a sobriquet such as ‘the wise man’. Aristotle was also generally known as the First Teacher. Following the initial reception of Hellenistic texts into Islamic thought in al-Kindi’s time, al-Farabi rediscovered a ‘purer’ version in the tenth century. In an allusion to his dependence on Aristotle, al-Farabi was called the Second Teacher. Ibn Rushd, known in the West as Averroes, was the last great Arabophone commentator on Aristotle, writing numerous treatises on his works. A careful examination of the Aristotelian works received by the Arabs indicates they were generally aware of the true Aristotle. Later, transmission of these works to Christian Europe allowed Aristotelianism to flourish in the scholastic period. We should not take at face value the Islamic philosophers’ claims that they were simply following Aristotle. The convention in Islamic philosophy is to state that one is repeating the wisdom of the past, thus covering over such originality as may exist. There was a tendency among Islamic philosophers to cite Aristotle as an authority in order to validate their own claims and ideas.

Intellectualism in Higher Islamic Traditional Studies

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-115
Author(s):  
Rosnani Hashim
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Basic Problem ◽  
Islamic Education ◽  
Islamic Philosophy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Curriculum Structure ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
Ethical Thinking ◽  
State Of Affairs

The number of faculties and universities offering Islamic traditional sciences or studies has slowly increased over the past decades. However, the Islamic community has not felt their graduates’ impact other than as teachers or religious personnel. In fact, if the criteria used to assess Islamic education is the growth of a genuine, original, and adequate Islamic thought or intellectualism, then most of these institutions have failed to provide such an education. I examine the goals and curriculum of higher Islamic education and the conditions conducive for the growth of intellectualism. I argue that poor pedagogy, which does not offer teaching methods that encourage critical and ethical thinking, contributed to the state of affairs. Further, I argue that the basic problem is the inadequate conceptualization of knowledge as regards Islamic epistemology in the curriculum and the lack of academic freedom. I assert that the issue of what knowledge is most valuable for today’s intellectual and ethical Muslims has not been resolved and that this affects the curriculum structure and, inevitably, the programs of Islamic traditional sciences. The need to reintroduce Islamic philosophy into the curriculum is one of this article’s major arguments.

COMMONWEALTH Forum: The Politics of Science or the Science of Politics

Commonwealth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Arway
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
Difference Of Opinion ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Scientific Facts ◽  
Environmental Agency ◽  
Laws And Regulations

The challenges of including factual information in public policy and political discussions are many. The difficulties of including scientific facts in these debates can often be frustrating for scientists, politicians and policymakers alike. At times it seems that discussions involve different languages or dialects such that it becomes a challenge to even understand one another’s position. Oftentimes difference of opinion leads to laws and regulations that are tilted to the left or the right. The collaborative balancing to insure public and natural resource interests are protected ends up being accomplished through extensive litigation in the courts. In this article, the author discusses the history of environmental balancing during the past three decades from the perspective of a field biologist who has used the strength of our policies, laws and regulations to fight for the protection of our Commonwealth’s aquatic resources. For the past 7 years, the author has taken over the reins of “the most powerful environmental agency in Pennsylvania” and charted a course using science to properly represent natural resource interests in public policy and political deliberations.

Accelerating Agricultural Growth—Is Irrigation Institutional Reform Necessary? (Distinguishedl Lecture)

1996 ◽  
Vol 35 (4I) ◽  
pp. 399-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Mellor
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Agricultural Growth ◽  
The Past ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Economic Growth Rates

The right to the flow of income from water is vigorously pursued, protected, and fought over in any arid part of the world. Pakistan is of course no exception. Reform of irrigation institutions necessarily changes the rights to water, whether it be those of farmers, government, or government functionaries. Those perceived rights may be explicit and broadly accepted, or simply takings that are not even considered legitimate. Nevertheless they will be fought over. Pakistan has a long history of proposals for irrigation reform, little or none being implemented, except as isolated pilot projects. Thus, to propose major changes in irrigation institutions must be clearly shown to have major benefits to justify the hard battles that must be fought and the goodwill of those who might win those battles for reform. Proponents of irrigation institution reform have always argued the necessity of the reforms and the large gains to be achieved. Perhaps, however, those arguments have not been convincing. This paper will briefly outline the failed attempts at irrigation reform to provide an element of reality to the discussion. It will then proceed to make the case of the urgency of reform in a somewhat different manner to the past. Finally, current major reform proposals will be presented. This paper approaches justification of irrigation reform by focusing on the agricultural growth rate. It does so because that is the critical variable influencing poverty rates and is a significant determinant of over-all economic growth rates. The paper decomposes growth rates and suggests a residual effect of deterioration of the irrigation system that is large and calls for policy and institutional reform. The data are notional, suggesting the usefulness of the approach and paves the way for more detailed empirical analysis and enquiry for the future.

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